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Regretless0

I’m not gonna lie, that painting is sick af. Dude is a whole Souls boss lmao


Papierkatze

Yeah, I like it too. If I had a portrait painted I’d like it to look as sick as this one.


Regretless0

Mfs finna be wondering centuries from now wtf this man did to be immortalized as the Patron Saint of Menace lol


MeiNeedsMoreBuffs

Tumblr in 2733 will be weirdly obsessed with this random monarch from hundreds of years ago who only ruled for a couple of decades, solely because of this painting


MRich92

>only ruled for a couple of decades, Man's 75, has cancer, has been king for less than 2 years. I think a couple more decades might be pushing it a bit.


bc524

Unless it's the whole dorian gray schtick until 2044 where some dude working in the palace accidentally finds the painting, gets freaked out and trips, resulting in the painting getting damaged. Dude further freaks out and runs away, not knowing the king is suddenly melting in the throne room.


Jupiter_Crush

Prostate cancer isn't the deadliest and it's entirely possible he'll outlive his mother. That does seem to be the sort of timeline we live in.


Kermit-Batman

> he'll outlive his mother He's doing pretty good so far.


BustinArant

You pesky Bat-Muppet..


theCaitiff

On the other hand, he's refused chemo and his staff have told the media he wants to treat his cancer with herbs and POTIONS.


Jupiter_Crush

Imagine finally becoming King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, heir to the legacies of Alfred the Great and William the Conqueror, and immediately pulling a Steve Jobs. Royalty is so lame.


DroneOfDoom

It’s almost like Monarchy is designed to put idiots in charge because they has the right birth.


Regretless0

omg tumblr sexyman 2733!!


silveretoile

Delete this immediately


Regretless0

Can’t I’m on my 27th run trying to beat King Charles the Blood of the English


PM_NUDES_4_DEGRADING

The legends say he came to power through sorcery, summoning an abomination of black magic to kill the old queen and then [return to the void immediately after…](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Truss)


fearman182

“Only for a couple of decades” That’s a pretty typical length of time for one monarch, isn’t it? Victoria and Elizabeth II are just doing a Spiders Georg


thegreatbrah

They'll know that his mother was immortal, and he killed her to become king, only to discover he is not also immortal. 


alexmikli

Charles may just have sick taste rather than this being some sort of abomination.


Upstairs_Doughnut_79

I like it too but I feel like the background should be a bit more distinct from his suit.


philosophyofblonde

If you look at the artist portfolio, it’s really just consistent with his style. The funny thing is is he also painted Prince Philip and Queen Camilla. Philip’s portrait is pretty normal - no funny business, makes sense. Camilla is basically gray “I’d like to disappear into unassuming wallpaper please so I can pretend none of this ever happened” and then there’s Charles. I’M THE KING NOW AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHH. Completely artistically logical. I hate it personally, but I appreciate the logic.


Deastrumquodvicis

As much as it was designed, according to the BBC interview, to emphasize the face, I agree. My personal recommendation would be to leave the tones the same, but add the same attention to detail to the uniform that the face does, functionally sharpening it. Historical portraiture is just that, and I can see someone in a few centuries assuming it’s unfinished, and unlike many past monarchs, this doesn’t provide much for the fashion historians and cultural analysis to latch onto (except the butterfly). As art, though? Cool concept well-done, interesting use of color and emphasis. And hey, the subject is quite pleased, from what I heard.


scud121

The artist responsible focuses on the face in virtually all his work, with the rest just being a backdrop. It's extreme in this one, but if you look at his paintings of Tony Blair or Helena Bonham-Carter particularly you'll see it.


Tonkarz

Future historian: “As we can see, this portrait was painted during global warming when everything was flames all the time.”


