The first official portrait of Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, was revealed this week after months of anticipation.
The portrait was announced in Nov. 2012 and was painted by artist Paul Emsley who used a complicated technique which required Emsley to build layers of oil and glazes on a canvas according to The Huffington Post.
The duchess sat twice for the artist, once in May and again in June of 2012, and stated she wanted to be "depicted in her natural, not official, presence." Emsley also worked off of photos he took of Middleton during their time together.
Click here to see the portrait on The Telegraph website.
"I don't have lots of things in the background. I do like large faces, I find them strong and contemporary," said Emsley according to the BBC. "I'm interested in the landscape of the face, the way in which light and shadow fall across the forms. That's really my subject matter."
Middleton and Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, saw the portrait for the first time in a 10-minute private viewing this week according to the Telegraph, and were left impressed overall.
The 65-year-old artist did admit that it was "difficult to paint such a beautiful woman," stating that when a subject has a lot of wrinkles or a distinctive chin or nose, it's easier to paint their likeness.
Though Middleton reportedly called the portrait "amazing," and brilliant," not everyone seems to agree with the duchess.
"Fortunately, the Duchess of Cambridge looks nothing like this in real life," Robin Simon, editor of the British Art Journal said to the Daily Mail. "I'm really sad to say this is a rotten portrait."
The main flaw that Emsley seemed to highlight in the portrait is the bags under Middleton's eyes, although he has refused to discuss why he included them in the first place, nor has he mentioned if Middleton was upset that he did.
"There is no context here - no map, no skull, no heraldic mace, little other than a face," said Michael Glover, a writer for the U.K. website, The Independent. "It is a face which is beginning to look just a touch dropsical."
Middleton, who just turned 31 this week, is expecting her first child and has been suffering from a rare form of pregnancy sickness according to the Associated Press.
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