LDS Church Releases Official Portrait of New First Presidency
March 11th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
According to the Church:
“The First Presidency was reorganized following the death of the Church’s 15th president, Gordon B. Hinckley, who passed away on 27 January.
President Monson is the 16th worldwide leader of the Church. President Eyring, who serves as first counselor to President Monson, previously served as second counselor in the First Presidency. Second counselor, President Uchtdorf, was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles prior to his new assignment.
The First Presidency is the most senior governing body in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
I think the painting photograph is mediocre at best. Anyone else want to weigh in on style?
JV Says
It is actually a photograph, not a painting (you can tell if you download the hi-res image). That may make a difference in the final result, which is a very uncomfortable composition, imo.
-JV
Mar 11th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
JV Says
Here is why I think the composition is uncomfortable:
I don’t know if the photographer was going for a symbolic illustration of the First Presidency hierarchy (Eyering, as First Counselor, standing taller than Uchtdorf, the Second Counselor), or if it was just an attempt to place the faces in a more aesthetically pleasing configuration, but either way, Uchtdorf looks shorter than normal, and Eyering looks taller than normal.
The background hurts the image. The floor-to-ceiling dark wood paneling (combined with the matching dark suits) gives it a stodgy law firm feel, and the lack of decorations on the wall, and completely empty tables with no chairs, makes the scene seem artificial and unwelcoming.
There is a lot of unused space between the figures and the edge of the image, and that adds to the overall feeling of sparseness and artificiality by making the figures seem grouped unnaturally close together. Vertical lines on either side of the grouped figures, formed by the wood paneling and table legs (and strengthened by the outer edges of the figures themselves) seem to be holding the men in the middle of the image.
The image is very bottom-heavy. Monson is very close to sitting on the bottom edge of image, and the bottom is the only place where a figure leaves the picture plane. The lines created by the tables, the wood paneling, Monson’s chair, and all of the hands make the bottom 1/3 of the image very dense and busy compared to the top, and Monson’s seated figure seems kind of trapped within it all.
None of them seems very happy either.
-JV
Mar 12th, 2008 at 12:16 am
Menachem Wecker Says
Wow. I guess the graininess of the image is what threw me off. Thanks so much for clarifying that, JV.
I like your analysis too. Very insightful. Do you have any idea how this compares with previous portraits? Were they generally photographed or painted? I’d love to get more of a feel for the history…
Mar 12th, 2008 at 3:37 am