Queen Elizabeth I

     I chose to do research on Queen Elizabeth I of England. Elizabeth I was born a princess on September 7, 1533. She was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn. She became the queen in 1558 and held the throne for 44 years until she passed away on March 24, 1603 (Biography Queen Elizabeth I). Queen Elizabeth I was a popular queen and was admired by many. She accomplished many achievements in England such as, defeating the Spanish Armada, maintaining peace in a divided country, creating an environment that allowed arts to be seen, and negotiating religious conflicts (Elizabeth I's Achievements). She established Protestantism (a type of Christian faith and practice) in England as well. Fun fact, because the Queen never married anyone, she was given the nickname "Virgin Queen."

    The article I chose to read was "The 'Coronation' Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I," written by Janet Arnold. In the article, Arnold analyzes the portrait of Queen Elizabeth I in depth and discusses the similarities between the painting and other works of art that are alike to the painting. The portrait was an oil on panel painting painted by an unknown English artist in the 1600s. The painting used to be kept at the Warick Castle in England, but was purchased by the National Portrait Gallery in 1978. What I find interesting about the painting, are all the questions and sceptic that arose after the National Portrait Gallery purchased the art from the castle. In the article, Arnold brings up the three most asked questions about the painting: "Was this picture copied from an original painting now missing," "Was it based on the 'Coronation' miniature painted by Hillard in c.1570," "Were the robes which we know still survived in 1600, themselves mounted about that time for the artist," (Arnold 1). Arnold compares different aspects such as the fur and material on the robes, the kirtle, the ruffs and smock, the collars of jewels, and many more of the painting to other artworks to shed some light on the questions. Some of the artworks that were brought up in the article were Duchess of Norfolk by Hans Eworth, Queen Elizabeth and the Three Goddesses by an artist who uses the monogram, Queen Elizabeth I by Nicholas Hilliard in 1854, and Queen Elizabeth I by Nicholas Hilliard in 1585. Below is the painting Queen Elizabeth I painted by an unknown artist that the article is based on. 

Queen Elizabeth I
Unknown English Artist
Oil on panel, circa 1600


    The reason why I researched this ruler because of her connection to King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn. I enjoyed learning about the past king and queen and wanted to continue learning more about the family. In addition to wanting to learn more on the royal family, I wanted to learn more about who Queen Elizabeth I was as both a ruler and a person. My class theme is "To what extent are humans responsible for the environment" and I think it could apply to the Queen because of her contribution to arts during her time of reign. As mentioned in previous paragraphs, one of the things that the Queen was known for was creating "an environment where the arts flourished," (Biography Queen Elizabeth I). Queen Elizabeth I had an admiration for art and because of this, art started to gain attention and contribute to the economy in England, "England's economic buoyancy during her reign, provided ripe conditions for the production of enduring hallmarks in the visual, decorative, and performing arts," (Elizabethan England). 
Here is a quick 4 minute video on Queen Elizabeth I.


Works Cited

Arnold, Janet. “The ‘Coronation’ Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I.” The Burlington Magazine, vol. 120, no. 908, The Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd., 1978, pp. 727–726, http://www.jstor.org/stable/879390.

“Queen Elizabeth I.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 7 Feb. 2020, https://www.biography.com/royalty/queen-elizabeth-i.

“Elizabeth I's Achievements.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/summary/Elizabeth-Is-Achievements.

Metmuseum.org, https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/liza/hd_liza.htm.

“Queen Elizabeth I.” National Portrait Gallery, https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw02070/Queen-Elizabeth-I.

 

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