Nine months we have had to wait to see what they are like the new portraits of King Felipe VI and Queen Letiziawhich was taken by the famous North American photographer Annie Leibovitzknown for portraying Queen Elizabeth II, Barack Obama and many well-known international faces such as Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, the last photo of Yoko Ono and John Lennon together, and to many Hollywood stars. The images were taken on February 7 in the Gasparini Hall, one of the most emblematic and ornate spaces of the Royal Palace of Madrid, where Charles III received visitors.
The photo session lasted more than five hours, from eleven in the morning to five in the afternoon, with only a break for lunch. These portraits of the Kings were an order made by the Bank of Spain in October 2022 on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the proclamation of Felipe VI and Its price has been 137,000 euros, an amount of money that Annie Leibovitz has received, which is well below her price since she is one of the most famous photographers in the world.
Although the artist had absolute freedom When carrying out the work, the Bank of Spain imposed three slogans: that the pictorial portrait be replaced by the photographic one, that it be done by an artist and that she be foreign, in order to internationalize the collection of the Bank of Spain. When choosing clothing and accessories, Leibovitz wanted them to dress up. The Bank of Spain put as a condition that Queen Letizia would wear a model that would not have worn before in official portraits.
Before photographer Annie Leibovitz traveled to Madrid with a team of four assistantssent a trusted person to search for locations. Several rooms were considered in the Royal Palace, as well as inside the Bank of Spain building. Finally, the rococo atmosphere from the Gasparini Hall of the Royal Palace convinced the photographerdespite the fact that the final work is far from the close image that the royal family wants to convey. But, as stated by the Bank of Spain, Leibovitz had the last word and creativity. all the time.
King Felipe VI, as Captain General, and Queen Letizia, as Balenciaga
In the portrait of the King, we can see Felipe VI standing and with a natural pose, dressed in the formal uniform of Captain General of the Army, navy blue. On the warrior it shines red silk sash of Captain General, crossed on the chest the band of the Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III. The monarch also wears the golden fleece and other notable decorations military. In addition to the Captain General’s uniform, two other options for the King to wear, like the morning coat and the tailcoat but Leibovitz chose the first, with the highest decorations.
For its part, Queen Letizia appears spectacular, like a Hollywood actress, with a dress from the Basque designer, Cristobal Balenciaga. A black pleated silk tulle dress from the 40s, with a strapless neckline, which she combined with a gala cape also made of silk, in fuchsiafrom the 60s, also by Balenciaga. These are two historical pieces, both donated by the Antoni de Montpalau Foundation. The pink cape made by the Guipuzcoan designer was exhibited at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in the exhibition ‘Balenciaga and Spanish painting’. The layer What Letizia is wearing supposes a link between the portrait and the wedding of Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofiasince in 1962 María del Carmen Ferrer-Cajigal de Robert, countess of Torroella de Montgrí and marchioness of Robert, commissioned it from the couturier for the wedding of Felipe VI’s parents in Athens.
Queen Letizia dressed in Balenciaga in Leibovitz’s portrait
The King’s wife, who appears flooded with natural light When placed next to the window, does not carry the royal diadem nor the band of Charles III, with whom he did pose at the beginning of the session. After a break and while the King was being portrayed, the Queen removed both elements and in the end, “the artist proposed to the Queen that appeared stripped of those attributes,” as explained by Yolanda Romero, curator of the exhibition ‘The Tyranny of Cronos’.
Queen Letizia was left as accessories, a chaton necklace – a jewel that King Alfonso XIII gave as a gift to his wife Victoria Eugenia of Battermberg-, diamond earrings and ring solid gold on the index finger, from the Italian firm Coreterno, which is his favorite, since it was a gift that the King and his daughters, Leonor and Sofía, made to him years ago. The 18 karat gold ring, carry inscribed two messages. On the outside: “Love that moves everything” (‘Love moves everything’), which is inspired by the last line of Dante Alighieri’s ‘Divida Comedia’, and on the inside, it carries this message in English: ‘As long as I’m existing you will be loved’ (‘As long as I exist you will be loved’)a text inspired by an English lada from the Middle Ages.
Other details of the portraits of the Kings
The photographer Annie Leibovitz met the Kings personally in 2013when she was recognized with the Prince of Asturias award of Communication and Humanities. During this meeting, the artist expressed his desire to photograph Felipe VI and Letizia. From this moment on, they remained in contact and in the end, Leibovitz was able to fulfill his wish.
The portraits of Kings Felipe and Letizia, which They are very pictorial and form a diptych, are the stars of the ‘The Tyranny of Cronus’ exhibition, which was inaugurated this Tuesday at noon and which It can be visited from this Wednesday, November 27 until March 29, 2025. The hours are Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Regarding the details of the portraits. They are two photographs printed with UV curing inks on primed polyester canvas (223.52 by 170.18 centimeters each), in a unique edition. The portraits of the Kings become part of the splendid artistic collection of the Bank of Spain. After their exhibition, they will hang in the Governing Council room of the institution. These portraits They add to the impressive gallery of portraits officials of the Bank of Spain, signed by artists such as Goya, Vicente López, Zuloaga or Sorolla, inter alia. The image rights will be shared by the photographer and the institution.
Source: www.vozpopuli.com
