To think the new official portrait of King Charles is awful

[Isseywith3witchycats]

the background being the same colour as his uniform means just basically his face is visible it reminds me of the attic picture of Dorian Grey.

No one ever did an uncomplimentary one of the queen even as she got older

I think he looks kind, resigned and a bit sad. I love the butterfly and the old man hands. I can absolutely see what the artist is trying to portray I think..

It’s an interesting choice for an artist. Jonathan Yeo has been controversial before, when he created a collage of president Bush out of porn mags :

“He had considered porn as a medium for a portrait for some time but knew that ‘it would be seen as an insult to the subject of the picture’. Given Bush’s puritanical views about sex and the hypocrisy of the American right, the combination worked perfectly… Here, for the first time, boundaries became blurred between conventional painted political portraiture, mainstream cutting-edge art (of the YBA pantheon), and the longer tradition of biting British political satire.”

So perhaps the palace chose the artist knowing the portrait would deal with the difficulties of our Colonial past ?
A way of saying ‘ we acknowledge this’?

I think it's unusual but great.

All that red is a bold move considering he once said he wanted to be a tampon.

I like it. It is different and unexpected.

It would be boring if all the portraits were just bland, flattering, photo-like representations.

Good on the King as well for going for something he probably knew would get a mixed reaction.

I remember all the fuss about the Freud portrait of the Queen which I also thought was really good.

I really love it, it’s stunning.

Of course YANBU - it’s art and therefore completely subjective, so you can feel however you like about it. However YABU if you’re expecting everyone else to agree with you.

When it comes to any kind of creativity, the world and his dog will have an opinion and that’s fine, but it really pisses me off when people confuse their personal views with some incontrovertible objective truth - “this is rubbish” - when what they’re actually saying is “I don’t like/understand it”.

I don’t love the portrait, but Jonathan Yeo is a talented artist and I’m glad the commissioners for the royal collection are open minded enough to embrace different styles of work. It’s an important collection and should always be in touch with what’s contemporary, not just maintain a static view of what a portrait ‘should’ look like.

I like it as a piece of art, awful as an official portrait. It will look so out of place hanging next to the others. Future generations will wonder why he did it.

Impossible as it may be to imagine, not every member of ‘future generations’ will share the same view as you …

Do we know what the King thinks of it?

What’s the meaning of the lone butterfly though?

I think it fits perfectly with the whole ‘world’s gone to hell in a handbasket’ vibe we have had going for some years now

Hellfire, insect & military symbolism & face looks photoshopped on - what a gift to the conspiracy theorists 🤣

aside from the weird photo-shopped on look to the head I quite like it 🤷🏼‍♀️ not enough to go see, or have copy of, but as a painting of someone else entirely that will never be hanging in my house - sure, it’s grand.

It's an incredible painting, but he looks like he is bleeding to death!

It's a monarch butterfly.

I agree!! It's like Joe Lycett has done as part of a gag!

I really like it. I do think all the red is a tad controversial though and they must have known how it would be interpreted.

I want to know this too.

His hand looks completely out of proportion.

I remember that picture but cant place it.

Was it a film/TV series?

It's from Ghostbusters 2