Portrait honours Sir Andrew Wiles, who proved Fermat’s theorem

This portrait of Sir Andrew Wiles, who solved a problem that had puzzled mathematicians for centuries, was today unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery.

Sir Andrew, born in 1953, proved Fermat’s Last Theorem in 1994 after being fascinated by it from childhood.

His portrait is by Rupert Alexander, a Chelsea College of Art graduate, who has painted the Queen and other members of the Royal Family. It was created over five sittings, most at the artist’s studio in London.

Rosie Broadley, associate curator of the National Portrait Gallery, said: “Using a palette of blues and greens, Rupert Alexander has achieved a ­nocturnal and ethereal effect that he felt was appropriate for his sitter’s important yet esoteric achievement.” Mr Alexander said: “I wanted to ­convey the cerebral world Sir Andrew inhabits, but rather than doing so by furnishing the composition with books or the obligatory blackboard of ­equations, I tried to imply it simply through the light and atmosphere.

“Mathematics appears to me an austere discipline, so casting him in a cool, blue light seemed apt.”

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