Portrait of Hilary Mantel to be displayed at the British Library
Man Booker Prize-winning novelist Hilary Mantel is the only living writer to have her painting on display at the British Library. The new work by painter Nick Lord attempts to portray Mantel as active and strong, in contrast to more 鈥減assive鈥� depictions of women.
Mantel of the portrait, "I wanted it to have a bit of force behind it. I didn't want to look as if I was just sitting, contemplating the daffodils, but as though I might have an impact in the world.鈥�
鈥淭he whole issue of women in public life and their image; so often in history, women have been passive recipients of an artist's gaze or a camera's gaze. We are moving into an era where this has to be renegotiated,鈥� she said.
Mantel also that the experience of sitting for a portrait would be helpful to her own work. She is now writing the last book of her Thomas Cromwell trilogy, 鈥淭he Mirror and The Light鈥�, which is due out next year. The book features portrait artist Hans Holbein, whose character could be influenced by Lord and Mantel鈥檚 collaboration.
"The painter Hans Holbein is a continuing character, and the story of Cromwell's portrait continues through the three books and it is obviously something I have thought about before,鈥� she BBC News.
"You realize how interesting the relationship can be between the painter and the sitter and how much is being negotiated," she added.
Lord won the commission to paint Mantel after being named , running against more than 2,000 other painters.
The portrait will be on display at the British Library on February 24.
