Everything interesting in art and more. Everything interesting in art and more Portrait of Elizabeth 2 Queen of England

On September 9, 2015, Elizabeth II set an absolute record for the longest stay on the British throne. Against this background, of course, another achievement of the current Queen of Great Britain fades somewhat - no one else has managed to appear on the banknotes of various countries so many times.

Many would like to get a portrait of Elizabeth II, and preferably not just one, but more. The attraction to images of the British queen is understandable, because in this case we are talking about money. Elizabeth II can be found on the banknotes of several dozen countries - she broke the record not only for the duration of her stay on the British throne, but also for the number of banknotes with in person. In Great Britain alone, her portrait has been printed on banknotes for 55 years!

Canadian $20 banknote (obverse). 1935

Childhood photograph of Princess Elizabeth II.

Canadian 1 dollar banknote (obverse). 1954

Dorothy Wilding. Queen Elizabeth II. 1952

Canadian $20 banknote (obverse). 2010

English 1 pound note (obverse). 1960

English £20 note (obverse). 2007

Australian 5 dollar note (obverse). 1992

Elizabeth II ( full name Elizabeth Alexandra Maria was born in London on April 21, 1926. She became the first child of the Duke of York, the future King George VI of the newly established Windsor dynasty, and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. Until December 1936, Elizabeth bore the title Princess of York. She received a good education at home, mainly in the humanities, although later she had to master a technical specialty: during the Second World War, while being part of the auxiliary troops, the future Queen of Great Britain took courses in training center mechanical transport and eventually became a qualified driver mechanic with the rank of lieutenant. In general, during the war the royal family especially emphasized its unity with the people, visiting military units, enterprises and institutions and organizing assistance to those whose homes were destroyed.

In the spring of 1947, King George VI and his family visited South Africa, after returning from which the 21-year-old Princess of York became engaged to Philip Mountbatten, a naval officer and distant relative; their wedding took place in November of the same year. Elizabeth II traveled a lot; Finding herself once again in Africa, she learned about her father’s death and immediately returned to her homeland. On June 2, 1952, the coronation took place in Westminster Abbey. It must be said that Elizabeth was partly lucky with the royal title: she was in third place on the list of succession to the throne, and if George had a son, he would have become the next king.

The appearance of the current British queen is replicated no less than the appearance of some pop star, and it is difficult to find a person in the civilized world who does not know what the current head of the House of Windsor looks like. As for the banknotes, we will begin the story about them not with Great Britain, but with Canada, which is part of the Commonwealth of Nations - an association of former dominions, colonies and protectorates of Great Britain; all of them at least formally recognize the authority of the reigning British monarch.

We start with Canada because it was here that Elizabeth’s portrait was first printed on banknotes; it happened 80 years ago, when she was only 9 years old. Banknotes in denominations of 20 Canadian dollars went into circulation on March 11, 1935, the artist Edwin Gunn worked on the image of the princess, using a photograph by photographer Mark Adamson as a basis. Released in Canada in 1954 new series notes ranging from $1 to $1,000, which sought to replace the deceased George VI with his daughter, the new Queen of Great Britain.

The 1954 one-dollar bill features a portrait from a photograph of Dorothy Wildig taken in 1952: in it, Elizabeth appears not only as a majestic crowned person, but also as a charming young woman. The image of the queen here was shifted to the right side, where it would not be so worn out by folding the bill in half (the coat of arms of Canada first appeared on the same banknotes). Soon, however, someone attentive noticed a grinning devil in the queen’s elegant hairstyle. Of course, there was no malicious intent on the part of the artist who painted the portrait, but the name of the dollar series - “Devil's Head” - nevertheless stuck with the people. Collectors showed great interest in the printed curiosity, although, of course, a rumor inevitably arose that banknotes with such devilry could hardly bring good luck to the owner. The Bank of Canada had to save not only its reputation, but also the prestige of the royal house, and subsequently banknotes of the same design were issued, on which Elizabeth’s ill-fated hairstyle was properly retouched. Previously printed banknotes that had not yet entered circulation were withdrawn, and the numismatic value of Canadian dollars from the “Devil’s Head” series immediately increased many times over.

