Capturing the royal gaze

Over the course of her reign, more than 1,000 artists have been invited to paint Her Majesty. Charlotte Mullins reveals some of the secrets behind seven of the most recognisable

- Charlotte Mullins

IMAGINE being a portrait artist, someone who critically studies a person's face and body to draw out the truths that lie within. Painting a portrait is about the relationship that develops between artist and sitter and both have to give something of themselves for a portrait to be successful. Then imagine taking up your palette covered in smears of oil paint and a selection of brushes and walking towards your new sitter for the first time. Nervous? Excited? Now imagine that sitter is Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-reigning monarch, head of the Commonwealth and the most portrayed woman in history.

For nearly 70 years, The Queen has regularly sat for a wide range of portrait artists and photographers, each keen to highlight different aspects of her personality, her role, her features. Whether afforded a single sitting, as American photographer Annie Leibovitz was, or a series of sittings over 18 months, like esteemed painter Lucian Freud, each artist wants to get under the skin of their sitter, even when that sitter is royalty.

The Queen has often embraced the challenge of being depicted by contemporary artists. A young Justin Mortimer modernised one official portrait by slicing up her body with yellow paint and Polly Borland added a gold-glitter backdrop to celebrate the Golden Jubilee. Freud always strove to go beyond outward appearances and wanted his paint to conjure a person's presence, not simply their likeness, on the canvas. As far as I am concerned,' he said, 'the paint is the person.' He revelled in naked flesh and often placed subjects under harsh overhead lights. In sitting for him, The Queen agreed to be scrutinised by a man who would bend no knee to tradition or sycophancy. He presented the truth he found in her face, painting her so her head filled the diminutive canvas.