Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603)
Nicholas Hilliard (Exeter c.1547 – London 1619)
Category
Art / Miniatures
Date
Unknown
Materials
Oil on vellum
Measurements
100 mm (H)85 mm (W)
Order this imageCollection
Ham House, Surrey
NT 1140182
Caption
This is one of the finest and largest miniatures of Queen Elizabeth to employ the 'Mask of Youth'. Historian Sir Roy Strong coined this phrase to describe idealised depictions of the Queen as eternally youthful. In this miniature, Elizabeth is also suitably represented as the bejeweled and costumed majesty of state. This miniature was executed around 1590 by Nicholas Hilliard, the Queen's most sensitive and consistent portrayer. It was the inspiration for later paintings of her such as the 'Rainbow Portrait' at Hatfield House and the great whole-length portrait at Hardwick Hall (see NT 129128). The Green Closet at Ham House is the only example in Britain of a picture closet complete with its original collection of miniatures. The miniatures, which number 87, were valued personal keepsakes. This one in particular would have been highly prized by the family.
Summary
Portrait miniature, oil on vellum, Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603) by Nicholas Hilliard (Exeter c.1547 – London 1619). Three-quarter length portrait, turned slightly to the left in elaborate dress and ruff, right hand fingering a jet necklace at her bosom. Green-grey eyes, fair hair in tight curls and sumptuous jewels, pale shadowless complexion. Brilliant blue background with black and gold chair post to right.
Full description
One of Hilliard’s largest late miniatures of Elizabeth, this painting exemplifies the type of royal portrait Roy Strong termed a ‘Mask of Youth’, which was largely popular in large scale portraiture from the 1580s onwards, showing Queen Elizabeth I to be much younger than her sixties age, with idealised, softened features. These depictions both flattered the queen and attempted to reduce anxieties about the uncertain succession of Elizabeth I, who was unmarried, childless, had no siblings, nephews or nieces, and was aging. Other examples of the ‘Mask of Youth’ portrait type can be found at the Royal Collection (RCIN 421029), V&A (622-1882), and Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (3761), Hardwick Hall (NT 129128) and at Hartfield House’s collection. Many surviving miniatures of this type set in jewels, such as the Heneage Jewel (V&A M.81-1935), have promoted a legend of gift-giving by the Queen to commemorate occasions or recompense services, although there has been no evidence for these theories. Hilliard’s style in this period used minimal lines and was economical, meaning that although the modelling in red on the face has been lost, it was unlikely to have been much. Sir John Harington’s notes to his translation of Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso evidences this, noting that he had seen Hilliard “in white and black in foure lines only set downe the feature of the Queenes Maiesties in countenance” (Harington, 1607, p.278). It seems likely that Hilliard based Elizabeth’s dresses and jewellery on items borrowed from her wardrobe as all his miniatures of her record different combinations of clothing and jewellery. Hilliard uses the same bodice in another miniature of Elizabeth now held at the V&A (622-1882), although both paintings show different sleeves, which were detachable then. The detailed surfaces of the dress and jewellery emphasise her wealth and the message is repeated through the variety of costumes worn in this style of painting. This miniature may have been the basis for Francis Delaram’s c.1617 print.
Makers and roles
Nicholas Hilliard (Exeter c.1547 – London 1619), publisher
Exhibition history
Elizabethan Treasures: Miniatures by Hilliard and Oliver, National Portrait Gallery, London, 2019
References
MacLeod 2013: Catharine MacLeod (ed.), The Lost Prince. The Life and Death of Henry Stuart, exh.cat., venue: National Portrait Gallery, London 2013, pp. 112-113 MacLeod 2019: Catharine MacLeod (ed.), Elizabethan Treasures: Miniatures by Hilliard and Oliver, exh.cat., National Portrait Gallery, London 2019, pp.16, 112-113
