Vincent Fantauzzo’s Heath Ledger portrait named Archibald Prize People’s Choice winner
On a recent visit to see the Archibald Prize portraits on busy Sunday afternoon at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Vincent Fantauzzo’s portrait of Heath Ledger was, not unsurprisingly, the hardest work to get to see close up on account of the interest in the painting, and its subject.
“I wanted it to be dealing with self, your own consciousness and your thoughts,” says Fantauzzo. “An artist is their own biggest critic. I had seen his eyes wander off or stare into the camera while doing interviews and wondered what he may have been thinking. I felt that being a celebrity, you are always under constant scrutiny with so many demands made of you that you have to hold part of yourself back and not give too much away.”
