From the official coronation photograph of King Charles III to the intimate portrait of his aunt Margaret, taken by her husband, a Since Friday in London, the exhibition has been covering a century of snapshots of the monarchy.
“Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography”, which will remain open to the public until October 6, It is the first exhibition to be displayed in the recently reopened King’s Gallery, formerly known as Queen’s Gallery, at Buckingham Palace.
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The exhibition, which shows 150 snapshots by 40 photographers, brings together works by renowned artists, among them Cecil Beaton, in charge of portraying the royal family for four decades.
All photographs come from the Royal Collection, one of the largest art collections in the world, and include portraits of Dorothy Wilding, Lord Snowdon (Princess Margaret’s husband) and Annie Leibovitz.
Dating back to the 1920s, the exhibition showcases lifelike portraits from the beginnings of black-and-white photography to modern, colorful depictions in the 21st century.
Iconic photos of Elizabeth II
The exhibition begins in a small but imposing blue room, with only two photographs. The first shows the engagement of Prince Albert and the future Queen Mother, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923, and the second is the official coronation portrait of King Charles III in 2023.
With 100 years of difference, The exhibition’s curator Alessandro Nasini explained that the first was a private commission, while the second was distributed around the world in seconds.
“Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography”, the name of the exhibition in Englishalso displays many iconic photographs of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September 2022, including her coronation portrait by Cecil Beaton.
A black and white photograph shows the Queen in the Green Room of Buckingham Palace, in front of a painted backdrop of Westminster Abbey.
Also on display is Andy Warhol’s 1985 silkscreen based on Peter Grugeon’s original portrait of the queen, and Jamie Reid’s controversial 1977 image for the cover of the punk group ‘Sex Pistols’ single “God Save the Queen.”
The song and the album’s image were seen as an attack on the monarchy and most radio stations banned the track at the time.
Photography has been an important way for the British royal family to project a good image and at the same time appear accessible.
“Historical role”
According to the exhibition’s curator, Nasini, the photograph can “maintain the historical role and function of a royal portrait while also placing the royal family in the modern era.”
In the digital age, where images are shared globally in seconds and accessible to millions of people, royal photographs may have lost some of their ability to control perceptions of the royal family.
But Nasini wants visitors to pay attention to the value of the original portraits and “appreciate their materiality and beauty.”
“It is very important to look closely at these photos, taking the necessary time, especially nowadays, when images are consumed so quickly through mobile phones,” Nasini told AFP.
When asked what his favorite photograph from the collection was, Nasini pointed to a 1968 portrait of the late queen taken by Cecil Beaton.
The photo shows Queen Elizabeth II wearing a black cape, on a pure white background.
“It shows the queen, perhaps more as a woman, as the person who emerged behind the monarchy,” said Nasini, to whom the photo made her think of a letter that the sovereign’s mother wrote to Beaton in 1963.
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“The queen mother said in that letter: ‘I feel like as a family we should be deeply grateful to him for making us nice, real people,'” Nasini said.
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