Elizabethan Portraiture
Queen Elizabeth I as a figure of royalty and nobility to her country wanted every portrait that was every painted of her to show off her love for England, its people and her nobility as a royal. As time went on her portraits become a lot more detailed and elaborate, Noble people of the higher class would also carry small miniature images of Queen Elizabeth I around with them as a sign of loyalty to her and her country.
Each portrait that Elizabeth ever hd painted of her had a meaning behind them and the detailing with props also meant something personal to her. For example pearls where seen frequently draped around her neck and in her hair this was a sign of her high status and wealthy but also a sign of her purity as 'The Virgin Queen". Her crown is obviously a sign of her royal status to her country. In quite a few of the portraits of Elizabeth she is seen to be holding a rose or it is placed nearby this was called "The Tudor Rose" which is an emphasis on her line to the throne and her position on the royal heirachy.
The Rainbow Portrait (c.1600)
The Rainbow Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I was seen to be the myth of the virgin with her hair hanging loose on her shoulders and the essence of innocence that is portrayed on her face. The cloak that she is wearing in this portrait appears to be covered in images of eyes and ears to give a sense of as her high status and royalty she is the "eyes and ears" for her country and the people of it. We can see from the visual that her head dress and collar are detailed with lace and pearls and she has jewels draped around her neck to keep up with her royal status, and the serpant that is detailed on the sleeve of her right arm symbolises the idea of freedom which is what she wanted for her country and for that to continue.
The Pelican Portrait (c.1575)
http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/elizface2.htm
The Pelican Portrait was painted to represent her to a protestant country and the people of it with the exiles returning to England in full support of her reign. As we can see this portrait is full of detailing and lots of bright colour which included red and gold which only the very wealthy people would be able to wear, cotcheneal which was a form of crushed beetles which gave the colour of deep red and then was soaked into the materials as a dye, iron oxide was also a contribution towards the dying of lace materials.
The Pelican Portrait was painted to represent her to a protestant country and the people of it with the exiles returning to England in full support of her reign. As we can see this portrait is full of detailing and lots of bright colour which included red and gold which only the very wealthy people would be able to wear, cotcheneal which was a form of crushed beetles which gave the colour of deep red and then was soaked into the materials as a dye, iron oxide was also a contribution towards the dying of lace materials.
The Phoenix Portrait (c.1572)
The Phoenix Portrait was painted in representation of Queen Elizabeth I and her last ditched attempt at finding her true love, she is seen to still be holding the "Tudor Rose" which still shows emphasis on her line of royalty and her passion and dedication on the royal hierarchy but also reinforces her virginal ideals and her anticipation to find love.
The Ermine Portrait (1585)
http://www.naergilien.info/real-life-research/interesting-findings/
The Ermine Portrait was painted with the presentation of Elizabeth's significant royalty and wealth, as you can see she is seated with an Ermine which is part of the weasel family but seen to be symbolic of royalty and if you can see closely the Ermine has a small gold crown placed around its neck to put more emphasis on the high status and wealth, we can also clearly see the handle of a gold sword to the right of the portrait which I think clearly states the high power and strength Elizabeth holds as the Queen of England.
The Ermine Portrait was painted with the presentation of Elizabeth's significant royalty and wealth, as you can see she is seated with an Ermine which is part of the weasel family but seen to be symbolic of royalty and if you can see closely the Ermine has a small gold crown placed around its neck to put more emphasis on the high status and wealth, we can also clearly see the handle of a gold sword to the right of the portrait which I think clearly states the high power and strength Elizabeth holds as the Queen of England.
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