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The art minute

Queen Elizabeth II: a pop art icon

- 10/09/2022

Queen Elizabeth 2 of England died on Thursday 8 September 2022, after 70 years of reign, at the age of 96. Much loved by the British people, she was also well known and appreciated throughout the world. Her Majesty also managed to become a pop art icon.

WHAT IS POP ART?

Pop art is an art movement that originated in the 1950s in Great Britain. It spread throughout the world in the 1960s. It affects painting as well as music and fashion. Pop art is simply popular art, also called urban art.

Elizabeth II: Entering the Modern World

Traditionally, Elizabeth II's face has been reproduced on stamps and bank notes. But the Queen of England did not stop there, her portrait can be found on coffee cups, plates, T-shirts... First, her coronation was the first to be televised worldwide. This allowed her to become part of the world's memory, not just the British. 277 million viewers around the world followed her.

ELISABETH II INSPIRED THE GREATEST ARTISTS

Whether in art, music or film, the Queen of England has inspired many artists. They have either sublimated or criticised her. But Elizabeth II could not leave them indifferent during her 70 years of reign.

God Save The Queen: from a critique to a popular tribute

When the Sex Pistols released their single "God Save The Queen" (referring to the national anthem of the United Kingdom), it was not to glorify Elizabeth 2. In this song, the punk band compares the British monarchy to a fascist regime, and states that the Queen is not human. At the time, it was banned from public radio and television programming. The cover is not very respectful either. The eyes and mouth of the queen are hidden by the title of the single and the name of the group. It has become one of Her Majesty's most famous images. In fact, the track was re-released on 27 May 2022, a few weeks before the Queen's Golden Jubilee.

The Sex Pistols were not the only musicians to criticise the Queen. In 1989, members of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses released "Elizabeth My Dear". In it, they sang "will not rest until she loses her throne".

Painting

There are many portraits of Queen Elizabeth 2. She has posed no less than 175 times in the 70 years of her reign, alone or with her family.

One of the most famous paintings is by Andy Warhol in 1985, for a series on reigning queens. He hijacked an official photo to personalise it, in the same way as he had already done with Maryline Monroe. But there are also artists like Cecil Beaton, Lucien Freud and Annie Leibovitz.

Thestreet art has also taken over her image. If you walk through the streets of London, you will see many paintings of the Queen of England on the walls. Bambi, considered the feminine Banksy painted a young Queen Elizabeth II as a diamond queen. Banksy himself painted a portrait of the Queen in the Bristol area.

🎨 A portrait of Queen Elizabeth II
🎨 10 things about Elizabeth II

Fascinated by the portraits of Elizabeth II? You will love the works in our collection

Queen Elizabeth 2 Collection

Elizabeth II, the fashion queen

The Queen loved fashion. She always dressed with taste and elegance. She was immediately recognisable by her brightly coloured outfits and matching hat. This inspired the greatest designers: Stella McCartney, Chanel, Thierry Mugler, Givenchi, Christian Dior...

Television

A modern queen, Elizabeth 2 knew how to use the media to increase her popularity. With a real sense of British humour and self-mockery, she surprised her subjects by appearing in a video with Paddington Bear during her Golden Jubilee in 2022. She can be seen drinking a cup of tea with England's favourite bear and tapping his spoon.

She has also been a great inspiration to the scriptwriters. The Queen's character appears in the cartoons "The Simpsons" and "Peppa Pig", or in films such as "The Minions" in 2015, "Austin Powers in Goldmember" in 2002 or "Is there a cop to save the Queen?" in 1988.

Cinema

Her life, the scandals linked to the royal family, the intimacy of the Queen and her family have been the source of many films in the cinema.

"The King's Speech" in 2010 looks back at her father's struggle with his stammer. "The Queen", in 2006, recounts one of the most difficult periods of Elizabeth II's reign: the period following the death of Princess Diana and the disenchantment of the British people with the Queen.

The series "The Crown", broadcast on Netflix, tells the story of the Queen's life in detail, from her childhood. It shows her relationship with Prince Philip, who will die in 2021, and their arguments as a couple. We also follow her relationship with the successive prime ministers during her reign and the scandals of the entire British royal family. The series has been a real success and for some young British people it has helped to reconcile them with the crown.

CLOSE TO MAJOR POPULAR EVENTS

One might think that the Queen is above the great popular masses. But not at all. She was interested in everything and understood that being present at major events allowed her to remain popular with her people.

So she didn't hesitate to take part in the opening ceremony of the London Olympics. But she didn't just give a speech. Elizabeth 2 agreed to take part in a sketch. With her famous corgis, she receives James Bond at Buckingham Palace. She pretended to get into a helicopter and parachute into the Olympic stadium.

In 2016, she promoted the Invictus Games with her grandson Harry and former US President Barack Obama.

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