Over the years, the design of banknotes has changed, as have the royal portraits on them. Starting in 2011, the Bank of Canada began making polymer banknotes, and on November 7, 2012, a $20 bill appeared with a portrait of Elizabeth II at age. As for British money itself, for many years now the image of the current queen has been on the front side of all banknotes issued in Great Britain.

Elizabeth first found herself on her country's money in 1960 - it was 1 pound sterling, which was created by the artist, illustrator and engraver Robert Austin. On the reverse side of the banknotes you can see the faces of various prominent British figures, varying depending on the series of issue. For example, on the back of the £20 banknote, printed in 1990-1993, there is a portrait of the physicist Michael Faraday, and on the same banknote in 2007 there is a portrait of the economist Adam Smith.

Another banknote with a portrait of Elizabeth II is a polymer banknote of 5 Australian dollars. It first appeared in circulation on July 7, 1992; later, on April 24, 1995, its updated version was released. Designer Bruce Stewart placed a portrait of the monarch in the center. As a rule, on banknotes Elizabeth is depicted with a crown on her head, sometimes with a scepter in her hand, but Australia and Canada prefer to see their monarch in a more free style- in an elegant dress with a pearl necklace and without symbols of power. The Queen, however, has nothing against it - she approved the photographs chosen by the Bank of Australia to work on the “money” portrait.

It is estimated that during the reign of Elizabeth II, about 26 different portraits of her were used to recreate her image on various banknotes. But no matter how the design of the banknotes changes and no matter how Elizabeth herself changes over the years, alone characteristic feature remains unchanged: the queen on the banknote is always smiling.

Photo: DR

Today, February 6, Kensington Palace published a photo of Elizabeth II dressed in an outfit blue color. The Queen's jewelry includes sapphire earrings and a sapphire pendant, given to her by King George VI as a wedding gift in 1947. And the picture itself was taken by British photographer David Bailey back in 2014.

Let us remember that in 2016, Queen Elizabeth II turned 90 years old. 90th birthday of the Queen of Great Britain, this is exactly what was decided. And June 2, 2016 Elizabeth. She has been sitting on the throne for exactly that many years. Many are confident that the current Queen of Great Britain will be able to surpass the record of Queen Victoria, who ruled the country for 64 years. One might say, it has already surpassed...

A little history about why there may be confusion in dates:

Elizabeth officially ascended to the throne immediately after the unexpected death of her father, King George VI, in 1952, that is, 65 years ago. The sad news caught the Crown Princess on vacation in Kenya. She and her husband flew to London. The future royal couple was met at the plane's exit by the entire government delegation led by Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

“In general, no one taught me to be a queen. My father died too early. It happened so unexpectedly. I had to get involved right away and at the same time try not to lose face. I had to grow into the position I occupied. It was fate, you had to accept it and not complain,” she will say later.

But it was only on June 2, 1953 that the coronation ceremony of Elizabeth II took place in London, and this event became one of the most spectacular in the history of Britain in the 20th century. The magnificent coronation ceremony took place only 16 months later, at the end of a period of national mourning and after careful preparation for a large-scale event. According to centuries-old tradition, the ceremony took place in Westminster Abbey.

Throughout history portrait painting members royal family no person got it from artists as much as Elizabeth II. It was painted with inspiration, and vice versa, mediocrely, on fences and walls of houses, experimentally and by avant-garde artists.

Her official portraits are also ambiguous.
The 2013 portrait by Dan Hall, which savvy journalists nicknamed Mommy Two Slippers from Tom and Jerry, seemed to surpass everything. But please, the new creation can compete with the previous one! And he will even receive the palm.

It must be said that this worthy lady greets every image of herself with truly royal restraint and equanimity. But I can imagine how much fun she has with her family afterwards!

And so, once again, the Queen gets her first glimpse of a striking new portrait of herself wearing a robe. This is the work of Henry Ward. Her Majesty sits in the Drawing Room at Windsor Castle.

The new portrait was unveiled at Windsor Castle on Friday and it is stunning, to say the least.

The film is dedicated to her activities as the patron of a charity supporting people in crisis in the UK.

