Britta's Letters from her life divided between city-life in German's capital Berlin and life in a Bavarian village

Friday 8 January 2016

As I promised, Rachel



©Brigitta Huegel

A few days ago I told Rachel, who had published some of her drawings on a wall of her house that it reminded me of a wallpaper I had seen in Kensington Palace.
I had to look through some photos... (glad: the visual brain still works - I took the photograph in 2013 - thought: I do a lot to avoid learning Italian -just kidding, will start in a few minutes, diligently).
This part I absolutely love:


©Brigitta Huegel



17 comments:

  1. Do we know who drew the pictures?

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    1. Elaine, I'm glad you asked: thus I had to surf the Internet and found:
      "The exhibition has been designed by interior stylist Finola Inger, who employed fashion illustrator Julie Verhoeven to turn some of the most instantly recognisable photographs of Diana into eye-catching colour sketches.

      Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2117922/Princess-Dianas-life-wallpaper-Iconic-photos-turned-sketches-Kensington-Palaces-12m-restoration.html#ixzz3wds518IT
      Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

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  2. I'm not sure what I think of that wallpaper Britta ....... a little narcissistic for my taste !!!! I would be mortified if I had wallpaper of myself in my own home !!!! Do you know which room it was in ? XXXX

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    1. Well, Jackie: I always thought it was put there after her death? But, as you, I thought: What are the thoughts of her sons when they see those drawings?
      They were in a room in the basement - a room with many cushions on which portraits of Royals were stiched.

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  3. I think the day we heard of Diana's death is a vivid to each of us as the day we heard of President Kennedy's assassination. I don't know whether to be charmed or offended that a room is wallpapered in her honor. On the other hand, the art is beautiful. I wonder if Camilla goes there.

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    1. Those days you mention are really vivid to remember - I was a small school child when JFK was murdered, and I remember working in Nuremberg) when John Lennon was killed. And Lady Di's death, of course.
      I hadn't thought about Camilla's feelings, though, concerning that wallpaper.

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  4. Thank you Britta; now that I am home I can see the pictures which I could not see on my work computer, nor my phone. I feel strange about these and whilst I like the artwork I am puzzled about how and why they appear in Kensington Palace at all, whatever room. I have views about Diana that are not particularly mainstream and so I do not talk about her. If she was aware of the wallpaper during her life then it says so much. Thank you again.

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    1. I was puzzled too! My very first (silly) reaction was "Graffiti" - ridiculous, not only because there were so many themes but also the way it was done. And though I cannot believe that this wallpaper could have been there when she was alive, I agree with you that it would say a lot about her - as the illustrator put into the subjects too.

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    2. I like the drawings and I can see how my wall would have an association with this wallpaper. I understand it with Rosemary's explanation. It is a curator's idea and maybe there is something of an innocence here which so many people believed of Diana and the curator wanted to portray.

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    3. Yes, in this way it makes sense. I love the drawings too, but even three years later I remember my impression of - mmh, just not(!) innocence. The colours are soft, the watercolour technique subtle - but the expressions are not (in my opinion) - I had the faint uneasiness of almost caricature.

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    4. She played upon this look during her life, pseudo innocence.

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  5. Dear Britta - the wallpaper was only put up in 2012 - 15 years after Diana's death. I understand it was used as a backdrop to an exhibtion showing her dresses and evening gowns.

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    1. Thank you, Rosemary, good to know - I was there in 2013 (100th Chelsea Flower Show), and didn't see the exhibition of her dresses, but a marvelous exhibition on Queen Victoria.

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  6. I find it interesting that they did not use portable backdrops. Very artistic of them.

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    1. After I looked up 'backdrops', Emma, I understood - they would have emphasized the nature of an exhibition, while a wallpaper transports the idea of "private" and "homely".

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