A portrait of Elizabeth

                                                            

                                                         A portrait of Elizabeth.
                     

        This image was painted after 1620 during the first revival after her reign.
                                               Corsham court (English School c. 1610)
                                               .http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_England viewed on 02.10.13.

  I chose this image as it instantly captures my attention. Why? Purely because the whole image is full of emblems. Not just any emblems but ones that are not usually associated with Queen Elizabeth I, in her portraits. This portrait holds so much character as a hole the whole painting tells a story of her battles whilst  being ill.

 Looking at Elizabeth she does not seem her usual valiant self. The first thing I notice is her careless facial expression. Her face looks distressed,implying to that she is tired. There is no strong eye contact which almost suggests that shes is not there in spirit in the photo as she usually looks confident.There is no sparkle in her eyes they look dull. Her face is sallow, and gaunt she looks old! Her cheeks and lips are no longer a prominent rosy pink, suggesting there's no life left in her possibly. Her hair is no longer golden, but now looking yellow(blonde) suggesting the red has perished, making her look old and more dull. Her body language suggests she is tiresome. She usually has a strong confident posture, but instead she is slouched to one side resting her head in her hand which is sometimes a gesture for giving up, or boredom perhaps.Her hand is loosely holding the bible possibly symbolism for afterlife? As in most bibles it suggests that there is an afterlife when you die.

 Her throne seems a little tatty where wood has worn off could this be symbolism of her? Although her clothes are still very grand with jewels embellished on them. Fur worn around the shoulders with crosses embellished in gold into the fur symbolizing her royalty and luxury. Pearls worn in the hair she is dying in the style she created.

 There is quite a lot going on in the background of the image some of which I did not know why they were there! There are angels lifting the crown off her head, co-notating retirement, death, or that she will take the crown with her, and will forever be Queen in a sense.  Above the Angles I noticed there are some olive leaves representing peace!There is a sand timer that has ran out suggesting her time is up as Queen of England; also proposing Elizabeth is already dead. There is a skeleton freakishly looking at her as if it is going to take her body away. There is a old man with a beard almost looks asleep or fed up on the table, with a sledge hammer close by! This confused me so I can only guess who this could be. I though possibly it was her farther looking tiresome as if he is waiting for his last child, I came to this conclusion as he has a beard like Henry and looked extremely old. But then where did the sledge hammer come from? Which then made me think that it could be the man who executed her mother Anne Boleyn which would explain the weapon. Or even a religious character waiting for her presence, but still the weapon I cannot come to conclusion about.

 I believe this portrait was a representation of what Elizabeth was possibly facing when she was dying. Possibly there was still controversy about the two religions that she could not settle. The Angles being children could represent her never having children, but perhaps wanting them? The olive leaves representing that she wanted to leave in peace possibly wanting people to respect her reign. Her being covered in a fancy embellished gown maybe wanting people to remember her for her image as a trend setter of the Elizabethan era!