10 reasons why royals commissioned their portrait from artists

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Over the centuries, kings and queens have commissioned portraits with their own images and, as a rule, all of them were aimed at telling a specific story about the monarch. For example, historical portraits of kings on horseback proclaimed their glory and greatness, while simple family portraits focused on the lives and relationships of monarchs. But in reality, any of these portraits was a clever public relations stunt designed to grab public attention.

1. Compliance with the invented image

King Louis XIV, who ruled France as an absolute monarch, understood that art is political because it reflects the monarch and the state. One of the king's most skillful propagandists was the court painter Charles Le Brune, who helped create the image of Louis as a powerful, devout "Sun King." In the equestrian portrait of Louis Le Brune, the king in armor looks strong, majestic and courageous - in other words, he looks like a man who can lead France to glory.

In fact, Louis had serious health problems, including with his teeth, but only the artist kept silent about this, creating an ideal portrait of an equally ideal ruler.

2. A romanticized interpretation of the image of the monarch

Artistic depictions of royalty in the Middle Ages were not accurate depictions of what a monarch looked like. Instead, medieval portraits included symbols of identity and character - as Professor Eric Inglis put it, medieval portraits were idealized works of art that showed how the sitters "wanted to be remembered for centuries."

In England, this style changed when Henry VII commissioned a painter from the Netherlands to create the portrait. In what is considered the earliest known British royal portrait painted from life, Henry's painting of the early 16th century was a departure from the romanticized paintings of kings. In a sense, this portrait of the first Tudor monarch marks the beginning of the English tradition of portraiture, according to curator Christian Martin.

3. Business card

As portraits became more realistic in the 14th and 15th centuries, they became important tools in royal marriage negotiations. As curator Susan Feister explains, portraits have become a key figure and a clear example of how presentable a future spouse looks like, whether he or she is good enough to become a couple.

However, the portraits were not always true depictions of sitters. One of the most notorious examples of a royal portrait being "deceitful" was when Anne of Cleves came to England to marry King Henry VIII. Despite the fact that Heinrich initially approved of her portrait, he later complained that he did not see anything special in that woman, and eventually annulled the marriage.

4. Family portraits - guarantor

One of the most important duties of the royal family is to produce heirs in order to ensure the continuation of the royal line. Portraits of kings and queens with children were a guarantee that the spouses acquired an heir (or even more than one).

Marie-Antoinette has repeatedly hired Elisabeth-Louise Vigee-Lebrun as her official portrait painter, the first woman to become a court painter in France. In one of the portraits, Vigee captured the queen with her three surviving children, showing her as a dynastic mother, whose royal offspring represented the future of France.

5. Symbols

As propaganda, royal portraits were usually immersed in symbolism. This certainly applies to the portraits commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I of England during her reign from 1558 to 1603. Elizabeth understood the power of the image that determined her royalty and the kingdom as a whole.

After England successfully repulsed the Spanish armada, a large army of Spanish ships aimed at invading England, Elizabeth commissioned a portrait to commemorate the event. The painting depicts images that symbolize the growth of the prosperity of England.

This portrait of victory depicts Elizabeth as the queen of a powerful and wealthy kingdom, as she is extravagantly adorned with pearls and lace. Her hand rests on the globe, hinting at England's ascent to the world stage. Images of the armada are also visible on either side of it.

6. Religious motives

Like other wealthy patrons, members of the royal family have occasionally appeared in paintings depicting religious scenes. These works of art had a clear purpose: to demonstrate the piety of the patrons and their role as allies of the Church.

The powerful Medici family may not have been royalty, but they ruled Renaissance Florence like royalty. As wealthy patrons of the arts, their images have often appeared in religious paintings. The artist Sandro Botticelli, for example, portrayed Cosimo Medici along with his sons and grandchildren in his Adoration of the Magi in the 1470s.

7. Divine right to rule

Many royals have claimed the divine right to rule. In other words, the king's or queen's right to rule comes directly from God and should not be challenged by mere mortals. Portraits reinforced this claim, using religious iconography to highlight the divine powers of monarchs and their relationship with higher powers.

Louis XIV was a passionate supporter of this doctrine, and the artwork he commissioned emphasized this belief. For example, in the equestrian portrait of Louis Pierre Mignard, an angel hovers over the king, crowning him with a laurel wreath.

8. Unusual portraits for a gift

Royal portraits were not always intended for public viewing. But even private, intimate portraits told the story on the terms of the monarch. In 1843, Queen Victoria commissioned a "secret painting" as a birthday present for her husband, Prince Albert. The portrait depicts the queen in an informal, sensual way - she appears as a passionate woman, not a majestic queen.

Victoria was delighted that Albert liked her gift. She wrote in her diary:.

9. Miniatures for memory

Royals sometimes commissioned miniature portraits the size of a medallion. They then gave them to their beloved courtiers, who wore them as signs of royal respect and loyalty.

For example, King James I of England (aka James VI of Scotland) presented his favorite George Villiers with his miniature portrait to highlight their close relationship. Portrait miniaturists such as Nicholas Hilliard or Isaac Oliver did more than paint portraits of the reigning monarch. They also painted miniatures of the royal family in general, such as the portrait of King James' son, the future Charles I, painted by Oliver.

10. Porter photography as a vivid example of a beautiful life

With the advent of photography in the 19th century, royalty had another way of capturing themselves. The family of the Russian Emperor Nicholas II were avid lovers of photography. They took pictures with enthusiasm and collected their own family albums. These informal shots, be they the grand duchesses smiling in front of the camera or splashing in the water, captures the royal family that knows how to have fun anyway.

This 1905 portrait photograph of Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, and their five children depicts a close-knit family in domestic simplicity rather than imperial pomp and ceremony. In the frame, everyone is closely pressed to each other - the children lean against their parents, Alexandra rocks her son, and Nikolai lightly holds the tiny hand of his daughter - thus the image of a loving family is projected.

Continuing the topic, read also about which of the most famous artists was fortunate enough to become a court painter.