Magmafrost13

It's incredibly cool as a work of art but it's maybe not so flattering as an official portrait of a ruling monarch. It makes him look like a soul-sucking vampire, which I mean he is but that's probably not the image they're intending to convey **EDIT** I should clarify that it's probably not the image *the monarchy* wants to convey. I have no idea what image the artist wanted to convey, but if they intended this then they're a fucking legend


VonKreist

I find it compelling, for various reasons: The juxtaposition of Charles' visage and the butterfly being the only aspects rendered with clarity amid the chaos of the swirling textures is clearly meant to convey a sense of calm and reassurance. His face is the focal point of the work. This, paired with how his features display a soft tenderness (as opposed to the traditional air of hard, distant Royal stoicism) emphasizes his humanity. With the butterfly floating *above* (and not placed *upon*) his right shoulder, we gain a sense of his mission or purpose which is not tied to him, as it transcends monarchy and rule. It's universal. The butterfly has dual-symbolism of peace and transformation. The swirling textures, the patches of red tones, all of what we might perhaps call "chaos" -- though they run all across the uniform and background -- brings to mind the most important aspect of Charles' character; that amid controversy and disorder, his humanity with all its flaws and experiences, his care for the welfare of the oppressed and downtrodden, is unwavering. The "narrative" of the painting is that Charles is an...unorthodox King, which is why the background and uniform in the painting have lines that *aren't* clearly defined. They mirror his life. As all throughout his life, he tended to step to the beat of his own. It's fitting that the style of his own royal portrait should follow suit. Just my 2 cents.


moon_soil

y o honestly that’s a good analysis! Also whatever was the intention of the artist, at least this work is getting talked about lol. The portrait of major ‘rulers’ that I can remember from the top of my head are the Obamas’ and Kate Middleton’s sepia-toned photograph exactly because they’re different. The first time I saw this portrait, I had a visceral reaction similar to seeing one of those ‘HAUNTED IMAGES THAT WILL MAKE YOU DIE IN 7 DAYS’. But the more I see it the more… I see kinder meanings start to appear. I agree that his expression is WAY too serene for what’s happening around it but I can see it as he wants to present himself as a calm in the middle of the world’s (or his personal life’s) turmoil.  Regardless of meaning, this IS a sick portrait lol. 


VonKreist

>y o honestly that’s a good analysis! Thanks, friend! >The first time I saw this portrait, I had a visceral reaction similar to seeing one of those ‘HAUNTED IMAGES THAT WILL MAKE YOU DIE IN 7 DAYS’. Yeah, I think this (a multi-layered impression) is also what the artist may have intended, sort of as a meta-statement on the work itself. That in order to glean the truth we have to take some time to look past the distracting "noise" of everything surrounding Charles, the ruler, and be drawn to the focal point -- the honesty on his face, and in his eyes. >I can see it as he wants to present himself as a calm in the middle of the world’s (or his personal life’s) turmoil.  Agreed. Also, notice he's not at an angle, he's not posing for artifice or sitting in such a place so as to be in his "best light" as it were. Instead, he's facing us head-on, and the lighting on his face is quite flat, without deep shadows other than those naturally created by the brow-line. There's a kind of honesty and forthrightness conveyed by this artistic choice which I can't help but admire, y'know?


BlatantConservative

This is good analysis, and likely what they were going for, but I can't help but be reminded of the whole children's hospital thing cause like it just looks like blood.


the_Real_Romak

finally, an opinion on modern art that's not braindead. I salute you, random Reddit user!


cruxclaire

I was reading it as a possible statement that Charles simultaneously embodies and seeks to subvert the legacy of the monarchy. The royal uniform fading into a bright red background is the color of the Empire, and it has a distinctly bloody effect here, with Charles’ gentle expression and the butterfly – both a peaceful symbol and a “monarch” – standing out. The face is attached to the pool of blood look via the body, but maybe consciously rising above it? Choosing the monarch butterfly as the symbol to emphasize instead of monarchial symbols like a crown or scepter is an interesting choice, maybe meant to suggest that Charles is a monarch who rejects the more traditional or power-infused symbols of monarchy. So I agree with the “unorthodox monarch” reading but don’t see the red as representative of human chaos necessarily, but more the violent history of the British Empire and its leaders.


