National Portrait Gallery & Mac Visit

To gain more in-depth knowledge of the Elizabethan era we visited the National Portrait Gallery in London. It features an Elizabethan exhibition that would help us with our ideas and seeing the portraits first hand. The main aim of Elizabethan portraits is to show power. Regal and powerful people want to be shown in a particular way to their country. Having already learnt about the symbolism in portraiture it was interesting to see it in person and to spot hidden messages of objects that would portray a certain meaning. Walking around the Gallery showed me how large the paintings were and how similar in style each one was. 

A portrait in particular of Queen Elizabeth by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger showed various symbols.  Later portraits of Elizabeth showed her natural face manipulating into a mask with no facial expression. This can be seen in this particular painting as well as the portrayal of power. She is standing on a globe with her feet specifically on Oxfordshire. This was the county of Sir Henry Lee who commissioned the portrait. With her feet on a globe it smbolises that she rules the country as well as the world. The common theme throughout this painting is thought to be forgiveness. The stormy skies part to show sunshine and the latin inscriptions on the painting convey the theme. The parting skies show that although times may have been bad, these are now forgotten about and people are looking at the good and trying to look forward into the future. Queen Elizabeth can also be seen wearing silver and jewels which is a symbol for purity. Elizabeth can also be seen holding two fans in her hand. Fans were seen as an instrument used in religious ceremonies and seen as a symbol of religious power. Personally, I really like this portrait of Queen Elizabeth as the theme of forgiveness shows her in a kind and friendly manner to her country. She still shows power and nobility through the painting however I believe we are seeing a different side to Elizabeth in this.

While walking around the gallery we also saw a range of other portraits from the Elizabethan era. It amazed me how many paintings there were and how every sitter stood or sat in the exact same portrait. Personally, I have looked more at modern portraiture so researching and learning about Elizabethan is highly intriguing as I can see how art has developed over the years and how artists painting styles have changed. The gallery did feature modern day paintings. It shows me how technology and styles have developed over the years and the range of ways a portrait can be created. Paintings from the Elizabethan era will always remain historic and world-renowned. Visiting the gallery, I expected there to more more information on the Elizabethan era and the paintings. This was therefore the only disappointing part about the visit. Overall visiting the National Portrait Gallery was informative and intriguing. 

Later on in the day we visited the new Mac shop on Carnaby Street which was newly opened. We had a talk from two of the Mac artists and were then left to shop! Definitely my favourite part of the day. 

Overall, I loved visiting London for the day.  London always has an amazing atmosphere and every time I go, I see something new and see parts of London I have never been too before. 

References

Back to topThis portrait (2015) Available at: http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw02079/Queen-Elizabeth-I-The-Ditchley-portrait (Accessed: 28 October 2015).

gogm (2009) Grand ladies. Available at: http://www.gogmsite.net/the_late_farthingale_era_fr/minialbum_queen_elizabeth_o/1592_ditchley_portrait_by_m.html (Accessed: 28 October 2015).

Symbolism in portraits of Elizabeth I (2015) Available at: http://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/explore/symbolism-portraits-elizabeth-i (Accessed: 28 October 2015).