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Queen Elizabeth I Portrait

Queen Elizabeth I

Portraits



See GALLERY for a selection of the Queen's most famous portraits.


There are few portraits of Elizabeth as princess but many survive of her as queen. As the most important person in the land, and as one of the most important rulers in Europe, there was a great demand for her picture at home and abroad. Rich nobles wanted to display their sovereign's portrait in their great houses, as a symbol of loyalty, and potential suitors wanted to see what she looked like. Even after the passage of four hundred years the Queen's portrait still hangs in many historic houses.

Most portraits of the Queen were large but some were very small. These were known as miniatures and were worn in jewellery as a symbol of loyalty. The way the Queen was painted changed over time. In the early years of her reign portraits of Elizabeth were very simple. Indeed, in many of these paintings the Queen looks like any other wealthy Elizabethan woman.



Young Queen Elizabeth I

Early Portrait
Wiki Commons



However, as painting techniques advanced, and as the Queen learned the power of PR, her paintings became sophisticated works of art full of symbolism and majesty. Only painters commissioned by the Queen were allowed to paint her, such as Nicholas Hilliard or Isaac Oliver, but other artists often copied the final paintings. This is why there are several copies of some portraits and why they vary in quality. Portraits that fell short of the Queen's expectations, or were so poorly done that they were very unflattering, would be destroyed. Elizabeth wanted her portraits to impress, to present her in the best possible light, as many people never got to see her in person so this would be their only impression of her majesty and power.



Queen Elizabeth I

Later Portrait
Wiki Commons



Roy Strong remains the leading authority on Queen Elizabeth's portraits and his book Gloriana: The Portraits of Queen Elizabeth I looks at the Queen's portraits in depth. Unfortunately this book is out of print but can be purchased used on amazon and other retailers.



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