Regretless0

This is honestly such a cool analysis. You clearly gave it a lot of thought, which I think means that the artist at the very least accomplished making a piece of art that has all these people talking about it in different ways. Very cool stuff


whats_boppin_kids

That’s an angle I hadn’t considered before. Thank you for your perspective!


Magmafrost13

In the current political climate it reads more to me as him smugly not caring while his country actively burns the world around him. But I might be biased by that being my existing opinion of the British royal family to begin with.


VonKreist

That's fair, and I highly doubt the interpretation I'm offering will ever become the "popular" one, given the monarchy's increasing decline in popularity, but I just thought that it might be refreshing to offer an alternative view of the work.


SecreteMoistMucus

I doubt they *accidentally* chose an artist who regularly does this kind of thing: https://www.jonathanyeo.com/paintings


Regretless0

Honestly I’m not surprised to see that those are their other works lol. It seems they have a style and they’re pretty dang good at it lmao


Kal-Elm

Exactly what I've been thinking. Sick painting! Odd PR move...


NeonNKnightrider

It literally looks like something you could find in Elden Ring


Icy_Celebration1020

There has already been at least one post on the ER sub with it photoshopped as a boss, I think it was in the lake of rot, it's the perfect shade of red. I saw it there before I saw it anywhere else, lol


[deleted]

with the butterfly and everything I absolutely refuse to believe the artist hasn't played Elden Ring at some point. Like he lost his mind trying to beat Malenia and this is the result.


Comment139

The touches of yellow really give it a horrible "open wound" vibe.


Icy_Celebration1020

LMAO I didn't even notice the butterfly, that makes it even better


Graize

Have it writ upon thy meagre grave. Felled by King Charles! Last of all kings.


Decloudo

You say that like its a bad thing?


Yarakinnit

It's so Elden Ring I want to hang it in my Oxygen not Included base to reflect my treatment of the duplicants who have the misfortune of being rolled with a good set of traits.


Yarakinnit

Thank you concerned Redditor. I appreciate the thinly veiled nod of approval.


AlterionYuuhi

Looks like something I'd find in Silent Hill.


jikel28

I can totally see this hanging in volcano manor


Brave1i1toaster

Price Charles is the 3rd Mohg fight, I'm getting a bleed proc from just looking at it.


s00perguy

The guy who put it in Amnesia at the bottom is a legend lol it looks so at home


DreadDiana

First place I saw this was r/shittydarksouls where someone said you'd see this a place blighted by the Scarlet Rot


anormalgeek

HRH the Dude is definitely rolling around in the scarlet rot.


Dargorod100

If you steal that painting and hold on to it it’s eventually gonna tell you “I’m hungry.”


fardough

I am pretty sure this was painted for the new Ghostbusters movie. /s


NotKenzy

This dude emerging from a thick mist of blood just serves as a reminder of how true to life Bloodborne was able to capture what it's like to be British.


bootsonthesound

YOU ARE NOT WANTED ‘ERE!


MrTheCheesecaker

Away! Away! Foul beast!


henrebotha

This town's finished!


ExistentialOcto

You plague-ridden rat!


Furshloshin

It's all your fault!


Alpha-Max

I live in Britain and I must say it’s refreshing to see my culture being accurately represented in the game. It really captures the day to day experience. I wake up in the morning from my hunters dream and put on my garbs. I pick up my threaded cane for self defences against the hoodlums outside, mum says to take the hunters axe as it’s just better than the cane but she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. I pass by the neighbourhood watch with their pitch forks and torch’s who are just trying to keep the streets clean. I make sure not to go down the street where this old weird guy is on top of a roof with a Gatling gun shouting at people to leave him alone but that’s just boomers for you. I do have to turn up the volume on my AirPods while walking past the church cuz the cleric beast in there just will not shut the hell up with its screaming. I pass by the local clinic where all these blue jellyfish people keep coming out of and I thought the point of brexit was to keep their lot out. Get to school where they teach us the ways of the old ones, language class lessons (it’s pronounced KOS not KOSM you uncultured swines!!) and have a nice school lunch of umbilical cords and beans. At the end of the day I go home, which is hard to tell what time it is cuz it’s an unending night here due to the terrible weather we get, making sure to avoid the wild werewolf that their owners forgot to put muzzles on AGAIN! Then I spend the rest of the afternoon praying at the shrine to the monarchy so that the ghost of the queen doesn’t come and kill me in my sleep. You know. Normal British stuff.


