By revealing on the cover of its July issue, on Thursday, May 23, a painting with the image of Kate Middleton, the British magazine Tatler unleashed a loud controversy throughout the English Channel. Because this portrait, intended to pay tribute to the Princess of Wales as she fights cancer, is perceived rather as a failure by Internet users… and some art critics.
“The Princess of Wales: a portrait of strength and dignity,” is the title of the monthly publication that accompanies this painting depicting the princess, inspired by her outfit during her first royal banquet in March 2022.
A quick look at the Instagram comments gives an idea of the general sentiment: “Why did you post this portrait that looks nothing like the princess?” asks a user. “Since when is she Asian?” jokes another. “Tatler just destroyed the painter’s reputation,” declared a third.
“Representing the soul of Kate Middleton”
The latter, a British-Zambian artist called Hannah Hazor, has yet to react. In a video published by Tatler before the controversy broke out, she recounts the genesis of this portrait – for which Kate Middleton did not sit – suggesting that creating an exact replica of the princess’s face was not her goal:
“I wanted to represent the soul of Kate Middleton,” he explains. “I spent a lot of time looking at her, looking at photos and videos of her.”
If the result of this methodology has not convinced the public, it also leaves some professionals perplexed. In particular, Alastair Sooke, art critic of the Daily Telegraph:
“Tatler’s portrayal of the Princess of Wales is so bad as to be intolerable,” he lamented in an article.
Kate Mansey, a journalist specializing in the royal family for The Times of London, was circumspect in X (ex-Twitter): “I’m not sure what to say about this (portrait), other than ‘uh…'”
Prolonged absence
princess kate, wife of Prince William, revealed in a video on March 22 that she was suffering from cancer. She did not specify the nature and stated that she had started preventive chemotherapy.
This week, Kensington Palace said in a statement that “the princess is not expected to return to work until her medical team has given approval.”
This controversial painting follows the new official portrait of King Charles III, presented last May, which was also highly criticized. The Guardian, in particular, described this painting by Jonathan Yeo as “a dull, carelessly executed banality.” The 75-year-old monarch, who also suffers from cancer for which he is undergoing treatment, got the green light from his doctors to resume his public engagements in April.
Source: BFM TV
