An allegorical oil-on-panel portrait of Elizabeth I, circa 1588, formerly attributed to George Gower and now catalogued as by an unknown English artist. Elizabeth is shown surrounded by symbols of royal majesty, with scenes behind her of English fireships attacking the Spanish Armada and the fleet wrecked on a stormy coast, marking the 1588 victory. Her hand rests on a globe, fingers covering the Americas, signalling England's claim to command of the seas. Three versions survive: the primary version at Woburn Abbey, a cut-down version at the National Portrait Gallery, London, and the "Drake" version at the Queen's House, Royal Museums Greenwich.
Facts
Subject Matter
Devotional FunctionSourced to the subject's own accountThe portrait functioned as state image-making rather than as a private likeness: full length allegorical portraits of this scale and cost were made to be displayed to visiting ambassadors and the political elite, circulating a chosen image of providential victory and command of the seas that the queen's government wanted foreign courts and her own nobility to carry away with them. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Depicts
The portrait's sole subject, one of the best known images of Elizabeth I.
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