National Portrait Gallery
Portrait of Dame Judi by British artist Alessandro Raho
January 2005
Last Updated:  November 25, 2006

Photos taken in the National Portrait Gallery

A Special Thank You to Connie E, USA, for sharing these photos
 

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        Comments from Connie E, USA  

Like other Dame Judi admirers, I am pleased that she is being honored by the National Portrait Gallery but not terribly thrilled by the portrait itself. She smiles a lot, and the portrait is so serious. Plus it doesn't really look like her. However, I couldn't resist going to see the actual portrait. It is hung in a small room just beyond the entry hall.  She shares the room with Sarah Siddons and David Garrick, among others.  However, unlike theirs, her portrait is huge. At first I thought is was life size, but according to one of the signs, it is larger than life. Someone mentions that it makes her look tall - well
that is why. It also doesn't show any age wrinkles. The clothes do look like Judi. I think I remember the shoes -or some from the same French designer - Robert Clergerie - from "Breath of Life." Judi likes to wear beige and white - and so it is in the portrait, along with some of her familiar jewelry.
    There is a sign next to the portrait with a short bio of Judi and a short bio of the artist ,and it mentions that the artist will have a forthcoming solo exhibition of new work later this year at Alison Jacques Gallery London.
     The more interesting sign, however, is on the other side of the room. I copied the text. The headline says "A new portrait commission." The rest says this:

     This striking full-length portrait commission is by the Goldesmith-trained British artist, Alessandro Raho. Raho has spoken of how, prior to meeting Dench for the first time at the National Portrait Gallery, he attempted to 'trap something I saw in her while she waited in the foyer of the NPG, unaware of me.' The result is a portrayal of the actress in a role cast for her by the artist highlighting
the paradoxical ability of portraiture to make a picture of a person that is both a description of their appearance and a mask. Although photography is an integral part of her engagement with painting, the completed work retains an emphasis on paintelly qualities, such as the delicate brush strokes and soft tonal effect.
     Raho, whose portraits have more usually been of family and friends, approached this commission with a strong awareness of the tradition of English theatrical portraiture.  To accompany the portrait the artist has selected a group of prints from the collection of the National Portrait Gallery which  complement his use of the full-length picture format and highlight the richness of the Gallery's historical collection. In contrast to the prints on display, Raho depicts Dench unadorned, without prop or costume, and against a plain white background.  This is a reversal of the practice he sometimes employs of "dressing up" his subjects in theatrical clothes. By presenting the actress as herself rather
than in character and in the neutrality of her own clothes, we are confronted by her larger than life physical presence and the strength of her gaze. 

     The sign next to the portrait states that it is "Commissioned by the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery and made possible by JP Morgan through the fund for new commissions, 2004"

     A personal note: I think it was last spring when I was at the NPG asking about any pictures they might have of Judi Dench. A man at the desk in the foyer who had heard the discussion told me that Judi had been in a few months before and that  she was very nice. I had just assumed she was there on a personal visit such as showing her grandson the place. However, that was probably the visit that
is mentioned in the sign. So, it's a puzzle - if she was in the foyer being so nice;  how did that translate into the expression in the portrait? And if the artist usually paints family and friends, are they still speaking to him? (Just kidding).


 

           BBC News Online Article

A new portrait of actress Dame Judi Dench is due to be unveiled at London's National Portrait Gallery on Wednesday. The painting, by the British artist Alessandro Raho, features the Oscar-winning star standing against a plain white background.

"I was thrilled and very flattered when the gallery said they wanted to commission my portrait," Dench said. "Alessandro was charming and immediately put me at my ease. It was a pleasure to work with him."

Costume

The artist, who is known for "dressing up" his subjects in theatrical clothes, opted instead to feature the actress without props or a special costume. Instead he took 200 photographs of her in an hour-long sitting, which served as his inspiration for the portrait.

"I attempted to trap something I saw in her while she waited in the main hall of the National Portrait Gallery, unaware of me," he said. "To paint a contemporary 'theatrical portrait' was an exciting, and new, prospect," he said. "Of course one also attempts to make the painting engaging even to a viewer unaware of her fame."

The portrait will be on display in Room 40 of the gallery.

National Gallery unveils Dench portrait

Richard Jinman -- Wednesday January 19, 2005

The Guardian Online Article

She's played Queen Victoria, Iris Murdoch and Bond's irascible boss, M. But Dame Judi Dench's latest role is as a "wealthy housewife" in a portrait unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery today.

Alessandro Raho imagined the Oscar-winner as a character in a film when he accepted the commission. "In my mind I cast her as a wealthy housewife who shops at Jaeger and drives a Mercedes," said the 33-year-old Londoner. "That was her role in my imaginary film."

His past portraits had been family or friends, and he was a little intimidated by the name of his subject, but recognised the task was in a tradition of theatrical portraits dating back to the 18th century and Hogarth's portrait of David Garrick.

Dame Judi saw the result for the first time last night, left, and declared herself "thrilled and flattered" the gallery had commissioned the picture.

"Alessandro was charming and immediately put me at my ease," she said. "It was a pleasure to work with him."

The Independent Online Article

PLENTY OF nail-biting at the National Portrait Gallery last night, when Dame Judi Dench arrived for the unveiling of her new portrait. The formidable actress, who is never one to mince her words, declined invitations to see the uncompromising work before it was unveiled.

"The first glimpse she'll get is when the curtains are opened," said the painter, Alessandro Raho, before the unveiling.  "When you're painting someone like Dame Judi, it's as daunting for you as it is for them, when they first see the picture."

Apropos of the sittings, Raho - who is soon to exhibit at the Alison Jacques Gallery - adds: "She asked me how I wanted her to stand, and I told her to pretend she's waiting for a bus. I don't know when she last did that, though: she arrived at the studio with a driver."

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