J.K. Rowling portrait- Stuart Person Wright

I chose the portrait of world know author, JK Rowling, painted in 2004 by Stuart Pearson Wright. He lives in East London, and is 34 years old. His work varies, but he mostly focuses on portraits. The sitters he has had in the past are remarkable varying from the Duke of Edinburgh, to Daniel Radcliffe. The portrait of his that I chose was one of Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling. This is not your typical portrait, because instead of it painted on a canvas it is a three dimensional portrait, it is suppose to be like a “regency toy theater”. This means that figures are painted on flat cut outs, made from wood. I found this piece of art when I went to the National Portrait Gallery in London, its one of my favorite museums I have ever been to, mainly because I love to look at portraits.

This portrait drew me in because of three reasons. The first, I’m a Harry Potter fan and heard about it before I went there. Secondly, it looks very interesting, and is not like the typical portrait. The third, is as I mentioned before, I love looking at portraits, and making up stories about their life. This portrait is filled with symbolism. The table she is sitting at represents the table, and small apartment where she wrote the first Harry Potter book, and also where she sometimes still writes. The eggs on the table, there’s three of them, they represent her three children. The sky is supposed to represent the illusion that represents the Potter series. Rowling’s youthful appearance and distorted space is supposed to remind the audience of the classic, Alice in Wonderland. I considered the double meanings to be apart of art, and a way of seeing how the artist expresses himself.

Looking at Anderson’s “Quartet of Traditions” I have come to the conclusion that it is mimetic. Not only is it an accurate portrait, but since it is a three-dimensional piece, the shadows, and the light switch built in to create the shadows are very much realistic. This portrait is literally one of my favorite portraits I have ever seen, mainly because of its unique structure.