Gloriana: The Portraits of Queen Elizabeth I

by Roy Strong

To examine the portraits of Elizabeth I is to witness the creation of the legend of the Virgin Queen, of Gloriana and her burgeoning empire. The history of the portraiture is that of the deliberate manufacture of an image powerful enough to hold together a people divided by both rigid hierarchy and religious belief. When Elizabeth came to the throne in 1558, her subjects had an all-too-vivid memory of military defeat and religious turmoil. Restoring stability to the kingdom involved the image of the Queen herself—over the years, she was transmuted from an elegant aristocrat into a cosmic vision. In Gloriana, Roy Strong provides a richly detailed analysis of all the major portraits.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Art

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Sir Roy Colin Strong FRSL (23 August 1935 - ) is an English art historian, museum curator, writer, broadcaster and landscape designer.

He has been director of both the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. He was knighted in 1983.

Reviews

[Roman Clodia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roy Strong focuses here completely on the plenitude of portraits that were painted of Elizabeth and discusses their iconographical and cultural significance in a way which is both erudite and accessible.

The scale of Elizabeth's portraiture was unheard of in England since the time of the Roman emperors and this book explores why and how the images were made, and how they were made to have meaning for their contemporary audiences. The extended use of allegory (in the 'sieve', 'ermine' and 'rainbow' portraits, for example) is explained, and the way Elizabeth's image changed over the years of her reign (1558-1603) is explored.

Strong takes a very positive view of Elizabeth in this and his other books but that doesn't stop this being a fascinating read. Following an extended introductory chapter, this looks at all the extant portraits and explains the iconography and significance of them within their cultural and social contexts.

[Traci · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a find at a used book sale, I can't complain that it fit in the paper bag that I paid $5 to fill. The layout of the book was strange because I had to keep flipping from the actual portraits to the explanation of them. He listed all of the portraits, but didn't have a picture to accompany the listings. It's a good source to see some rare portraits of Elizabeth and I guess a book is always good if you learn something (how much Elizabeth loved her hands; so much that they were featured prominently in a lot of portraits)

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it and the history of portraiture during this time period. Wish all the photos of portraits had been in color. The symbolism in the portraits is fascinating

[Nisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! A thorough look at Elizabethan portraiture.