King Charles’ portrait: the Red King or the King of Hearts and Butterflies?
My goodness. Take a look at Charles’ portrait (copying it seems to be blocked, but if you click on the link you can view it):
The bold portrait, painted by British artist Jonathan Yeo, is the first official portrait of the 75-year-old king since his May 2023 coronation. It was unveiled inside Buckingham Palace on May 14.
The portrait, drenched in the color red, depicts Charles wearing the red military uniform of the Welsh Guards, as he sits with his hand on his sword, amid a vibrant red background. A monarch butterfly hovers over the king’s right shoulder.
Everything looks red except the king’s face, and that is painted realistically and showing every line and sag.
The artist says:
… [M]uch like the butterfly I’ve painted hovering over his shoulder, this portrait has evolved as the subject’s role in our public life has transformed. I do my best to capture the life experiences and humanity etched into any individual sitter’s face, and I hope that is what I have achieved in this portrait.
Count it achieved.
I actually think if the artist had painted the rest of the portrait in that same style and with realistic colors, it would have been fine. But then it wouldn’t have been talked about so much. It would have have in line with tradition – although I suppose that tradition dictates a more flattering and softening look, particularly for the face.
I remember Charles as a little boy, when I was a little girl. ‘Nuff said.
The overwhelming redness of the painting gives the whole thing an otherworldly and creepy air. It also reminds me of Lewis Carrol’s queens. There’s the Red Queen (the metaphor being a game of chess):
And the Queen of Hearts (the metaphor being a card game):
I’m sorry to have to bring in some low rent conspiracy theories, but the first time I saw that portrait, I thought it had an esoteric meaning that ties it to all the similar red imagery, from Biden’s State of the Union to all the pedo stuff to Lady Gaga and all the other pedo and satanist pop culture shout outs. And now that there is also a Monarch butterfly, which I hadn’t noticed…Monarch is one of those mind control programs, butterflies are an international pedo symbol. I am not a religious fanatic obsessed with calling out Satan, in fact I’m a lifelong happy agnostic, I have none of that baggage, but this portrait is straight from the Satanist/pedo club. And Charles does have some odd friends.
And now that there is also a Monarch butterfly, which I hadn’t noticed…Monarch is one of those mind control programs, butterflies are an international pedo symbol.
feral lunch lady:
Good catch! I don’t know how far I go down that rabbit hole but something’s going on. What it is, ain’t exactly clear.
For those just tuning in:
–“Origins and Techniques of Monarch Mind Control”
https://vigilantcitizen.com/hidden-knowledge/origins-and-techniques-of-monarch-mind-control/
In Windows, if you don’t mind the resolution/overlays, you can use the Snipping Tool.
I do not care for that style, neither the color scheme or composition.
I didn’t notice the butterfly the first time I saw the portrait, because I was so repelled I only glanced at it and never looked again until today.
The commonwealth is descending into tyranny and at a rate that may well result in Charles being the last royal to sit on the throne.
The latest example; “The Trudeau regime has introduced an Orwellian new law called the Online Harms Bill C-63, which will give police the power to retroactively search the Internet for “hate speech” violations and arrest offenders, even if the offence occurred before the law existed.”
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/canadas-justin-trudeau-accused-introducing-215200365.html#:~:text=The%20Trudeau%20regime%20has%20introduced,occurred%20before%20the%20law%20existed.
”
https://web.archive.org/web/20240508085952/https://revolver.news/2024/04/canada-introduces-blood-curdling-new-thought-police-law-that-would-make-even-stalin-blush/
I think boiled in oil is the proper punishment sheesh
Excellent work of art, IMHO. Certainly a move away from that traditional monarchy stuff…
Well, that was weird. I didn’t linger over it too much, but feral lunch lady’s idea is interesting.
My own impression was of something that, given a slightly different tonal mix, could have passed for a promotional frame from Game of Thrones with Charles standing in for the Night King or something. Creepy, yeah, a little. I found it interesting that the articles speak of a “background”, but to me it looked like pretty much all background except for those disembodied head and hands – which I thought was an interesting artistic statement in itself.
You probably dont want to bother but if you migrate from USA Today to Instagram by tapping the image on the USA Today page, you can then download the page. For example by using the arrow in your chrome address window; and then opening the stored offline page at the prompt. At that point you should be able to right click or open the image in a new window as an independent image
If it’s worth the trouble.
As for the portrait itself, the red background is overwhelming.
However Charles came off fortunately with that broad brush or palette knife treatment. ( or whatever the technique is)
He looks more regal and conveys greater gravitas than any photograph I have noticed. Albeit that is very few.
