Too bald, too mad, too red β¦ How royal portraits get it so wrong
Jonathan Yeoβs divisive painting of the king raises the question of whether paintings of the monarchy have become irrelevant and anachronisitic
Why do reports always say that a portrait of someone great and good has been βunveiledβ? The word is an empty metaphor that turns the first viewing into a ceremony; it also mystifies the entire procedure and makes it somewhat morbid.
Portraits of kings, presidents, prime ministers and the like are effigies, meant to replace the mortal being. Once the official image has been fixed in place, the living subject can be sent off to die. The unveiled portrait draws a veil over another ceremonial occasion: what we are looking at is posterityβs verdict, so in effect we are attending a funeral.
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