Elizabeth I, Queen of England
Date: about 1588
Dimensions:
H: 30 in. (76.2 cm); W: 25 in. (63.5 cm)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Place of Origin: Britain
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1953.94
Label Text:Resplendent with pearls, gold, jewels, lace, red wig, and ostrich-feather fan, England’s Queen Elizabeth I (reigned 1558–1603) is a dazzling and commanding figure in this portrait by an unknown artist. Elizabeth had only a few official portraits painted of her throughout her reign, which then served as the basis for the many copies and variations that were disseminated throughout her kingdom and beyond. This portrait is based on an official life-portrait done about the time of the stunning British naval defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, when Elizabeth was 54.
Elizabeth is dressed in the most elaborate of costumes, the satin embroidered with flowers and plants—lilies, strawberries, primroses, carnations—associated with the Virgin Mary and thus emphasizing Elizabeth’s identity as Gloriana, the Virgin Queen.
The inscription “by Mark Gerard” at the upper left was added about 1800 and is an erroneous attribution to the artist Marcus Geeraerdts (1566–1635).
Elizabeth is dressed in the most elaborate of costumes, the satin embroidered with flowers and plants—lilies, strawberries, primroses, carnations—associated with the Virgin Mary and thus emphasizing Elizabeth’s identity as Gloriana, the Virgin Queen.
The inscription “by Mark Gerard” at the upper left was added about 1800 and is an erroneous attribution to the artist Marcus Geeraerdts (1566–1635).
Not on view
In Collection(s)