King Charles’ first official portrait by Jonathan Yeo was recently revealed, Deadline reported.
The painting, which is over eight-foot-tall, is unique in the sense that most official royal portraits are sedate and nondescript. The portrait featured the king’s face, set off by a red background which blends with his military uniform with a butterfly over his right shoulder. Charles, who has been diagnosed with cancer, is the regimental colonel of the British Army’s Welsh Guards.
King Charles’ first official portrait since coronation
Yeo has painted several famous people such as Charles’ wife, Queen Consort Camilla, British PMs Tony Blair and David Cameron, Dennis Hopper, Nicole Kidman, Rupert Murdoch, Jamie Oliver and Sir David Attenborough.
He also painted the portrait of the king’s father, the late Prince Philip.
The artist told The New York Time, “He was a bit of a caged tiger. I can’t imagine he was easy as a father, but he was entertaining as a subject.”
The new portrait reportedly has the queen’s approval. According to the BBC, Queen Camilla told Yeo, “Yes, you’ve got him.”
The king was able to get an early look at the painting when it was still in a “half-done state,” Yeo said.
“He was initially mildly surprised by the strong color but otherwise he seemed to be smiling approvingly,” he added.
The New York Times earlier this month said that the portrait, “will likely reconfirm Mr. Yeo’s status as the go-to portraitist of his generation for Britain’s great and good, as well as for actors, writers, businesspeople and celebrities from around the world.”
The artist explained the addition of the butterfly, “In history of art, the butterfly symbolizes metamorphosis and rebirth.”
The British monarch in his red era
I’m no art critic, but I think the painting looks fine. However, the red wash of it can offer so many different interpretations. The color is not the standout here since a red background isn’t unique to King Charles. It’s the fact that it blends into his uniform that it’s actually difficult to distinguish it from the background. In fact, due to this blending only the king’s face and hands are the clearest.
Again, it’s not a critique of the artist’s technique. I do wonder why he chose that particular color when the it’s the same color as the king’s military uniform. I’m fixated on the color because Yeo has painted other members of the Royal Family such as Queen Camilla and the late Prince Philip.
The artist painted the queen against vertical stripes of white and gray. In her portrait, she’s wearing a dress in the same shades as the background. However, she doesn’t blend into the background. In Prince Philip’s case, the background is ochre (a muted, darker yellow) while the late consort is in a dark suit. Again, no blending of colors.
By the way, I’m not the only fixated on the color. Social media users have commented on the Royal Family’s post on X (formerly Twitter). User fictitious_cap wrote, “Looks like the perfect image to mark the end of a vicious and brutal imperial monarchy. Poetic.”
Another user, sincespacies commented, “Getting strong Vigo the Carpathian vibes from this,” with an image of the Ghostbusters villain attached.
However, I’ll echo another user, LibertyDrycarys, who tried their level best to neutral, “This is definitely a choice.”
