close
Thursday November 07, 2024

Kate Middleton's artist reveals unlikely inspiration behind 'upsetting' portrait

Princess Kate's official new portrait was recently unveiled by Tatler

By Web Desk
May 23, 2024
Princess Kates official new portrait was recently unveiled by Tatler
Princess Kate's official new portrait was recently unveiled by Tatler

Artist of Kate Middleton’s brand new portrait, Hannah Uzor largely drew inspiration from the princess' recent video message where she unveiled her cancer diagnosis.

The Princess of Wales was emulated in shades of blue, green, and white for the latest painting commissioned to the British-Zambian artist by Tatler.

In a conversation with the outlet, Hannah explained her approach to capture the muse’s soul into the painting without having her sitting in person.

Kate Middletons artist reveals unlikely inspiration behind upsetting portrait

Nearly 200,000 photos of the princess in Getty Images archive came to rescue, with the help of which she studied the future Queen by watching hundreds of videos of her with her family, interacting with public during engagements, as well as her last released video message.

“When you can’t meet the sitter in person, you have to look at everything you can find and piece together the subtle human moments revealed in different photographs: do they have a particular way of standing or holding their head or hands? Do they have a recurrent gesture?” the auteur explained to the outlet.

When asked if the cancer announcement video helped Uzor gain a better perspective, she quickly affirmed: “Without a doubt.”

“All my portraits are made up of layers of a personality, constructed from everything I can find about them,” she shared, as she recalled deciphering the video as Kate showing “a moment of dealing with something difficult, speaking from the heart, having the courage to tackle it head-on”.

Rest assured, the final result received lukewarm reception from royal fans and general public, with many shunting the outlet for ‘mocking’ the princess.