Symbolism in Elizabethan Portraiture

Symbolism in Elizabethan Portraiture

Queen Elizabeth was a big advocate of including symbolic references in her portraits, this was her form of pubic relations and used it to communicate people who could not read, so people would look to the portraits of the time to get information. She wanted her portraits to show her undying love for England, her leadership skills. her wisdom and her purity. These were released to the public to inspire the public to go to war or give taxes.

 

Some of the main symbols that are often represented in her portraits are the Tudor rose, the pelican, a phoenix, the ermine, a sieve, moons, pearls, Minerva, armillary sphere, dogs, gloves, olive branches and also crowns, orbs and sceptres:

• The Tudor rose is often embellished into many of Queen Elizabeth's gown or held in her had, this refers to the Tudor dynasty and symbolised the unity of the House of Lancaster and the House of York, and also was a medieval symbol of the Virgin Mary so it represented how Elizabeth was the secular successor to the Virgin Mary.
• The pelican was a symbol of motherly instinct and motherly love to all of her subjects, it was a tale at this time that pelicans used to pluck their own breast to feed their starving or dying young in times of food shortages, as they were feeding their young with their own blood this would result in their death, this represents how she would die for her country and symbolised how Jesus sacrificed himself for the good of mankind and the sacrament of communion where he feeds the faithful with his body and blood.
• The phoenix is a mythological bird that never dies but every 500 years is consumed by fire and born again, this symbolises resurrection, endurance and eternal life. Only one phoenix can live at one time to it symbolises the queens uniqueness and longevity of her reign.
• The ermine the ermine is part of the weasel family that during the winter months has a dazzling coat of pure white with a black tip on its tail. The ermine stands for purity as due to legend an ermine would rather die than soil its pure white coat. It was also a status symbol as wearing these animals was restricted only to the royalty and high nobility.
• A sieve is a symbol of virginity and purity, according to Ancient Roman legends the Vestal Virgin proved her purity by carrying water in a sieve without spilling a drop, this not only glorified her virgin queen status but associated England with the Roman Empire.
• Moons and pearls was another symbol of Elizabeth's virginity and purity and resembled the goddess of the moon.
• Minerva was the virgin goddess of war and the defender of the state, she was reffered to this as although she prepared for war, she preferred peace and came to represent peacefulness and wisdom.
• Armillary sphere is a skeletal celestial globe that was used to represent and study the movements of the planets, this represents wisdom and power.
• Dogs are a symbol of loyalty, the breed that was most often represented was the greyhound as these were associated with the Tudors.
• Gloves represent ellegance
• Olive Branches represent peace
• Crowns, Orbs and Sceptres are all symbols of the monarchy.

Queen Elizabeth did not like standing for portraits so templates were sold and distributed to different artists, this was because there was such a demand for portraits of the queen, so the style and quality of the images varied considerably, however you could still identify her, the symbolism was not as much part of the earlier portraits but started as she became more renowned.

 

The Rainbow Portrait

The Rainbow portrait is probably one of the most symbolic portraits that was painted at the time, it was done when she was in her 60's. Her dress is embellished with wild flowers and also eyes and ears symbolising the fact that she see's and hears all. She poses like the goddess of the moon. She is holding a rainbow in her hand which is engraved with the motto non sine sol iris which means no rainbow without the sun. There is also a serpent with a heart shaped ruby in her mouth, the serpent symbolises wisdom and the ruby represents her heart to this symbolises the fact that wisdom is at the heart of everything that she does.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unknown. (Unknown). Symbolysm in Portraits of Elizabeth I. Available: http://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/explore/symbolism-portraits-elizabeth-i. Last accessed 20th October 2015.