'As with all my portraits, it’s about achieving stillness and the truth that is revealed when there is this state of serenity.' —Chris Levine 14th November 2003: Chris Levine sets up his studio in the Yellow Drawing Room of Buckingham Palace, his subject to be - Queen Elizabeth II. To celebrate an 800-year allegiance between the island of Jersey and Great Britain, the Jersey Heritage Trust commissioned this portrait of Her Majesty. Almost two decades later, the portrait has gained an even greater potency as 2022 marks Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee.
Subverting traditional norms of Royal portraiture, Levine’s work favours simplicity and tranquility over typical Royal pomp and splendour. Far from staging an extravagant mise-en-scène, Levine opted for a monochromatic composition in which the Queen sits before a flat, black background.
Closely-cropped, the image’s focus lies in the Queen’s content and knowing expression. Captured in ultra-high-definition, it illustrates details of her face never before seen. To create the original holographic three-dimensional work, Levine took over 10,000 images of the Queen across two sittings.
For the portrait, Levine requested that the Queen wear her most iconic crown – the Diamond Diadem. Made in 1820 for George IV, the diadem was worn by the Queen for her coronation and can also be seen in her image on stamps and coins. Styled in an ermine cloak and a single string of pearls, Levine hints at the many royal portraits of the past, acknowledging his subject’s historical significance while presenting her using the techniques of the modern day.
Praised by the National Portrait Gallery as the most evocative image of a royal by any artist, and by Mario Testino as the Queen’s most beautiful portrait ever, Levine’s Equanimity has found international acclaim. In 2012, as part of The Queen: Art and Image exhibition, it toured the National Gallery Complex, Edinburgh; National Museums Northern Ireland, Belfast; and National Museum Cardiff. An exceptionally popular image, the work was chosen to feature on the cover of TIME magazine to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.