Queen Elizabeth II Portrait

Queen Elizabeth II

by Cecil Beaton
bromide print, November 1955

http://images.npg.org.uk/800_800/6/9/mw203769.jpg

This is a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II who is the Queen of England and has been since her father King George VI died from lung cancer on February 6th 1952. This portrait was commissioned in 1955 before the Queen visited Nigeria on a three week royal visit.

The photographer Cecil Beaton has done commissions for the royal family for many years and is known as one of Queen Elizabeth's favourite photographers.

The first thing I noticed in this portrait was the Queens eyes which stand out as they are in the middle of the portrait and they are looking towards the camera when the rest of the Queens body is facing to the side. This makes the Queen look very striking and powerful as her position is strong and ridged and not relaxed, making her look very formal and serious. The second thing I noticed in this portrait was the crown the Queen wears which represents her power and shows that she is a monarch. Also it is heavily decorated in jewels and pearls which represent wealth and nobility. The crown links to the rest of the jewellery the Queen is wearing with the  large jewels around her neck and on her earrings which show her wealth as they are so expensive and also show her sense of style. Her dress further shows this sense of style as it is embellished with a detailed pattern of flowers. In the background are objects which have detailed carvings  showing again that The Queen can afford expensive items.

The photograph looks real as you can see the light from the camera flash reflecting in the queens eyes and you can also see shadows and light falling across the Queens’ face. Although a lot of portraits especially of royals do not have strong shadows across the face and body I think it works in this portrait to add depth to the photograph and gives it a more natural look. This is needed I feel to stop the photograph looking too un natural as the position the Queen is in usually is only used in portraits and not in daily life.

The photograph has been taken with the camera being at the same height as the Queen, focusing directly at her face to show she is the most important thing in the portrait. I think the photographer was trying to show the Queens power, style, elegance and beauty and I think he has captured this successfully in this portrait.

I chose this portrait as it makes the Queen look very striking and elegant which are ideals I have tried to convey myself in previous work and also if I was having a portrait taken of myself  I would like to look how the Queen does in this portrait. Also I like the composition of the portrait as it reminds me of  the compositions used in photographs of old Hollywood actresses and modern day actresses headshots. I like these compositions as they make the models look as striking as possible and they are the focus of the photographs they are often in black and white as well like the portrait of Queen Elizabeth is.

I have designed a portrait of myself  using the theme of where I would like to be in five years time. I have used using ideas from Elizabethan portraits such as having objects in the portrait to represent different things that i hope will be present in my life.

In this photograph of myself I am leaning on a make-up box, palette and brushes as I hope a career in hair and make-up will support me in the future, this is also the reason for the purse being next to them. I am holding on to photographs of my friends with the other hand as I want to still have those friendships in the future. I am sat on my bed to represent that I hope to be happy and comfortable in my surroundings. I am wearing black because although I want their to be exciting things in my life I hope that I will be able to stay calm and centred in my surroundings. I am looking directly at the camera as I want to focus on the present and remember as much of it as possible, but my legs are pointing slightly in front as I will be still going forward into the next stages of my life.