Armada portrait

The iconic Armada portrait, commemorates the most famous conflict of Elizabeth I's reign – the failed invasion of England by the Spanish Armada in summer 1588.

The Armada Portrait summarises the hopes and aspirations of the nation at a watershed moment in history.

The portrait was also designed to be a spectacle of female power and majesty, carefully calculated to inspire awe and wonder.

However, while many people know the image, few people realise that there is not just one version of this iconic work.

There are, in fact, three surviving ‘Armada’ portraits of Elizabeth I.

There is one painting displayed at the Queen’s House in Greenwich;

Another version in the Woburn Abbey Collection, and a third, partly cut-down version at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

In 2020, these three different portraits were displayed in public together for the very first time, at the free exhibition 'Faces of a Queen'.

However, seeing them together at the Queen's House raised some intriguing questions.

Why are there multiple versions of the same portrait?

Is one the ‘original’ and the others copies?

And did the same artist paint all three?

Portraits of Elizabeth were often commissioned as official gifts for foreign monarchs and favoured courtiers, while other members of court could acquire versions, to show their devotion to her.

If Elizabeth hoped to commemorate the defeat of the Spanish superpower, why stop at just one painting?

All three surviving versions of the Armada Portrait, are believed to have been painted around the same time, shortly after the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

There is no confirmed artist for any of the surviving Armada portraits, although a number of possibilities have been suggested.

George Gower was one of the leading portrait painters of the age, and ‘Serjeant Painter’ to Queen Elizabeth from 1581.

Nicholas Hilliard meanwhile was the queen’s ‘limner’ (miniature portrait painter) from around 1573, responsible for some of the most famous images of Elizabeth I, including the 'Phoenix' portrait.

The Armada Portrait at Greenwich was owned by the descendants of Sir Francis Drake, the English sea captain and pirate who fought against the Spanish Armada.

The National Portrait Gallery's version was once owned by Scottish antiquarian David Steuart Erskine, the 11th Earl of Buchan.

Documents relating to the painting at Woburn Abbey go back to 1782, although it could have been in the collection for longer.

.

Source~RoyalMuseumsGreenwich

.

https://ko-fi.com/thetudorintruders