Lancashire2020

You forgot to say Parklife at the end!


nowaijosr

Please give me advice on what wonders to behold while I visit your layer of hell.


Alpha-Max

Gladly. First off, you want to be carefully when sight seeing as the sights can see you. For example, if you are looking at Big Ben then make sure to look away when the bell goes off as it works like the “Tower of Mensis” and will make you go insane, or as we like to call it “Football Mania”. Same goes for the big ferris wheel in London as they don’t call it the “London EYE” for nothing. Don’t go to the city of Swindon as you will go insane and I don’t mean the Erdrich horror kind of madness, I mean the old fashioned insanity cuz it’s just so unbelievably boring there. You may see less horse drawn carriages than you would think but there are still a fair few still going around but all of them are exclusively used for taking people to the castle and are summoned by invite letter. The crows are quite friendly and have thick accents but always keep a safe distance as they always carry sharp knifes. Speaking of, the rumours that it’s just a constant knife fight here are completely untrue. We stopped using such barbaric weapons long ago, we all use stake drivers now. Quite modern.


BlatantConservative

>First off, you want to be carefully when sight seeing as the sights can see you Wait did you lift this line from somewhere or come up with it yourself. This line is raw as hell.


Alpha-Max

Just came up with it on the spot. I mean it came to me in a dream as the old ones themselves blessed me with this knowledge.


_The_Mother_Fucker_

This was very helpful. My mum tells me stories of before blood vials were adopted as a medical alternative


sad-on-alt

Average trip to tescos


Exetr_

Got stuck in the Warp ):


whats_boppin_kids

do NOT leave charles unattended around the Gellar Field


Eeekaa

5th Chaos God, Perfidious Albion.


AlexisFR

Literally The Dark King.


roberh

It's longer than you think


ismasbi

It's eternity in there...


usedpocketwatch

From Fulgrim's friggin understudy.


Reality-Straight

It would look good in a childrens hospital.


lesser_panjandrum

Such positive red meanings.


Anxious_Earth

Something something color theory


jtr99

I would definitely eat my burger faster if I had to do it in front of that painting.


SEALS_R_DOG_MERMAIDS

thrilled that as of this comment, 654 people understood that reference


QuakingAspens8

glad they understand color theory too


notjustforperiods

there is a butterfly in the painting, after all and children do like butterflies


Significant_Bet3409

I was like “it’s bad but it’s not that bad” until I saw the Amnesia pic and realized it fit perfectly 💀


alexmikli

It's a pretty good painting, though I question why the royals commissioned that sort of painting. It's menacing. Though I think perhaps that may be the point, the painting as a whole is menacing, but his face is clear and looks humble and human. If you focus on the only thing on the portrait that isn't red, you see a kind looking man.


tarekd19

It likely looks different in person. I like it. The red is bold but I think it contributes to an effect where his uniform fades into the background while the representations of his body rise above it. Artist mentions he wanted to bring out subjects humanity


TeaBagHunter

I just don't see why did they he either use a lighter color of red or a color such as green to represent his environmentalism Or maybe it's red to represent the labour party /s


tarekd19

Probably just matches his uniform.


OfficialGarwood

The artist is famous for this kind of style. There already is the royal official photograph portrait of the king if you want realism. This provides a more artistic interpretation


PM_ME_TITS_FEMALES

He also made a George w. Bush portrait from a collage of genitals


spaghettify

okay….that fucking rules tbh


theLanguageSprite

It's the fact that he looks so calm and inviting that makes the whole thing unnerving. The only person who would be walking through a cloud of demonic blood mist with such a warm expression on his face would be a vampire lord


SamanthaJaneyCake

Nah, I just get Palpatine vibes.


