Analysing Queen Elizabeth Portrait

QUEEN ELIZABETH I

 

 

 

Ashlie Jensen . (2012). On This Day in Elizabethan History: Queen Elizabeth & her Court Depart from Shaw House . Available: http://www.neilstoolbox.com/bibliography-creator/reference-website.htm. Last accessed 6th Oct

 

ANGELS – the angels above her head could symbolise her angelic and virgin like personality.

BLACK – the majority of her dress is black, this shows the wealth of the Queen because black was a very expensive dye therefore only rich people could afford it.

PEARLS – the pearls around her neck represent purity.

POSTURE – Her right hand (left as we look) is positioned higher but gently on the table.  To me this shows she is stating she is in control and won’t take any nonsense.  Her had is also place next to a sphere which symbolises power.

This portrait was painted in 1590 for the Jesus College in Oxford.  There are a lot of props and objects in this picture which I feel symbolises the Queen’s life.  Nicholas Hilliard was the artist who painted this portrait of Queen Elizabeth.  I think it is beautiful and extremely detailed right down to the curls of her hair.

I chose to analyse this portrait because of the symbolic references through the objects.  I enjoy researching simple things that have a deeper meaning.  For example a ‘sieve’ represents virginity and purity.  I also love the detail that is put into this painting, right down to the individual pearls on her dress.

 

FLORENCE WELCH

 

 

 

Himanshu. (2012). Top 8 Most Stylish Heroines of Hollywood. Available: http://latestwebstuff.com/top-8-most-stylish-heroines-of-hollywood/3150.html. Last accessed 22nd Oct 2013.

 

            I have chosen this picture of Florence Welch because I think she looks beautiful and elegant just like Queen Elizabeth in the picture above.  Her styling looks perfect and fits her persona well.  There are also some similar elements between the portrait and the picture.

            Skin tone – Florence has a very fair skin tone just like Queen Elizabeth and she doesn’t try change her face shape using contouring.  I think this is good because it shows off her natural beauty which to me is an Elizabethan look.  She also has a quite natural contour on her cheeks which accentuates her cheek bones without having to add more product.

            Eye and Lip make-up – Obviously Queen Elizabeth didn’t wear any make-up as it wasn’t in fashion and the main focus was the white pale skin.  As you can see from the picture of Florence, she is wearing very minimal eye make-up which looks great for the look she is going for.  Although she is wearing red lipstick, you can see Florence is trying to keep her make-up natural and elegant, which I think looks regal.  I think girls of a younger age can look at this photograph and think ‘I can look beautiful without wearing lots of make-up too’.  I also think Queen Elizabeth looked beautiful without lots of make-up, yes although she used lead on her face to lighten her skin, her eyes were never full of mascara neither her lips full of lipstick.

            Lastly, I am going to compare both hairstyles.  Queen Elizabeth has her hair curly and swept off her face.  This shows off her whole face so she can show off her beauty to the country.  Florence’s hair is up in a similar way, she has kept the hairstyle contemporary by keeping her fringe, however the rest of her hair is off her shoulders and plaited.  I feel this completes her Elizabethan inspired look.  Although there is no text to say this is how she has been inspired, by breaking the look down and looking at different elements there are definitely similarities between the two.