Armada Portrait Analysis

Improved Essays
The Armada Portrait, a portrait of Queen Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603), was painted after the English defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588. The Spanish Armada was a fleet of one-hundred thirty ships with 18,000 men transporting an army from Flanders to attack England due to religious differences.1 George Gower (1540 - 1596), Queen Elizabeth’s Serjeant Painter, painted The Armada Portrait to commemorate the Queen Elizabeth I’s accomplishment in leading England to successfully defeating the Spanish Armada. The portrait is currently on display at Woburn Abbey and was originally painted during the Elizabethan Era (1558 - 1603) in England.2 The Armada Portrait provides insights into Queen Elizabeth I’s political and economic power through her confident …show more content…
This research paper will provide an analysis of The Armada Portrait and will explore how contemporary achievements and the state of politics and economics of the Elizabethan Era are displayed in The Armada Portrait.
George Gower’s The Armada Portrait, painted in England in 1588, was commissioned by Sir Francis Drake (1540 - 1596),3 an English sea captain who was involved with the Spanish Armada battle. Since the Elizabethan Era is thought of as the golden age of England, it is very important that Queen Elizabeth I chose to honor her political and economic power through a painting and through her body language. Artistic expression, a strongly valued aspect of Elizabethan life, further stresses the importance of Queen Elizabeth I’s decision. The painting itself is a representation of imperial power and of female power during the Elizabethan Era.4 Being a strong female leader, Queen Elizabeth I is an ideal subject and face for the power of women throughout the Elizabethan England. Darker colors dominate the portrait and surround Queen Elizabeth I. The brighter colors are used to form Queen Elizabeth I, so the viewer’s eyes naturally fall onto the subject of the painting; thus, are easily able
…show more content…
The placement of Queen Elizabeth I’s hand has a larger significance. In addition to political power, the positioning of her hand signifies the vast trade network of Elizabethan England and how England had a strong and functioning economy.13 Sixteenth century England was financially flourishing during this time, allowing for the expansion of commerce and trade. The aftermath of defeating the Spanish Armada spurred the commerce and trade expansion. This expansion led to the formation of trading companies with the purpose of enhancing trade, such as the East India Company.14 One of Queen Elizabeth I’s accomplishments was reinvigorating England’s trade and economy.15 Not only was England flourishing artistically and economically, but Queen Elizabeth was also wealthy. The illustration of this wealth appears by wearing a big puffy dress with many jewels and a pearl necklace. As a queen, Queen Elizabeth I was able to afford these grand items to wear, but most of Elizabethan citizens also had a sizable amount of

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    The Conquest in 1492 brought a number of changes to Latin America. In particular, art in New Spain was largely influenced by its European counterparts. As a result, a number of artists were trained in European painting styles. Miguel Cabrera had this upbringing in the art world. In this paper, I am going to examine the composition of his painting Don Manuel Jose Rubio y Salinas, Archbishop of Mexico (Fig. 1), along with providing information about the subject.…

    • 1211 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Saint Justa Analysis

    • 1557 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Tastefully developed and carefully curated, The Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University now holds one of the largest collections of Spanish art outside of Spain. The museum prides itself on displaying widely diversified paintings, a statement I do not fully agree with. Although the two-story museum’s walls are furnished with with a wide variety of subject content there is a chauvinistic sense about their collections. I am not saying there is an unequal ratio of male to female portraits because there isn’t. The museum has a plethora of women as subjects, but they only seem to only display women painted by men.…

    • 1557 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II , which Fernand Braudel published in 1949, has profound consequences for many historical fields, and this work has prompted historians to engage in the studies centring on the sea and coastal areas, such as, the Atlantic, the Baltic Sea, and the Pacific. The development of imperial history and Atlantic history has encouraged many historians to pay attention to the British Atlantic World in the eighteenth century, and they attempt to reconstruct the history of the British Atlantic. Therefore, this essay focuses on the British Atlantic world in the eighteenth century and demonstrates how Braudel's methodology in The Mediterranean has influenced historians' approaches to the study of this field. This essay is composed of three parts, and the first part shows the outline of The Mediterranean and considers Braudel’ methodology. The Mediterranean consists of three parts.…

    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Charles Emile-August Carolus-Duran’s piece titled Portrait of an Artist in her Studio represents the action of a women painting. This piece was made in the late 19th century (c. 1880) and was considered one of Carolus-Duran’s great society portraits. The piece’s present location is the La Salle University Art Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and its original location was *****. This portrait is oil on canvas, and the “quick, loose brushwork” technique can be accredited to masters such as Diego Velasquez and Edouard Manet (placard.) Just as the painting suggests, the painting’s subject is an artist, many say Carolus-Duran’s wife or mistress, in her studio.…

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Elizabeth I Dbq

    • 94 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Elizabeth was a ruler who cared deeply about her nation, she was always willing to make compromises that would keep nations at peace. Elizabeth was determined, dedicated, decisive and compassionate about her nation. If Elizabeth had a plan that she knew would benefit her nation, she would not let anything get in her way. Elizabeth wanted to create a united church that all English people could worship, she wanted to meet everyone's needs. This illustrates how Elizabeth was able to be a powerful and effective ruler through being able to deal with religious strife.…

