Much like the Royal Family, a new portrait of King Charles has split public opinion.
Art is like beauty. It is in the eye of the beholder. Some people have a religious experience in the presence of a Rembrandt. Others are tickled by the sight of four dogs playing poker. There is no right or wrong in the visual arts.
There is only what you see and feel.
The new painting of King Charles, the first since his Coronation, was unveiled this week in London. In one clip shared by the Royal Family, the artist Jonathan Yeo looks on proudly as the King yanks down the covering for the big reveal.
His Majesty glances at the oil-on-canvas. He backs up a couple of paces.
It鈥檚 unclear if he loves it or is scared of it.
Both reactions are reasonable. The “Mona Lisa” is 77 by 53 centimetres. By contrast, this new painting of the King is 8.5 by 6.5 feet. It鈥檚 NBA-sized. The first thing you notice is the colour red. The King鈥檚 head is bobbing in brush strokes of crimson.
I haven鈥檛 seen this much red since Melania Trump鈥檚 Christmas display in the White House.
Depicted in his 1975 regimental colonel uniform with the Welsh Guards, the King鈥檚 red uniform blends into the red background. Even the monarch butterfly about to land on his shoulder is streaked with burgundy. Red, red, red.
Stare at this portrait for two minutes and you鈥檒l crave a Negroni.
Mr. Yeo is a gifted artist. He has created visually arresting portraits of everyone from Idris Elba to Tony Blair, Malala Yousafzai to Nicole Kidman. His goal is to get inside the head of his subject before he brings them to life with artistic licence.
In his previous portrait of the Duchess of Cornwall, now the Queen, she is holding eyeglasses. The background is pewter and silver vertical stripes. Possible interpretation: 鈥淩eading between the lines.鈥
Yeo鈥檚 portrait of the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, blurs shoulders, collar and tie to create a torso depth of field. He then accentuates the Duke鈥檚 majestic face with textures and a nod to cubist shadowing. It鈥檚 wonderful art, both contemporary and traditional.
So why is his new portrait of King Charles so divisive?
I鈥檓 no art expert. But let me state the obvious: Yeo went overboard on the red.
There are lots of famous paintings in which red is the dominant hue. But from Warhol鈥檚 鈥淩ed Lenin鈥 to Renoir鈥檚 鈥淐laude Renoir en Clown鈥 to Raphael鈥檚 鈥淧ortrait of Tommaso Inghirami,鈥 there was always contrast. John Singer Sargent鈥檚 1881 鈥淒r. Pozzi at Home鈥 uses a darker crimson oil in the background that somehow makes the cherry-red robe pop.
There is no pop in this King Charles. There is just King Charles looking like he is in a literal bloodbath or doomed to the fiery Seventh Circle of Hell. That might explain why his hands are charred. If I were Prince William, I鈥檇 get a copy of this portrait and keep it on hand to flash when the kids are misbehaving.
鈥淟ouis, stop throwing crumpets! Or Grandpa Beelzebub will be hiding under your bed.鈥
When the painting was still a work in progress, reported the BBC, King Charles dropped in for a look-see. Yeo recalled his subject鈥檚 reaction: 鈥淗e was initially mildly surprised by the strong colour, but otherwise he seemed to be smiling approvingly.鈥
Surprised? I bet he was standing there and thinking, 鈥淲hat the hell is this? I鈥檓 the King. I鈥檓 not the Queen of Hearts in a deck of Mamluk playing cards. Why am I holding a sword while entombed in a vat of strawberry Jell-O? A butterfly is supposed to conjure metamorphosis, not monochromatism. I look like Deadpool鈥檚 uncle!鈥
Also, it鈥檚 impossible to tell if a royal is smiling approvingly. King Charles is not an animated fellow. His expression will barely change, whether he鈥檚 watching a butler slip on a banana peel or he climbs into a scalding bath without first checking the temp.
But given everything he鈥檚 been through recently, including cancer and the endless melodrama of Harry and Meghan, I hope he was smiling approvingly. And if he ever wants to feel better about his new portrait, he should look at a 2004 painting of Prince Philip.
The Duke is bare-chested with a protruding nose that could double as an aircraft carrier. A blue bottle fly sits on his shoulder. A plant grows out of his index finger.
Possible translation: 鈥淚 stole Jack鈥檚 beanstalk and then harvested his organs.鈥
So congratulations to King Charles on his first official portrait. It was four years in the making. This art now moves to the eyes of the beholders. Now the plebs can pass judgment:
Masterpiece for the ages or nightmare fuel?
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