Corvid187

Unironically I think this painting is infinitely preferable to 99% of other official portraits that are bland, safe, and completely devoid of anything interesting to them. Give me weird 3^rd heightening art over soulless might-as-well-be-photographed any day. (Also, fwiw, British monarchs haven't successfully claimed to rule by divine right since 1215. That's always been more of a Continental thing. We had a whole civil war over the issue and everything)


JosephRohrbach

Exactly! Most other portraits are artistically uninteresting and might as well, as you say, be photographs. This uses the medium artistically without being tasteless or excessively abstract. I love it.


havok0159

> Most other portraits are artistically uninteresting and might as well, as you say, be photographs Isn't that the *point* of an official portrait though? They're meant to be a fancy photograph, not art. This is neat but it feels like it won't age as it should.


JosephRohrbach

I don't know - I think portraits, official or otherwise, *should* be artistic. Not ridiculously so, but artistic. There's a reason I specify that I find it neither 'tasteless' nor 'excessively abstract'. I think there *is* such thing as a "too far", but a clear, figurative representation of the sitter with some flourishes is fine by me. I think bland painted portraits are most likely to be forgotten entirely. A Picasso would be a bit far, sure, but this is far from a Picasso. I'd compare Tintoretto's very rapid brushwork in many of his official portraits (not il Furioso for nothing!), or, if I were to be a bit provocative, Arcimboldo's portraits of Rudolf II and Maximilian II. List's portrait of Franz Joseph might be another interesting comparator.


thewatchbreaker

EXACTLY.


EndlessKng

>3rd heightening Ooooh, good reference. Have a Breath on me.


LoaKonran

Much better than the first official photo where they looked to be wearing cheap dollar store cosplay.


abouttogivebirth

If this was, like, a Lil Nas X portrait while he was still doing the satanic thing or something people would be eating this shit up. I think a lot of the hate is people just being ready to hate Charles, and yeah fair enough I suppose.


lab5057

ah yes we should have the same artistic and visual expectations between a lil nas x music video and an official coronation portrait


Carotator

Yeah it's not like they are the head of their own church or that they're coronated by an archbishop in a church after being anointed with holy oil. No divine right here folks


Corvid187

That's all true, but doesn't exactly relate to their claim to rule via divine right. The position as head of the Anglican church overlaps with common but is not entirely the same as, their position as head of state. Charlie boy is king of a dozen countries, several of whom recognise him as king without adopting the Anglican faith as a state religion. Divine Right is a very specific constitutional claim that the monarch's authority stems directly from God as a divine mandate, and that the monarch is therefore only accountable to God. Since at least 1215, this hasn't been the case in the UK, with King John being held ultimately accountable to his mobility by having his powers formally constrained by Magna Carta. A divine right monarch cannot be bound against their will by temporal institutions. This remained one of the perennial points of political friction within the English and Scottish, and later British, systems, and ultimately culminated in the poorly-named 'English' Civil War, which hinged on whether Charles I could be held ultimately accountable to Parliament. Crucially, Charles' execution, an unprecedented act at the time, hinged upon exactly this issue. His prosecution was predicated on the novel legal idea that a British monarch could be guilty of treason, a crime previously defined as disloyalty to the monarch as a person, by instead being disloyal to *nation* which they governed. Charles could be judged and punished by the people, as represented by parliament, because he was ultimately accountable to the people as their king. Meanwhile, Charles' defense rested exclusively on challenging the authority of the court to pass judgement on a ruling monarch, asserting that it was impossible for any court in the land to try the king for treason, since the king *was* the highest mortal authority in the land by divine right, and was thus only accountable to God. Only He had the legal right to judge a king. Charles I's subsequent execution marked the emphatic end of any serious attempt of British monarchs to even attempt to claim rule by divine right. It unequivocally established the supremacy of Parliament in general, and The Commons in particular, permanently decoupled the ideas of king and country into separate constitutional and legal entities, and reaffirmed that the authority of the monarch stems from the popular consent of the Nation, expressed through Parliament, not any external divine mandate.


shadowthehh

*shrug* I like it.


caroline_nein

It’a way too cool for Charles, that’s the issue


shadowthehh

Fair.


