‘Flatulent’ portrait of ‘old, tired’ Kate
THERE ARE lines, and bags under her eyes. The general impression of most people who have seen it is that it makes her look nearly 10 years older.
And the Duchess of Cambridge’s own verdict on her first official portrait, unveiled yesterday at the National Portrait Gallery? ‘‘ It’s amazing,’’ she said. ‘‘I thought it was brilliant.’’
The duchess, for the record, has just turned 31, despite any impression in the portrait that she is knocking on 40.
Sandy Nairne, the director of the gallery, who commissioned the portrait by Paul Emsley, the awardwinning artist, called it ‘‘simple, direct, contemporary’’, adding: ‘‘I love the fact that you are drawn into the eyes.’’
Prince William, who joined his wife for a private viewing before it went on public display, said: ‘‘It’s beautiful, absolutely beautiful.’’ Other reactions were muted. ‘‘I wish I could find one positive thing to say but sadly, I can’t,’’ said Stuart Pearson Wright, a previous winner of the BP Portrait Award who painted a controversial portrait of the Duke of Edinburgh.
‘‘Painting a royal is never easy, but the resulting portrait is frankly a flatulent effort. It’s difficult to pinpoint what is most offensive. Is it the pursed lips and lumpy cheeks that put one in mind of Marlon Brando in The Godfather? Or the disparate eyes, too small and far apart from one another, each independently lost in a sick of skin-coloured face? Or is it the 2-D nose?’’
Ingrid Seward, the editor- inchief of Majesty magazine, said: ‘‘Paul Emsley is a very eminent portraitist – I love his work. But it is very difficult with someone who is so photographed. She looks old and tired. There’s no life in it.’’
The painting, which uses thin layers of oil paint and glazes, was done from photographs taken at two sittings.
Emsley said: ‘‘ The duchess explained that she would like to be portrayed naturally – her natural self as opposed to her official self. She struck me as enormously open and generous and a very warm person. The fact she is a beautiful woman is for an artist difficult. In the end I think what I tried to do really was to convey something about her warmth and her smile.’’
Richard Fitzwilliams, royal commentator and press consultant to the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, said: ‘‘[It] depicts Kate’s natural beauty rather than showing her in a formal royal setting. It shows her strength of character, which blends with her enchanting smile.’’