Portrait of Queen Elizabeth
I found the portrait of the Queen quite a disappointment, particularly given the fact that the artist has quite a reputation in Britain. I suspect that the Queen permitted the portrait to be painted from life as a favor to the old man and also that he, being well on in years, had lost much of his ability. Given the amount of time that he spent with the Queen, doing the portrait from life, one would have thought that the final work would have given evidence of that fact. It doesn't. I agree with other comments that it looks like a very quick rendering ... either that, or one that has been worked over and worked over and worked over in a simplistic way and gotten muddy as a result.
It's sad to think of such an opportunity being so wasted ... but then, as I say, it was probably a favor to a very old man.
|