A Neoclassical treatment would make him look absurd.
But then I know nothing about art anyway
I think the best comment I’ve seen about the portrait is a comparison to Vigo the Carpathian, the villain from Ghostbusters 2.
The second best comment I saw was on Instapundit – “You’re in the basement changing a fuse, and you see [the portrait]. What’s your next move?”
The portrait is creepy, imo, and looks like something from a supernatural horror movie.
It reminds me, in style, of that peculiar Obama portrait in which he merged into the foliage behind him. Weird.
I would never have thought of butterflies and pedophiles. Seems unlikely.
junior:
That comment about changing a fuse was from the X account of Sean Lennon , the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Witty guy.
Read the American Thinker article that came out yesterday, two pictures side by side is a eye opener
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/05/king_charles_iii_s_official_portrait_has_a_distinctly_satanic_vibe.html
That some at least who matter are pleased can’t say much about their taste or motive.
And painters seem to put their mental quirks into the paintings. They can be trusted
Neo –
So it was. I didn’t notice when I first saw the shared Tweet. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen quips from him, and I agree he does seem to have a talent for it.
Bizarre is the only word I have for it.
There was also a strange creature in the eggleston first season of dr who
I was an outstretched face on a frame
There’s this for the Obamas. They deserve the mess
https://nypost.com/2018/02/12/barack-and-michelle-obamas-official-portraits-unveiled/?sr_share=facebook
Yeesh… looks like a Clive Barker fever dream.
something out of that terrible hellboy remake, with david harbour,
At Instapundit, Glenn Reynolds’ answer to what to do if you see this in your basement: “I CARRY A SQUIRT GUN FULL OF HOLY WATER FOR JUST SUCH EVENTUALITIES:”
That is really creepy.
Before I found out that the picture was Charles III’s official portrait, I saw Sean Lennon’s comment about finding the thing in his basement and took it seriously — and felt stupid afterwards.
The butterfly may symbolize Charles’s desire to be remembered as an ecologist, but it could also have other meanings. Maybe it suggests triviality and a foppish Eustace Tilley persona.
I do admire how Charles and his barber have managed to hide his enormous ears.
‘If you don’t think that lighting is important – just close your eyes.’ Some of the distance shots I’ve seen, in bigger rooms, and various lighting seems to give a milder look (or whatever a better word would be).
Some are even seeing Satan and/or a Satan connection to this wonderful painting!? 🙂 Guess it’s true what Plato once said:
Looking around the internet seems to backup Plato, i.e., lots of different views. I liked it well enough to add two pics to my PicturesAp folder, and also uploaded them to my blog:
1080 by 1517 pixels
640 by 898 pixels
Dissecting it in an attempt to find Satan. 😉
I guess I have a different take. It is a powerful portrait and really the focus is King Charles’ face. You see a Man that has endured life as it has been given him.
Pretty ghastly. It supposedly took the twit nearly 2 1/2 years to finish it. The best thing you can say about artists who get high-class commissions is that you can burn their work at less cost than the work of their counterparts among architects.
All I can say is that Mr. Yeo is very fortunate that Charles III is not Henry VIII….
Barry Meislin:
🙂
Like I said elsewhere, it reminds me of how we played around with the curtain on stage.
OTOH, I may have assumed too much, too soon…
I suppose we’ll have to wait and see….
(In fact, might it be that the avenging spirit of a wronged, still unquiet Diana is the peculiar inspiration behind all this strangeness…Mr. Yeo being but an unwitting tool of things much, much larger than himself…larger than all of us…?)
File under: ‘…that I, with wings as swift / As meditation or the thoughts of love / May sweep to my revenge….’ (and indeed she has most certainly, if such is the case, taken her sweet time…)
Late night nightmares, Barry Meislin? In my opinion, not shared, evidently, by many, Diana’s main legacy in her family is a totally messed up younger son with mental/emotional issues.
It’s that Canadian doctor he was messing around with (otherwise known as taking advice on narcotics from).
Before that Harry was a war hero…
Oh yeah, and the wife…(but that might also be the fault of the narcotics…)
My first thought on this was “Après nous, le déluge”. I am the last monarch and blood and destruction will follow
British Red Coats…
there was also that really creepy series sanctuary from the people who brought you stargate,
Dr. Gabor Maté.
The narcotic’s name is ayahuasca (but, apparently, it isn’t the only one…).
oh the comencement speaker at Ohio State, who was pitching bitcoin, is that the one,
Possibly. Or might it be his son, Aaron (another “bright light”)?