There has been a lot of talk in recent weeks about the first official portrait of King Charles III, the work of Jonathan Yeo, artist and (needless to say) activist. Finally unveiled a year after the sovereign’s coronation, the painting – which cost 8 million pounds – had been started three years ago, when Charles had not yet ascended the throne. In fact, the first session with the illustrious model took place at Highgrove House in June 2021, the last at Clarence House in November 2023. «He remained extraordinarily still, without getting distracted like some models do», says the artist. Immobile but involved: the English sovereign is himself an art expert and watercolourist.
The figure of Carlo emerges and at the same time is absorbed by the fiery red which extends from the uniform (that of the Welsh Guards) to the entire surface of the painting, so that the portrait appears classic in its pose and likeness, but unconventional in its overall effect. Seeing the work halfway through, Carlo “initially was a little surprised by the strong color, but otherwise he seemed to smile with approval.”
The inevitable “break with the past” is a given, the only common denominator of much contemporary art. Breaking with the past is now the least original thing in this world, it has become a mantra even within the Holy Roman Church, so where would all this alleged transgression be? Another unusual detail (but very important, as we will see) is the monarch butterfly resting on the sovereign’s right shoulder and desired by him: «What do you think of a butterfly that lands on my shoulder?», he asked the artist.
The British sovereign fared much better than George W. Bush, whose portrait (unauthorised, unlike that of King Charles) was composed of many fragments of porn scenes, like mosaic tiles that made up the president’s features (naturally in the name of the fight against «the puritanical opinions of president on sex and the hypocrisy of the American right”, we read on Jonathan Yeo’s website). Technique already tested with other works: the portrait of Paris Hilton, Sarah Palin and… (could it be missing?) Berlusconi. However, the artist-activist has always behaved “well” with the Royal Family, see the portraits of Philip of Edinburgh or Queen Camilla.
But going back to the portrait of King Charles, in that fiery red someone even saw some tomato red (countless ironic reinterpretations and memes, like the one that turns it into a pizza). Or perhaps it represents the “burning planet” of ancient memory? «I am in favor of the hypothesis Last generation, that is, it has already been defaced”, said Gad Lerner, naturally specifying “with sympathy” due to King Charles’ environmental commitment. A well-known commitment which is very present in the painting and can be seen in a small but not marginal detail: that butterfly in which someone even looked for hidden meanings and read dark omens for the monarch and the monarchy. But the author himself explains the meaning: personal metamorphosis and dedication to the ecological cause.
The monarch butterfly is “the symbol of metamorphosis and rebirth”, thus evoking the king’s transition from prince to monarch during the period in which the portrait was made.” At the same time, being «a symbol of the beauty and precariousness of nature, it highlights the environmental causes that the king supported for much of his life and certainly long before they became a topic of conversation mainstream». Last but not least“this migratory species is already one of the most affected by climate change due to alterations in spring temperatures.”
A portrait in perfect line with that environmentalist background which Charles III inherited from Prince Philip – who, we remember, was president of the WWF for 15 years and hoped to be reincarnated in a lethal virus that would solve the problem of overpopulation. But Philip of Edinburgh was also famous gaffeur and it cannot be ruled out that, seeing something on his shoulder, he crushed the “sacred butterfly” without too many pleasantries. With all due respect to his own “eco-religion” and the related iconography mainstream.
