Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
For several months they met secretly in a studio in the center of Berlin – a young artist and his subject, former German leader Angela Merkel. For a few hours, at least Jeremy Queyras they took his picture, they got in touch, said Merkel, talking “a lot and a lot”. Sometimes they would be quiet, or they would listen to classical music, and they would take turns and let each other choose the songs.
The results of what Merkel, 71, called her “mini tour” were unveiled to an invited audience of family, friends and a handful of art critics this week in the neo-baroque Bode-Museum in Berlin.
A museum known for its ancient art and sculptures, the museum is now the temporary home of a portrait of the former leader, wearing a blue version of one of his many large-buttoned suits. He looks a little cramped, his face a little crooked; a sign, perhaps, that the stress of being in power for 16 years has left a lasting mark.
Queyras, 28, said he “didn’t come up with the idea alone” but was persuaded to write Merkel by a friend, who had bought some of his writings and knew the former leader was looking for an artist.
“I thought: who in the world would know me?” Queyras told Die Zeit. However, he sent Merkel a handwritten letter in 2022, including pictures of her photos. He waited three years for an answer. When the two met in his Berlin office, Queyras said he ignored the “scruffy shoes” and offered him a job, not looking at any of his previous work but saying it was “good”.
Artist and multi-faceted artist, who was born in Paris but grew up in the south Germanyhe admitted that he was a little disappointed with the project and shared his doubts with Merkel. The two discussed the meaning of a portrait and why an oil painting was more appropriate than a portrait. He advised her to take some time to decide if she really wanted the job, and warned her that her life would be very different after the photo shoot.
According to Die Zeit, he said that he may be angry with other artists who did not receive the job and that he hates the right-wing people, who see Merkel as a “supporter of destruction” and may follow him with suspicion.
In preparation, Merkel arranged for Queyras to have access to the Chancellery so that he could see the portraits of the seven men who were hanged in the post-World War II German leaders’ gallery, from Konrad Adenauer to Gerhard Schröder.
Perhaps most impressively, Merkel reportedly paid Queyras herself, rather than letting German taxpayers pick up the cash. According to reports, this was so his ownership of the picture is undisputed; the painting can be borrowed from the chancellery, but Merkel can return it if the right comes to power.
The picture will be on display until October, when it will be moved to the chancellery where it will hang next to a picture of Merkel’s arch-rival Schröder, who appears to be self-deprecating. Photo by Jörg Immendorff they have been compared to the coins of the Roman emperor.
after advertising
Queyras said he thought hard about how to photograph Merkel’s hands. While in the office he came up with a familiar rhombus pattern, to cope with not knowing what to do with it. Both the artist and the subject felt that this could not match the picture.
Instead, his left hand rests on the arm of the chair with three fingers, while his right hand hangs down. He shows his restlessness, and a little impatience, looking ready to run away if he has to.
Behind him, a few problems on the table and things he had on his office desk. Social media users have been looking into the details, hoping to decipher its meaning. There is a yellow cardboard file – a nod, perhaps, to his prosaic official style and the analogue era – and a small silver cube, a gift when he entered the office, on which one word was written on each square, one of the Merkelesque traditions: “The power is found in stillness” (“There is strength in stillness”).
Fittingly, it’s been five years since Merkel left office and Germany is facing much nostalgia during her tenure. This is included in the popularity of find outa long song with Merkel’s words and her famous words, such as “the internet is part of all of us”, and “we’ve done so well, we can do this” at the height of the refugee crisis in 2015, one of the most famous moments of her leadership.
Queyras said Merkel was one of the things that made him a child: “Since I was eight years old, and growing up, she was there.” He hopes viewers will “recognize Merkel in the picture, but still get to know her anew”.
