British artist commissioned to do first formal portrait of Pope Benedict XVI

(Tues.20 March,2007):- British artist Michael Noakes was commissioned for the first formal portrait of Pope Benedict XVI. According to the London-based Times, Noakes saw the Pope as a slightly shy man and tried to portray that. "He also smiles a great deal," the artist said, "but it's an oil painting, and it is going to be around as part of the records for a long time. So I made him look cheerful, with a degree of seriousness and a bit of a twinkle." The portrait, which measures 124 by 82 centimeters unframed, will be shown to the Pontiff at the end of April. It will eventually hang in the Vatican.