    • 94 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    They say a picture is worth a thousands words I agree with that a picture can say a lot to the viewer, same thing with a painting. The photograph and painting I chose to write about is about Queen Elizabeth. The photograph of Queen Elizabeth was taken in 1952 by Beatrice Johnson and it shows Queen Elizabeth wearing a beautiful crown,a yellow patterned dress, with a sash, and diamond jewelry. In the picture the queen has a slight smile not showing any teeth because, it’s a type of picture where it’s taken serious. What I mean by that is she is someone that is well known and that photograph shows her royalty and her importance by wearing her crown.…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the Norton Art Museum in West Palm Beach, Florida, there is a beautiful painting called “Diana and Actaeon with Pan and Syrinx” by Valerio Castello. Valerio Castello was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was born in 1624 and died in 1659. His interest in painting grew and he began his apprenticeship with Domenico Fiasella. From there he travelled around a lot and painted many art works like “Rape of the Sabines,” and “Consolation of Saint Francis,” along with “Diana and Actaeon with Pan and Syrinx.”…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout the world various rebellions were happening for various reasons and they all were conducted in their own unique way. In “Freedom’s Mirror” Ada Ferrer looks at different points of anti-slavery rebellions that occurred in Cuba and Haiti and how they were linked together. Since Haiti was the first black led country and independent state founded by former slaves it is crucial that all aspects of the rebellions are taken into consideration. Several power imbalances are vividly compared as well especially while discussing Jose Antonio Aponte’s trial.…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    John Appleby Pirates

    • 2130 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The image of female pirate warriors came from Johnson’s History based of Read and Bonny and exploited by the media. Without Johnson’s History the figure of a pirate heroine perhaps would have never…

    • 2130 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I am doing my artwork analysis on the painting “The Legend of Brutus and Portia”. This piece was done by Jacopo di Arcangelo or better known as Jacopo del Sellaio. He was an early renaissance painter from Florentine, Italy and the pupil of Filippo Lippi. The painting is located in San Francisco’s Legion of Honor museum. It was painted using oil on panel (wood).…

    • 1401 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the following essay I’m going to compare and contrast two 17th century artworks – “Las Meninas” by Diego Velazquez (1656) and “The Allegory of Painting” by Johannes Vermeer. Paintings depict artists working on a portrait, however, in Velasquez’s work the viewer is the person who is being painted and in Vermeer’s the viewer is just an observer of the artistic process. The only reason the observer knows that he is the center object of the future fictional painting is in the mirror on the back wall. The couple in the reflection is King Philip IV and his wife, Mariana. (Foucault, 8).…

    • 191 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Renaissance Dbq

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Did the Renaissance Change Man Views of the World the Middle Ages began after the fall of the Roman Empire in 500 CE and lasted until around 1350 Ce. The Middle Ages were also known as the “Dark Ages” due to the depression occurring at that time. During the middle ages the people of the Renaissance were illiterate and majority of the people were serfs who worked for lords and their land. As time evolved peasant farmers became more efficient and educated. According to the background essay with this change they gained freedom and independence leading to the ability of being able to question the church’s methods (Background Essay).…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Women in History: Artemisia Gentileschi’s Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting Surrounded by portraits of and by male artists, Artemisia Gentileschi’s (1593-1652) oil on canvas Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting (La Pittura) 1638-39 stands out in the midst of Vancouver Art Gallery’s “The Royal Collections: Portrait of the Artist” exhibition. As one of the only woman artist portraits, it pronounces itself in entirety to symbolise the prominence she has given females in history as she paints herself as La Pittura. She depicts herself not as females had been seen before, but as a hard working artist in the MIDST of creating a work of art. One of the most recognizable writers of Artemisia’s Self-Portrait and Biography Mary D. Garrard had stated “[she] made an audacious claim upon the core of artistic tradition, to create an entirely new image that was quite literally unavailable to any male artist]”, and this is dominant reasoning for the intrigue Artemisia contains as a historical female figure…

    • 1163 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One of the most important aspects of art is continuity and change, in which certain imagery continues to be used across history, or is changed overtime. Art pieces from different time periods can be compared and contrasted with each other, taking into account symbols that have been transformed or are still present in both pieces. Two paintings that show a great amount of continuity and transformations are The Third of May by Francisco Goya, and The Oath of the Horatii. Goya and David’s paintings are have many similarities in imagery and symbols, but have a myriad of differences in regards to meaning, form, context, and function.…

    • 1145 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Therefore, and because of the lion head, which is a symbol for Britain, one can conclude that the woman in the foreground must be Queen Victoria since she is wearing the tiara and noble, Victorian clothes and accessories. Considering the book in her hands, the Christian Bible, and referring to the painting’s title “The Secret of England’s Greatness”, one can conclude that the reason for Britain’s wealth and success was their religion. England was really proud of its gigantic Empire. They widened their perspective during colonialism to have more trade and to produce more goods and as a result gained power and territory. Because of their pride the English were in the opinion that their culture and religion was the best and, therefore, wanted to show it to other countries.…

    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays