Elizabethan Portraiture Analysis

'Find an Elizabethan portrait image that visually engages you.'

Eliza Triumphans attributed to Robert Peake, c.1601.

I wanted to choose an image of Elizabeth, as I have become completely captivated by the woman she was! Her strength, pride, independence and loyalty is some what inspiring and I believe she is an incredible ambassador for feminism and girl power! As I was going through the portraits, this one really stood out for me because I have noticed how unusual it is to have a portrait of Elizabeth with other people in it.

I found it very difficult to find information on this image anywhere, and the location of the portrait is apart of a private collection. All i could gather from the internet was that this was a procession portrait. After watching the film Elizabeth - The Golden Age; I began to draw up my own thoughts on what this image  could be about. There is a scene in the film that is almost identical to the portrait and it shows the queen on her way to church.

(sorry about the quality, it wouldn't let me screen shot so i had to take a photo) 

You can see here (kind of) what I am trying to at. Although in the portrait the queen is being carried, however in this scene she is walking, which has led my imagination to believe that the painter has indeed painted her floating above the crowd, as in the portrait there is no mattress that she is sat on, it literally just looks like she is hovering, and this has lead me to believe it was done to give a 'Divine on Earth' kind of feel. 

- In the portrait you can also see the women from the queens court behind her, and that is something that really stood out for me in the movie. The sisterly bond and at times motherly bond between the queen and her girls is beautiful and humbling. In the portrait you can see the little troop behind their lady. 

- Another way that I have looked at the portrait, is that all the men carrying Elizabeth aren't in the same uniform, therefore they could be suiters trying for her hand in marriage. However the more they try, the closer to God they push her.

- In this portrait, Elizabeth looks like an angel. Decadent, innocent and virginal in white. If you didn't know that this was the virgin queen you could quite easily believe this was somebodies wedding day. The more I think about Elizabeth and the lack of marriage, the more I am convinced that she did marry. I believe the queen was married to England, to God and to her people.