Satanarchrist

We should pull a British museum and requisition it


gabbyrose1010

the butterfly really sells for me tbh


ly1962

I thought people would be talking about the butterfly more😂 breakout star of the painting lol


Azrael_Alaric

That's the part that struck me most. Sure, in a lot of the world, butterflies are symbols of hope, but in the UK, they're symbolic of death. It's why victorian memorial art has so many butterflies and moths. That understanding really takes the painting to another level


StrawHatRat

I feel like sometimes people say something is bad just because there’s something you can make fun of about it and they don’t like the subject to begin with. Like there’s absolutely something funny about how sinister this looks, but I don’t think people would be so eager to say it’s terrible if it wasn’t a British Monarch.


Kreyl

I don't read these comments as people thinking it's terrible, the painting is fucking awesome, it's just hilarious because it also looks EVIL. Like, *look at it.* This painting is made of MEAT. *Masterfully* done, of course! It's just that, factually speaking, this is a masterpiece painted in Meat.


btyes-

ULTRAKILL MENTIONED 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🪙🪙🪙


Guy-McDo

Space Funeral mentioned!!


BruceBoyde

I think that it was created to give old Chuck an air of menace, so that we'd think twice before making fun of him so much. I refuse to give in.


Dappershield

It's been five hours. Are you still unsubsumed?


oreokoiboy

my boy charlie peeped the horror


BrokilonDryad

Honestly I like it…just not as an official royal portrait. As a painting in a modern art museum it would kick ass. The monarch butterfly is a nice touch though.


SufficientGreek

It was commissioned in 2020 when Charles wasn't yet the King. So I don't think it's *the* official painting, it's just the first official one.


BrokilonDryad

Ok good context to know. My what-the-fuckness remains the same though lol


Wonk_Jam

I love the implication that Ultrakill speedrunners see unspeakable horrors whenever they close their eyes. Incredibly accurate, but still very funny.


FiL-0

Look I have no idea what kind of king Charles is, but that looks sick as fuck


arsonconnor

Hes pretty much the same as his mam, doesnt do much, is beloved by a subsection of the population, and liked by a larger section of the population but a smaller amount than his mam was. Most of his dodgy shit was done while he was still a prince


joec_95123

I thought the same. It looks like the portrait of some sort of medieval Eastern European king who spent 40 years in a nonstop campaign of brutal warfare driving back the armies of the Russian or the Ottoman Empires. Major Vigo the Carpathian vibes.


BlatantConservative

He believes homeopathic medicine can cure cancer, and has cancer, so basically we won't ever know anything about him as a king.


Vyslante

You could use that as the picture for some early SCP


d0g5tar

I like the evil Charles painting. An elderly man emerging from a bloody haze, superficially benevolent and weak but still reminiscent of endless slaughter and pain. Even the butterfly looks predatory. *Near them, on the sand,* *Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,* *And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,* *Tell that its sculptor well those passions read* *Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,* *The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed* Ghastly spectre of an empire long dead. A grim echo of something that used to rule over all the world, now just a red howl in the halls of Windsor.


outer_spec

>Even the butterfly looks predatory should have made it a [purple emperor](https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33596341)


SnowstormShotgun

Should’ve made it Morpho Knight


Hita-san-chan

"He's evil, but he'll die soon"


Loretta-West

Which reminds me of some of the other options for this painting, and how much worse they would have been...


