The Artist Behind King Charles' Royal Portrait Explains His Decision to Use So Much Red
The artist behind King Charles' somewhat controversial new portrait is speaking out about his decision to use so much red.
Jonathan Yeo, a British atist of contemporary portraiture, attending the unveiling at Buckingham Palace, telling the small crowd that the only guidance he received from the company who commissioned the portrait was the size and to portray the monarch in uniform.
"The only guidance they gave me was the specific scale because they had other portraits of that size," he said, as reported by Hello!. "And there was a preference for it to be in uniform, probably Welsh Guards."
Yeo also shared his thought process behind the decision to use so much of the color red in the portrait itself.
"The red was inspired by the Welsh Guards, but I wanted the painting to be a little more contemporary and not get in the way of seeing the face and the personality," he explained.
"The color was an early experiment and then I sketched it out and worked on the face, and the face and background worked so well," he continued. "I just then worked on making sure nothing else interfered with the balance. It was a nice mix of the traditional and the contemporary."
The artist went on to add that he made a concerted effort to ensure that “nothing else interfered with the balance” of the piece, adding that "it was a nice mix of the traditional and the contemporary.”
The monarch's first official portrait post-coronation received mixed reviews, in part because the artist did decide to use so much red throughout. People described the portrait “intense” and “fiery" while others shared their thoughts on social media, drawing comparisons to a villain from Ghostbusters 2.
"I’m sorry but his portrait looks like he’s in hell," one person wrote in the comment section of Buckingham's Palace's Instagram post.
"I would be very upset and offended if this was my royal portrait," another wrote.
"Without sounding rude this is the worst royal portrait I’ve ever seen," another commented.
Yeo is seemingly unfazed by the public's response (good for him!), and at the unveiling detailed what it was like to work with King Charles.
"He was a delightful subject, when you are doing someone as significant as that there's a lot of organization required to get you in the same place," he said at the time.
"But when you are there, he couldn't be more delightful. Very easy company," he added. "He laughs and asks lots of questions and he is interested in art so there is always a lot to talk to about."
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