Jiawei Shen often juxtaposes contradictory elements in his paintings to indicate his sitter’s history or situation. This painting of HM Queen Mary of Denmark (b. 1972) is a study for his ‘court portrait’, where he placed the then Crown Princess alongside a column based on the architecture of Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen; in the background lies the Sydney Opera House, designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon. Shen commenced work on the portrait in Sydney in February 2005, when the Princess made her first royal tour of her homeland. Given the limited time available for the sitting, the artist took many photographs and made several studies and sketches, which were acquired along with the finished painting.
Born Mary Donaldson in Hobart, she gained a degree in commerce and law from the University of Tasmania in 1994. Completing further qualifications in advertising, she worked as an account manager in Melbourne, Edinburgh and Sydney. She met the then Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, like her, an adroit sportsperson, when he visited Sydney for the 2000 Olympic Games. Moving to Denmark in 2002, she studied Danish history and language before her marriage to Frederik in Copenhagen Cathedral on 14 May 2004.
Commissioned with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy 2005
© National Portrait Gallery of Australia
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Mette Skougaard and Thomas Lyngby bring eloquent context to Ralph Heimans’ portraits of Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark.
Gordon Darling talks about how Jiawei Shen came to paint his portrait.