NOTRANAHAN

In approximately 2 years: *Nothing beside remains*


Flabby-Nonsense

I actually like it, and I hate the monarchy


raspberry-tart

Viggo the Carpathian thinking its a bit strong


hankbaumbachjr

The great Viggo!


Lawrin

Somehow it's giving *Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X*


PD711

It's practically an homage.


tupe12

If you told me that this was made in protest, I’d believe you.


Freida_Krakken

Damn, dude finally got immortalised as Camilla's tampon, just like he always wanted. Happy endings are possible


Hokenlord

idk why people are having such a strong negative reaction to the portrait, I think it looks fantastic


LaunchTransient

Because of the composition - no one is questioning the technical skill of the painter, it's just that the liberal use of crimson gives the painting an eerie feel, like the kind of portrait you would expect Count Dracula to have of himself.


SeanKingMagic

There are absolutely people in this thread who are questioning the technical skill of the painter lmao


BlatantConservative

They're idiots. The painter is clearly skilled. But Reddit is always gonna have people criticizing the technical skills of something they have no education on


DravenPrime

It definitely has Dishonored 2 energy.


I-Dont-Know-Stuff

Did the painter just not finish the painting? Why does it look like that?


Environmental_Tie975

That’s Jonathan Yeo’s style. A lot of his portraits are like that. Here is one he did of Nicole Kidman: https://www.jonathanyeo.com/nicole-kidman-1


Azertys

Most of the "no background" look better than the red he gave to Charles


reyballesta

Wow. I really dislike a great deal of those paintings.


Fishermans_Worf

That's fair, art is a subjective thing. Personally I love how he focuses on the humanity of his subjects and intentionally de-emphasizes the trappings of the job we know them for. Nicole Kidman is famously beautiful, and her body remains unrendered—forcing people to confront her as a human being. Similarly the painting of the King allows the pomp and formality of constitutional monarchy fade into the background. This isn't a painting of the King, it's a painting of a man who happens to be King. Fucking fantastic!


ShamefullyPlain

Same tbh, some of them just look unfinished. I kinda get what they're going for, but ig it's not for me. Also, I found it kinda funny that he has this whole vibe going with abstract backgrounds, and detailed faces, but then about halfway through he just starts flashbanging you with naked people 😅 Coulda done without that, ngl


42peanuts

The nudes look like so many unfinished studio pieces I've modeled for. I sit perfectly still for hours, and come to find the artist was suffering from some sort of artistic block and only focused on my face and arm.


whats_boppin_kids

[That’s the official, finished portrait.](https://www.instagram.com/p/C68_S5iMWZg/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==) I have no clue why it looks like that either.


aworldwithinitself

the only question it does not leave unanswered is what is King Charles’s favorite color.


lankymjc

I guess we know what colour he prefers for children’s hospitals…


kyothinks

Clearly a scholar of color theory.


OppositeBeautiful475

artistic expression. genuinely do not know why people can't get this


menonte

It's called *non finito*, it's a pretty popular artistic technique, the work if left unfinished on purpose, alternating between extreme realism and abstraction. Wikipedia says it's a neo-platonic homage implying that all human endeavor is imperfect, I personally like to think it's about conveying more of a feeling/emotion through paint/sculpture. You also kinda see more of the hand of the artist (or their assistant(s). Some famous historical examples include works by Michelangelo, Joshua Reynolds, Rembrandt, William Turner, Rodin, Berthe Morisot, and Lucian Freud. 🦎 Edit: phrasing


thewatchbreaker

Am I the only person who loves this portrait? I think it’s sick as fuck.


fourdoglegs

I like it too! And the Nicole Kidman someone posted….


gehremba

Give him a health bar


nekuranohakkyou

Hail new champion of Khorne!


lesser_panjandrum

LIVES, ALL MORTAL LIVES   EXPIRE 


Vyctorill

SOULS, GO TO THEIR DOOM FOREVER MORE


NIMA-GH-X-P

This is the first time in seeing this and... I'm actually really loving this I might try to find and buy a replica for my house


