Official Portraits of the Duke and/or Duchess of Cambridge and Family


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Paul Harrison ‏@SkyNewsRoyal #royal #Kate arrived with #William at the National Portrait Gallery pic.twitter.com/vzna86bJ

Paul Harrison ‏@SkyNewsRoyal #royal #Kate was unveiling her official portrait just days after her birthday pic.twitter.com/hyFv0ymB

Paul Harrison ‏@SkyNewsRoyal #royal #Kate's new official portrait pic.twitter.com/T3CMUPY7

Paul Harrison ‏@SkyNewsRoyal #royal #Kate did 2 sittings for her portrait - one in artist's studio and one at Kensingston Palace.

Paul Harrison ‏@SkyNewsRoyal #royal #Kate Artist Paul Emsley wanted to capture Duchess' natural rather than official side, and he mouth was closed "deliberately"

Paul Harrison ‏@SkyNewsRoyal #royal #Kate wanted to be portrayed "naturally - her natural self - as opposed to her official self." Sittings were May & June 2012

Getty Images: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge Portrait By Paul Emsley Is Unveiled At The National Portrait Gallery

Daily Mail: First official portrait of Duchess of Cambridge
 
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Friday surprise is a new portrait, not much of a surprise but I love the face on look wish it wasn't so dark though!
 
I thinks its very beautiful and dreamy.
 
The more I look at it, the more I love it. I do wish he hadn't changed the color of her eyes though... It stuck out instantly that something wasn't right with the eyes in the portrait, and the second he said that I said, "AH-HA!" Anyway, really pleased with the overall result, and the fact that they made a video to accompany the story :D
 
I love the face on look but her face looks aged, almost wax like. I've never liked painted royal portraits much, for any royal.
 
The worst one's were of Diana - pure chocolate box or the cover of a 1970's romantic noval - very Mills and Boon. They didn't look like her either.

The one of Harry and William was really good - I've seen that one and it is worth a visit to the NPG just for that as it reflects their close relationship. This one is growing on me but the problem is that we get used to photographs and you don't get real likenesses with a portrait.

I'd really like to see one with William and Catherine together - that could be interesting
 
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To be fair, she wanted to appear as her natural self, and he enjoys the landscape of a face, with the way light and shadow play on the features. I'm sure if you were sitting 3-4 feet away from her, without the glare of flashes interacting with high-quality makeup you might pick up a little more of her age and wisdom. I just hope her feelings aren't hurt by that prick at the Daily Mail. I suppose everyone has a right to like or dislike the portrait, but to declare such a bold opinion (such as it looking nothing like the Duchess, which obviously it bears a great deal of resemblance to her), while sitting in a position such as his, is a little distasteful.
 
cepe said:
I've just seen a photo taken of the portrait and it's at a slight angle and it does look better. I think that one of the problems is that the images we are seeing have used flash and its changing the tones of the painting

https://twitter.com/SkyNewsRoyal/status/289674501120217088/photo/1/large
Click to expand...

That's the first one I saw and I agree it looks better. However this one looks awful, almost like it has one of those plastic films over you get on brand new phones.

hkittybaby - not sure if you know but you can use the edit button to update a previous post with new links.
 
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I think my problem with the portrait is that those lovely cheekbones have disappeared and her face looks too long.
 
what a surprise!! i think she looks nice but the potrait is very inappropriate... it doesnt look like a royal potrait at all and she looked so sleepy in it. is this her OFFICIAL potrait??
 
Kate's 'amazing' portrait unveiled - - MSN News UK
The Duchess of Cambridge's first official portrait has been unveiled - and she described it as "amazing". Award-winning artist Paul Emsley created the head and shoulders painting of the duchess set against his trademark dark background. Kate's painting was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery and, following her suggestion, depicts her natural, not official, persona
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I think the portrait looks amazing!!
 
christythedreamer said:
what a surprise!! i think she looks nice but the potrait is very inappropriate... it doesnt look like a royal potrait at all and she looked so sleepy in it. is this her OFFICIAL potrait??
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Yes it is her first official portrait:flowers:
 
Well my motto is , if the Daily Mail's art 'critic' doesn't like it then it must be pretty good. The reviews I've been reading online have been pretty positive,
 
her portrait looks amazing! i love it. her hair looks lovely
as described by th duchess "it's brilliant"
 
princess jones said:
her portrait looks amazing! i love it. her hair looks lovely
as described by th duchess "it's brilliant"
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Kate is gracious as always. I personally think it's horrible. It makes her look old and tired, and does not begin to do her justice. Compare the photos of her with the portrait.

This guy is a modern day Goya, without the talent.
 
Well, not everyone will like the portrait. To me, the painting looks like a dream and her eyes are only focused on you.

It's just her first official portrait. There will be many more she will sit for. Some of her future military regiments will want a portrait done of her to hang up at their bases. I'm sure one will be done on her and William and their children at some point. There are many more portraits to come from the Duchess of Cambridge.

I also love that the Middletons were there for the unveiling as well. The couple have a loving and supportive family.
 
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I personally love the fact the artist didn't go for a 'glamour' portrait and did something a little off the wall. Brilliant in my opinion.
 
I don't really like these photorealistic paintings that much. Any Russian painter you see on squares and marketplaces could do a similar job. IMO if you want photorealistic, take a picture.

That said I think the painting is just what they ordered, it is realistic un-photoshopped image of a woman, a real person and not some semi-godly creature some people want to make of her. I think it is the real her and brilliant because of that.

Some people say her face looks fuller than it actually is but I think that is because she has a fuller face because of her pregnancy. Some people just have rose-tinted specs on and refuse to take them off for some reason. Royals are just people.
 
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^She sat for the portrait in May and June, so she wasn't pregnant.

I wasn't too keen on the portrait at first - I though it made her look older and didn't do justice to the actual picture it was based on, but I've warmed to it. Still not in love with it, but it's not as bad as I first thought.

What's weird is that the portrait looks much better in that NPG video, so I'm wondering if photos are distorting the portrait? I would love to see it in person, to get a better idea of what it looks like.
 
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Reading the comments here first I was prepared for a disaster but I like the portrait. It's different, but there's something eye catching about it to me.

Opinions on art are so subjective, but if I were Kate I'd be pleased with the results.
 
PrincePatrick said:
To be fair, she wanted to appear as her natural self, and he enjoys the landscape of a face, with the way light and shadow play on the features. I'm sure if you were sitting 3-4 feet away from her, without the glare of flashes interacting with high-quality makeup you might pick up a little more of her age and wisdom. I just hope her feelings aren't hurt by that prick at the Daily Mail. I suppose everyone has a right to like or dislike the portrait, but to declare such a bold opinion (such as it looking nothing like the Duchess, which obviously it bears a great deal of resemblance to her), while sitting in a position such as his, is a little distasteful.
Click to expand...

I do agree about the landscape of the face and Paul Emsley. Animal painter indeed! From Emsley's POV her most interesting feature was her mouth (yes I know he said her eyes) because it is her most complex feature at this age. She has all those small dimples when she smiles!

I can understand why Catherine picked Emsley for the short list as well. Any quick look at his portraits of others makes you understand why an art major would want to be painted by him! Given a few wrinkles, his subjects come to life! But the DOC has no wrinkles yet.

Personally, I think a 3/4 or full length style portraitist would have been better at capturing the energy of a young woman in her first official portrait. Maybe next time!
 
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