Read an amazing short essay on the new Portrait of King Charles over on Tumblr. And I have thoughts.
TDLR; The Painter, Jonathan Yeo has a history of not only capturing the image of their subject but also the 'vibes' of the subject. To steal directly from the post 'its a photograph of his soul'.
Now I get pretentious.
Reading about the symbolism in the piece and the more-than-likely intentional details was very enlightening. But I think the most potent thing about it is the same association I've seen with the painting 'belonging in darksouls/eldenring'.
For the life of me I can't find it, but theres been an edit of the painting framed behind Tanith in Volcano Manor.
And theres something to be said of the sheer skill of Yeo to have the lay person associate this royal portrait with the crumbling, decaying worlds of Fromsoft. Worlds which are begging for change and gasping for life. Especially so as a replacement of the portrait of Rykard who's manor looms above pathways paved with the bodies of soldiers, some driven mad screaming at the wind. Who's 'noble warriors' are blood thirsty militants who would easily turn upon their peers. Who's courtyard holds a bloody record of inhuman actions made to further his own goals. Who lies in the center of this den of cruelty called a 'Manor' coiled up and slumbering while those more capable than he was in life are sent to him like cattle to die and feed the greedy snake he cultivates.
Yeo is reminding us that decrepit rulers living castles built on blood and bone aren't relegated to fiction.
But they should all go out the same way.