Kate Middleton turns 40, the official photos by Paolo Roversi- Corriere.it

The Italian photographer is the author of the three portraits of the Duchess of Cambridge that will become part of the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London: “only natural light, little makeup and no hairstyle, I wanted it contemporary”

The greenhouse of the wonderful Kew Gardens was the green set of the three portraits of the gods forty years of Kate Middleton made today. And here in these royal botanical gardens (10 kilometers from London) there are many collections of plants (alpine, Mediterranean, carnivorous, and then bonsai, orchids …) but there is also one of the most important collections of seeds, including those in extinction saved in 1985 by Sir David Attenborough (among the protagonists at Cop 26 in Glasgow in 2021), placed in a glass capsule that will be opened in 2085. The beauty model that Kate represents today is all in this profile of hers, a classic of certain Renaissance paintings (such as the Dama del Pollaiolo) and to give us a new image of himself (which will become part of the National Portrait Gallery in London, a museum of which Duchess of Cambridge is patroness), has chosen a master of photography, creator of iconic visions with the fashion égéries, Paolo Roversi. That at the age of nine, taking a picture of her eighteen year old sister dressed up for the party, she had guessed her vocation. Born in Ravenna in 1947 (where at 23 he opened his first portrait studio and among the first to use 20×25 Polaroids) Roversi has been a Parisian since 1973. His is an artistic practice nourished by literature, philosophy, theater, music, from the work of other great colleagues. There are countless celebrities he has photographed: Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Natalia Vodianova, Sting, Rihanna, Madonna, Belmondo, Ezra Pound…

–

First meeting last November at Kensington Palace, with Kate and her staff at a typical five o’clock tea, with biscuits. And it is the first Royal Highness that she immortalizes.

“A nice meeting, and then some nice photos. But at first the Duchess was apprehensive. Every day she is machine-gunned by photographers but not used to posing; knowing my photos with the models she was a bit fearful in facing a real session, which then required about four hours of work. But once she started it would be very easy, I reassured her. And so it was. Kate, who also studied art in Florence, is very fond of photography, in particular of authors such as Julia Margaret Cameron and Lewis Carroll who wrote Alice in Wonderland ».

–

Since 2019 she has also been patroness of the Royal Photographic Society, since Queen Elizabeth II left her the role after 67 years. Natural or artificial light to portray it?

“All in natural light. Her with little make-up, no hairstyle, simple pearl earrings, a ring… The focal point of Kate’s face is her gaze and smile. I didn’t want her too lady duchess, too establishment, but purer and more contemporary as possible, even more timeless ».

Timeless, but also very Pre-Raphaelite. There is a climate in the profile photo (which she considers the official one even if it is not from the protocol point of view) of the Duchess that refers to the painting of that English movement of the mid-19th century. To Dante Gabriel Rossetti or to Sir David Coyle Burne-Jones, I refer in particular to that Desiderium drawing of 1873, woman in profile….
“In fact, that’s right, Kate, to give me inspiration, showed me some reproductions of works by those authors you mention, but after all I have always been a Pre-Raphaelite”.

Three photos and three very different Kate. The first, in profile, regal and of a maturity that goes beyond her age and the white dress that dampens the seriousness of an effigy. The second choice by William and his children where a carefree girl returns. The third in color is as you see it, a little more glamorous.
“In the official portrait, she is also a little Angelica of Visconti’s Leopard.”

In the photos she makes there are often dreamlike and poetic elements. Then he says that through the lenses of his lens he sees many things, in depth. What did Kate’s person reveal to you?
«She is a nice, welcoming woman who puts you at ease, respectful of everyone’s work. Bursts of joie de vivre. Open, generous, luminous, I think it can bring so much hope to England and to the whole world ».

Certainly his condition was truly privileged, but for Diana it was very different.

«Lady Diana lived through a drama that made her unhappy, but she is really living her story. But he has an enormous responsibility, his every gesture is looked at under the microscope ».

In December, the selection of photos, out of 250 shots almost all in black and white.
«Which eventually became about seventy. I did the first skimming, a dozen of his favorites, then we got to 3 of my favorites and one of his, the official photo is both mine, but also his favorite. But Kate was less determined than me in the last choice. The designer Sarah Burton (hers Kate’s wedding dress) chose the dresses: only one was red, the others neutral. For the official portrait she wore the organza one, almost like a classical ballerina. In the end I wanted to take pictures in motion, so with that wonderful wide skirt I made her dance in front of my camera, a kind of accelerated waltz mixed with a pinch of rock’n’roll ». And it’s a secret image for now.

The three photos will enter the permanent collection of the London museum which will reopen after the restyling in 2023. These three photos of the Duchess of Cambridge are part of the Coming Home project conceived by the National Portrait Gallery which brings together a series of iconic portraits of famous characters that will be exhibited in places in England connected to them, thus extending the range of action of the museum. Kate’s portraits will be associated with Berkshire, St. Andrews and Anglesey. In the museum’s collections there are 967 portraits of the reigning Queen Elizabeth. And 580 of the Queen Mother (died 2002). Lady Diana has 55 portraits, Prince Charles 168. Among the paintings on canvas, that of Kate Middleton executed by Paul Emsley. And that of Queen Elizabeth by Pietro Annigoni in 1969.

–