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Queen Elizabeth II portrait »The Lightness of Being«, photographed by Chris Levine
Photo: Chris Levine / Camera Press / ddp images
Since photographs have become a commodity, it has been interesting to see which images have the most impact.
During the 70 years of her reign, Queen Elizabeth II was photographed and painted countless times.
In London's National Portrait Gallery, 967 pictures are tagged with "Queen Elizabeth II."
One of these is particularly impressive, the museum bought it in 2013. The Queen wears a diamond-studded tiara from the Crown Jewels, a white coat with a fur collar and a pearl necklace over a dark shirt.
The picture lights up because it is attached to a light box.
What is unusual about it is that it shows the queen with her eyes closed.
The picture was taken in 2004 and has often been described in superlatives, such as the most beautiful and majestic image of the Queen.
SPIEGEL also chose it as the cover for its cover story about the now deceased Queen.
Canadian-born artist Chris Levine had previously worked with the likes of Kate Moss and Grace Jones.
He had been commissioned to photograph Queen Elizabeth for a holographic portrait, i.e. an image with a three-dimensional effect.
A total of 8,000 photos were taken for the black and white work »Equanimity«.
»Equanimity« also hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.
grandeur and religiosity
To get Queen Elizabeth in the mood for the session, he lit incense sticks in the Yellow Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace and worked with meditation techniques, Levine reported a few years later.
He asked the Queen to focus on an ultraviolet light crucifix.
The atmosphere was "surreal".
Perhaps even more famous than Equanimity, however, was the by-product of the eyes-closed photo series that Levine rediscovered years later on his hard drive.
He asked the Queen to close her eyes so she could rest and he could watch her breathing, Levine said.
He called the picture »The Lightness of Being«.
Perhaps Levine wanted to evoke the iconic novel by Czech author Milan Kundera.
»The Unbearable Lightness of Being« tells not only about lightness, but also about the severity and scope of human actions.
The portrait has been exhibited many times since then.
“We all close our eyes.
This picture takes us into the thoughts of the queen, into her inner realm,” said artist Levine on the occasion of an exhibition.
Closed eyes signify intimacy, they show people in a moment of out of control.
But they also symbolize grandeur.
The luxury of being able to close your eyes means seclusion and concentration.
The everyday background noise of the world cannot get the Queen out of her focus.
She devotes herself completely to her task, says this picture, fading out unnecessary things.
In contrast to the monochrome hologram work, one can also see on the color photograph that Levine chose a violet tone for the lipstick color in the styling, a spiritual color.
Like the closed eyes, it points to the queen's strong, trusting connection to religion.
She sees herself as a servant.
Faith has always played a big role for Queen Elizabeth.