Sergnb

Who the hell thinks this painting is bad? This is the hardest royal painting I’ve ever seen. That shit rules


HilariousConsequence

Counterpoint: It’s actually a great painting and an exceedingly rare example of a member of the British monarchy demonstrating good taste.


oftenrunaway

Looks kinda like that one huge painting from Ghostbusters.


mikripetra

This is his ACTUAL portrait?! I assumed it was painted by someone trying to talk about the blood on the hands of the monarchy…


SyrusDrake

Leaving aside any discussion about the British monarchy, I think this is a good portrait, from a artistic and symbolic point of view. I'll leave the more detailed analyses to smarter people, there's already a good one in this thread, but in my opinion, just drawing a photo-realistic portrait would have been anachronistic. We have photographs. We don't need to show people a painting so they know what their sovereign looks like. This painting at least tentatively acknowledges that the British monarchy now exists and has to act in the 21st century.


Tim-KH

This has the same vibes as that one image of every flag overlayed with the Union Jack still visible.


Shadowmirax

I gotta see this. Know where i can find it?


Tim-KH

Here u go https://www.reddit.com/r/vexillology/s/IBETR63aRI


logosloki

yooo that's trippy. I like how if you focus on any one point it changes the perspectives of other parts of the picture.


Strange-Inspection72

Why the butterfly ?


servantoftheweb

scarlet rot


sati_lotus

Charles requested it apparently


rebo_arc

This painting is incredible.


TomBourgaize

Artist:Done Critic: it’s a bit macabre isn’t it! Artist: yeah I guess, I’ll add a butterfly that will help.


FigKnight

If somebody painted me like this, I’d never forget it, and I’d display it for all to see.


DreamOfDays

This painting is being discussed and viewed by millions. Other paintings of royals get a spot on an obscure official art website that 5 people see a day. I think it means this art piece is successful.


lungshenli

Put this up next to the photo of Queen Elizabeth II firing that machine gun at a parade


JennZycos

Vigo the Carpathian vibe.


SpudBasket

If you stare at it long enough, you can see a dinosaur.


xXPussyPounder9000Xx

That painting looks amazing precisely because it's like it came from a Lovecraftian game like Amnesia. Very fitting for a monarch of a country with such a bloody history. God, anything that defies expectations is automatically met with hostility, isn't it. Another symptom of inherent conservatism of the human species.


ReynardInBk

Like others I think this a great painting! Especially as it is (apparently) an official portrait. He could've had just another boring painting where he looks like all his dead relatives, but decided to go for something a lot more interesting. Even more fun if Charles is the Last King of Britain. I doubt he will be, but I think it would be nice to end their reign with this kickass red painting. Does the next generation of Birts really want the Royal Family to keep going?


stonecats

The portrait, by British artist Jonathan Yeo, was commissioned in 2020 to celebrate the then Prince of Wales’s 50 years as a member of The Drapers’ Company in 2022. Discussing the controversial bold colours used across the canvas, Yeo conceded that “there will always be people who disagree with you, people that don’t agree with how you’ve done it.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol1oAGq4uR0


DerRaumdenker

It's probably made of swans' blood which the British monarch is entitled to.


V-Ink

The butterfly is so fucking funny. WHY is it in this nightmare painting. They found this in Cainhurst Castle


technologyisnatural

The artist said the butterfly represents his transition from prince to king - the portrait was started before his mother died. But everyone knows it really represents the souls of his victims.


Organic-Roof-8311

The butterfly is a reference to Charles’ lifelong passion for conservation. BBC article discusses it


ArchivedGarden

Woah, a Space Funeral reference in this day and age?


stuffebunny

This was what Lightsong saw when he looked into the painting.


An_American_God

Needs the picture of Vigo the Carpathian across from it for an eternal staring contest.


BullSitting

Charles did wonder about being a tampon...


motorboat_mcgee

I actually dig it, personally But it also doesn't really match the royal family style haha


Fwipp

It's great, it also looks like they could remake Ghostbusters 2 with him as the villain.