She has been an active patron of the Red Cross for six decades, with Queen Victoria being its first patron.

I think a lot of people are freaked out by the portrait! IN Is it a row her subjects would like to see the appearance of their queen, painted so clumsily, soullessly and with a clear tendency towards kitsch. The Queen deserves better!

Art critic and writer Sir Roy Strong said he was "stunned" by the work. Tried to make it great state portrait, and it didn’t work out.
“I think it's a missed opportunity. This will not do."

“This is the thing that you see painted on the asphalt and people passing by throw coins at it. It must have been terrible for the queen."
The portrait has already received mixed reviews on social networks.

One from Twitter: “You were commissioned to paint a portrait of the Queen, but who did they paint? A few people in the British Red Cross are going to get really drunk tonight."

“Excuse me, have you met our queen?? Obviously you've never looked at her face!! Terrible picture!

Artist Henry Ward Mr Ward, born in Essex and now living in Canada, was chosen by the Red Cross because of his support for the charity.

The Duchess of Cambridge with artist Nick Cuthell at a state reception at Government House in Wellington, New Zealand, where the royal couple unveiled a portrait of the Queen in 2014.

2013 Here is an example of a typical review, of which English-language media published many:
"Her Majesty looks like Mommy Two Slippers from Tom and Jerry in the portrait. Her fingers resemble sausages and she looks like a stale pork pie."

Dan Llywelyn Hall, the Welsh-born artist who has received the most coveted commission for a British painter - to paint a portrait of the Queen - considers his work "impressive" and "expressionistic".

At the unveiling of a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in 2013. The painting is permanently displayed at the national stadium and was painted in honor of the 60th anniversary of the coronation.

Chris Levine took many portraits of the Queen as research for his completed holographic work, some of which, including this portrait of Elizabeth with her eyes closed, brought him much admiration.

Portrait of the Queen by Justin Mortimer, a British artist whose paintings consistently invite us to think about the relationship between subject and content, and between figuration and abstraction.

Queen Elizabeth II acquired for the Royal Collection in 2012 a series of four of her own portraits by the famous pop art artist Andy Warhol. These portraits were painted in 1985 and are considered one of the artist's last works. Portraits of Elizabeth II are part of the so-called “Royal Series”, in which Urhol depicted Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.

Henry Ward is a portraitist whose style uses the techniques of the old masters while embracing a contemporary context.
Henry has exhibited his work nationally and internationally in museums and galleries including the National Portrait Gallery, House of Lords, Christies and in the permanent collection at Bermuda National Gallery. Official, in a word.

Today Elizabeth II turns 90 years old. While British citizens raise a toast with the words “God Save the Queen!”, Let's look at a series of portraits that Annie Leibovitz did especially for the big anniversary Her Majesty. In the photographs, the birthday girl does not appear as the Queen of the United Kingdom and the 16 independent countries that make up the British Commonwealth, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the Lord Admiral of the Royal Navy, the head of the Anglican Church and the boss (as her red-haired grandson Harry recently called her). And in the role of a loving grandmother.

In the first portrait, the Queen poses surrounded by the younger Windsors, including 2-year-old Prince George, who, according to his mother, Duchess Catherine, calls her Gan-Gan (Ba-Ba). We can see in the picture 11-month-old Princess Charlotte, who is sitting in her grandmother's arms. The photo shoot took place shortly after Easter in the famous Green Room, where the royals brought their children for the day. And we can only imagine from what take the photographer said “Cut!”

In the second portrait, Elizabeth poses with her daughter, Princess Anne. This touching photo was also taken at Windsor Castle - in the White Room.

In the third portrait we can see Elizabeth, who was captured while walking with her favorite dogs - corgis Willow and Holly, as well as dorgis Vulcan and Candy (we wouldn’t be surprised if getting everyone to pose was no less difficult than dealing with her great-grandchildren).

And as a bonus, another portrait from photographer Ranald McKechnie - this time more familiar, with Princes Charles and William, as well as the future heir to the throne George, who smiles while standing on a makeshift “stool”. The picture was taken last year especially for Her Majesty's anniversary.