Heath Ledger's Final Portrait Revealed

Thu, 21 February 2008 21:48:09 ET

Heath Ledger sat down for a painting session of his portrait few weeks before his death but ironically never lived to see the final.

Just few weeks before his tragic death on January 22, Heath Ledger sat down to model for a portrait session with Australian artist Vincent Fantauzzo. Many of the painter's friends have seen the final product through text messages but ironically, not the model of the painting. Ledger did not live to see the portrait of him being brought to a still when he was found dead of accidental drug overdose at his SoHo apartment.

For one thing the actor, as explained by Fantauzzo, is very private and specific about getting himself painted. "He never let anyone paint him for that reason, because he felt it was quite a personal thing, to be painted. I think Heath was really feeling quite comfortable with himself recently, so it was easy to do it this time around. He gave me a call (in December) and said he was in Perth... so I jumped on a plane right away, and that's where we did the painting."

Fantauzzo told PageSix that there were long hours of talks before the session took place. "The night before, we talked about the painting and about art, and about all sorts of things," he said, adding that once the session started, Ledger was very serious to almost like doing "meditation".

Open up to all sort of interpretations, the painting presents bare-chested Ledger being 'haunted' by his own two images. "It was an idea we discussed together and came up with...," Fantauzzo explained. "It was about how we all have different consciences and voices in our head that tell us what to do and how to react. They're not good or bad, they're just voices that we hear, telling us how to behave. That's what the other figures are in the painting."

The painter said that "it's a real shame" that Ledger did not get to see it in finished form but since his death, fans have been e-mailing him in support. As planned by Fantauzzo and Ledger, the painting is up for Australia's prestigious Archibald Prize for portraiture.