Philip de Laszlo: Artist to Royalty

"Archimandrite Gregorius of Philippopolis"
by Philip de Laszlo

Philip de Laszlo wrote: "Since the portraits of the Prince Ferdinand and Princess Marie Louise were required for official purposes I had to paint both sitters in full court dress with all their decorations. To save them from sitting too long I had two life-sized dummies dressed up, so that I could paint in the details by myself. One day, after spending the morning struggling with the intricacies of Ferdinand's brilliantly-coloured orders, I saw on my return from luncheon that the position of one of the stars on the Prince's dummy had been changed. Later on the Prince came in and asked me, with his knowing smile, if I had noticed the alteration. I replied that I had. 'I did it,' said His Royal Highness. 'It was not in its correct place.' The result was that the whole star had to be painted again. 

The Prince also asked me to paint a three-quarter length portrait of the Archimandrite Gregorius of Philippopolis, who was then visiting. A splendid studio was arranged for me at the palace, and I could not have wished for a more inspiring and intelligent subject. He had perfect classic features. When he first entered the studio in his simple black robe and black headdress, I was deeply impressed by the dignity of his bearing and the calmness of his presence. I painted him as he sat in his chair and finished the portrait in twelve sittings.

Besides this work I was also asked to paint a copy of my portrait of Princess Marie Louise, then one of their infant son, Boris, and a small picture of the only child of the Prince's personal secretary, M. Stancioff.

My experience at the Court of Sofia was very helpful to me in my future career. I learned how carefully one has to move, not so much in the presence of the sovereigns themselves, but amongst their entourage. Young though I was, I learnt the value of discretion. 

Before I left Sofia, Princess Marie Louise presented me with a very beautiful tie pin, in the form of a fleur-de-lys and her crown set in rubies and sapphires. This was my first Royal present, and Prince Ferdinand honoured me with his Order for Art and Science. It will not be difficult to imagine what it meant to me at that age to receive the first tokens of appreciation of this kind, and I left Bulgaria happy to feel that I had fulfilled the expectations of the Royal family."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Portrait of a Painter" by Owen Rutter.)