Symbolism within Elizabethan portraits

Queen Elizabeth I was notorious for her well posed, perfect, symbolic portraits. She herself was extremely aware of the power and influenced of propaganda, and so her portraits were a way of promoting herself and invoking loyalty within the public.

She wanted her portraits to show chastity and purity, and her love of peace and the world. This was done through items placed in her portraits, whether that be flowers, globes or snakes. I will be exploring these items and their purposes.

Unfortunately, due to Tudor cosmetics have a detrimental effect on skin and health of those who used it, even people like Elizabeth suffered the consequences. Having endured smallpox, her skin was scarred, and so she used the popular lead makeup to hide this. Her skin then became burned and prematurely aged. This is not apparent in her portraits; she is painted with crisp, perfect skin that had the desired veins on her forehead. This is an example of how she was able to manipulate the portraits to her advantage. In addition to this, the tudors did not have toothpaste or any form of effective dental hygiene, and so they had black teeth as a result of decay. Therefore she did not have her mouth open in any of the portraits, which meant that nobody had to be aware of her unpleasant teeth. It is also known that Elizabeth loved her hands, and so these are shown in her portraits as a focus. They always appear dainty and fragile, which may have been a sign of femininity in the tudor period.

With a review of her portraits, it is obvious how each one served a different purpose in representing sides of Elizabeth that she wanted to be apparent to her country. In addition to this, the styles of the portraits changed due to the rise of the renaissance and the use of different artists.

Armada Portrait:

Elizabeth in this portrait is looking away and not giving any attention towards the viewer which shows she is the most important person, and it represents power and her control. Elizabeth has a globe in her hand, and her fingers are over South America, which where Spain obtained their gold from. In addition to this, the drapes behind Elizabeth represent wealth as they were unattainable for the poor.

Rainbow Portrait:

Elizabeth holds a rainbow in this portrait because it represented peace, which was something that she was a lover of. Her head piece is covered in rubies and pearls; pearls represented purity. There is a serpent on her arm which has a heart shaped ruby in its mouth; serpents represented wisdom and so this symbolises that wisdom has captured her heart. The goddess of the moon is represented by the crescent shaped jewel on her head. Moreover, above her head is a celestial spear which shows how she is controlled by passion and wisdom. What is notable about this portrait is that it was painted 3 years before her death, which is because despite her physical being becoming haggard and aged, her portraits could live forever and her dynasty would be immortal. 

Pelican Portrait:

There is a tudor rose pinned to Elizabeth's chest, which was used to represent her dynasty and the unity it brought to her domain. Moreover, it had religious connotations because the medieval symbol of the Virgin Mary was the rose, and so Elizabeth wanted to be seen as her predecessor. The pelican badge on Elizabeth symbolises love because folklore told that mother pelicans would pluck their own breasts if their babies were hungry and would die in the process. Pelicans were also a representation of Jesus dying on the cross. Elizabeth is wearing fabrics of red, black and gold colours. These were very difficult to keep on fabrics and so shows how wealthy she was. In addition to this, red colours were made of Cochineal (crushed Beatles), and was a trade of the Spanish that England fought for. In addition to this, lace was difficult to obtain. The lace with blackwork on her top is embroidered with little tudor roses. Lastly, Elizabeth has cherries in her ears which shows how her 'Cherry' is still intact. 

Phoenix Portrait:

The symbol of the phoenix, which is attached to Elizabeth's chest in the portrait, represented immortally and uniqueness. The legend is that every 500 years the Phoenix is consumed by fire and reborn again, and only one can ever exist.

Ermine Portrait:

The Ermine (the animal on Elizabeth's arm) was part of the weasel family and prized for its white tail with a black tip. It was a symbol of royalty and even wears a crown here. She also wears her most prized jewel, the 'Three Brothers' jewel. Moreover, Elizabeth wears black and has a black background which signifies wealth and the symbolic gravity of this portrait. On the bottom right is the Sword of the State, which signifies justice, and the olive branch symbolises peace.

Sieve Portrait:

Elizabeth holds a sieve here because it represents purity and virginity. The ancient Roman vestal virgin 'Tuccia' had to hold a sieve with water around to prove her purity, as the water did not fall through the bottom 

Book Portait:

Here, Elizabeth marks a page of her book with her finger. This represented her devotion to protestantism, and was a gift from her half brother. 

There were other items unmentioned here that had significant symbolism. For example gloves represented elegance, and dogs such as the greyhound represented faithfulness. 

Resources:

Notes from class

http://www.marileecody.com/eliz1-images.html