Hywel Pratley explains the Queen's likeness

Stamford Mercury

Hywel Pratley, who is sculpting a statue of the late Queen Elizabeth II, explains the Queen's likeness

Transcript

00:00 So Howell, talk to me about the likeness of Her Majesty.

00:05 What age is she intended to be?

00:08 Are you pleased with the likeness?

00:09 I am, I am. I always work, the method that I always use is starting with the profile.

00:15 So when you have a portrait sitter, you look for the proportions and gesture of their profile first

00:25 in order to work out a foundation to build on when you look for the widths in the front.

00:31 And we're very familiar with snaps and coins, and of course I don't have my model,

00:36 but I've got my inspiration wall of all sorts of interesting things.

00:39 Yes, I saw this. This is everything here. Now this is the original marquette that we saw in Oakham in February, wasn't it?

00:44 That's right, yeah. This is the marquette. This is the wax version for me of the bronze resin that's in Oakham at the moment, in Oakham Library.

00:51 Yes. Which was reminding me constantly of where I'm going with the composition.

00:57 But I've got several pictures of the young Queen in profile in front view in three quarters.

01:03 So working from profile first and then moving to the front, it was quite an interesting challenge to get her youth

01:12 and to get a softness of expression while also making sure that she had poise and power and warmth.

01:20 I'm hoping that I've got some of those things. I've got some warmth and some benevolence in her expression.

01:26 Yes. While of course having a recognisable image of the Queen, we know from all those images.

01:32 Yes. The first monarch to be around with so much photography, so there are endless images that I could use.

01:38 And what was a challenge is that she looked so different in each photograph.

01:44 I was really struck by how she could look so different with a different expression and so different from one royal engagement to the next.

01:52 A hat would change her, a crown would change her, a mood would change her.

01:56 So I hope I've got something that people recognise. I'm pleased though. Yeah, I'm very pleased with that.

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