WAYS OF ROYAL "SITTERS.'

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9316, 17 August 1908, Page 3

WAYS OF ROYAL "SITTERS.'

genor Sorolla y Bastida, the Spanish painter, five hundred of whose works are now on view in the Grafton Galleries, discussed lately (says the "Daily Mail") the idiosyncrasies of royal sitters. Recently he has painted pictures of the King and Queen of Spam, and the baby Prince of Austunas, and he is now engaged upon a portrait of Princess Henry of Battenbevg. "Of all my models/' he said, "I have found Royal personages the most patient. They are, too, the most interested in my "work. King Alfonso is all animation during the sittings. He laughs and talks the whole time, and he smokes cigarettes incessantly. Frequently he springs up and comes to look over my shoulder at the progress of the painting. In art he is immensely interested. He will talk about pictuTes for hours. And he has a real knowledge, too. There is nothing superficial about him. " The Queen of Spain has learned to talk Spanish like a native, and she is proud of her proficiency. While lam painting her she talks in that tongue with a perfect accent. And she is one of the most ideal models I have ever had. She will assume just the attitude for my purpose, and maintain it with a most praiseworthy patience, frequently turning to ask me, ' Is that right P' " Her interest in the picture I painted of the little Prince of Asturias was very pretty. She was all eagerness that I should get just the right expression upon the baby's faoe, The baby Prince behaved himself during the sittings with (quite a Royal decorum, j Never once did he cry or wriggle about, as one might have imagined. Instead, he sat perfectly still, regarding my movements with wide-open, interested eyes, as though wondering what all the fuss was about."