Brand New!! Review: 'Elizabeth 1 As Well As Her People' At The National Portrait Gallery

It comes equally no surprise that inwards a twelvemonth which celebrates lx years since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II nosotros should conduct hold some other exhibition well-nigh a Queen called Elizabeth.

This fourth dimension it's Elizabeth I in addition to Her People which opened today at the National Portrait Gallery. It volition proceed until v Jan 2014.

(The initiatory of all Elizabeth exhibition was finally year's really successful exhibition - encounter my Review: 'The Queen - Art in addition to Image' at the NPG 24 May 2012)

Key aspects of the exhibition

A lot of idea has gone into the presentation of the exhibition. I was really impressed equally before long equally I walked through the door.

Entrance to the exhibition - well-nigh the province at the fourth dimension of Elizabeth
On the left a fair at Bermondsey
On the correct Queen Elizabeth I on i of her processions

They've kept the BP construction in addition to built around it to create archways in addition to windows which attention to reinforce the notion that this exhibition is well-nigh fine art from some 400-450 years ago. Queen Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603) reigned from 17 Nov 1558 until her death

A thought looking dorsum through the exhibition
the display cases demonstrate woman somebody in addition to manlike somebody accoutrements of wearing clothing - pilus pins, pomanders in addition to guns!
On the left is a Family Tree - amongst pictures of the dissimilar individuals

It's for sure a really attractive exhibition inwards terms of structure, the hang in addition to display cases. However I do wonder whether people volition live able to appreciate it equally I was able to do yesterday i time the Wolfson Gallery is total of people! I oft mean value the NPG could do amongst a lot to a greater extent than infinite for its temporary exhibitions!

We walk into a quick introduction to what Elizabethan life looks similar - inwards terms of the extent of Elizabethan England

I'm a consummate mapoholic so I was straight off consumed amongst involvement for the ii really one-time maps at the kickoff of the exhibition. Here's the interactive zoomable prototype of the map shown below on loan from the British Library. It gives a really skilful feel of how large London is. I'd conduct hold loved to conduct hold seen the people inwards the portraits located inwards terms of where they lived or worked inwards London. The links below instruct to the Tudor descriptions of the building

Panorama of London by William Smith (1550-1618)
View of London, Westminster in addition to Southwark, ink in addition to pigments on vellum, British Library
From correct to left yous tin encounter
the Tower of London on the extreme right, where Elizabeth's woman rear was beheaded on Tower Green
consummate amongst a existent moat, at nowadays inwards turn down equally a violet residence
"old" London Bridge with some of the 200 buildings situated on it,
Southwark Cathedral (already 500 years one-time inwards Tudor times!)
the round bull in addition to bear-baiting pits at Bankside (where Tate Modern is at nowadays situated)
Old St Paul's Cathedral after the spire was destroyed yesteryear lightning
in addition to earlier the Great Fire (left of centre on the horizon)
in addition to the Palace of Whitehall where Henry VII had lived equally an adult
Westminster Hall - which at nowadays forms move of the Houses of Parliament
in addition to Westminster Abbey to the extreme left

Enough of maps!

There's a lot of portraits of the Queen in addition to the nobility - major people at her court. I particularly enjoyed ones less oft seen- such equally the exactly massive prototype from Hardwicke Hall - which is best appreciated piece looking through the 'window' from the side yesteryear side gallery.

Portraits of Queen Elizabeth I
(Left) Elizabeth I (known equally the Darnley portrait) yesteryear an unknown continental artist
(centre) Elizabeth I - commonly hangs at Hardwick Hall
(right) Elizabeth I, the Ermine portrait - attributed to Nicholas Hilliard

Some of the portraits of the Queen were produced from templates. This explains why she keeps the same facial features for so long! The exhibition too emphasises the really many dissimilar ways inwards which people accessed her portrait - including via the coinage of the realm. Apparently i of the smart things she did when she became Queen was to telephone band inwards all the coins in addition to and then had them reissued amongst her caput on all the coins!

However it's non exactly well-nigh the Queen.

Nobility, Gentry in addition to the Moorish Amabassador
That's Sir Walter Raleigh on the left - amongst a surprise inside the painting

Following on from the Queen are portraits of the nobility in addition to gentry associated amongst Elizabeth. These are typically people amongst land, titles in addition to money. There are some amazing modest paintings inwards watercolour in addition to gouache. The room too displays portraits of ii good known seafarers - Sir Walter Raleigh in addition to Sire Martin Frobisher

In Tudor times, there's a major ascent inwards the middle classes in addition to large increment inwards the population of the City of London. There's a consequential remove for the provision of goods in addition to services for these people in addition to the professional person in addition to merchant classes - in addition to inwards fourth dimension a remove for portrait artists to serve the middle classes

Portraiture became really pop during the Tudor period. The exhibition too includes portraits of gentry (people amongst money in addition to province - but typically non titles) in addition to civilians - mainly the merchant degree (entrepreneurs) in addition to professionals - bankers, clergymen, lawyers, doctors goldsmiths, butchers, calligraphers, playwrights - in addition to fifty-fifty an artist! This is an era when portraiture started to affair to other people who could too afford to committee a portrait. However portraits continued to conduct hold a lot of symbolic content - non so much well-nigh the somebody so much equally an get upward for who this somebody is in addition to the nature of the agency they'd similar to introduce themselves to the world.

Room 4: paintings of merchants, bankers in addition to professional person men in addition to women

A laid of Tudor drawing instruments c.1565-75Lent yesteryear the Trustees of the British Museum
The exhibition has a fascinating collection of artifacts inwards display cases
which relate to the portraits in addition to the people portrayed

In my view, at that topographic point are a lot of similarities inwards themes amongst the Facing the Modern - The Portrait inwards Vienna 1900 at the National Gallery which I visited the twenty-four hours before. If you're coming to the exhibition, yous mightiness similar to encounter ii exhibitions dorsum to dorsum in addition to encounter what yous spot equally beingness the enduring themes relating to portraiture

The exhibition doesn't focus much on artistic practices so much equally the goal result - how people could live portrayed during the fourth dimension of Elizabeth. However at that topographic point are a few pointers:

portraits of the fourth dimension could involve i painter prototype the caput in addition to other painters prototype costumes on a mannequin
drawings from Tudor times are rare. However this exhibition includes what appears to live a preparatory drawing for a portrait of Elizabeth 1
there too examples of miniatures in addition to the utilization of cameos - equally rings.

The Tudors were extremely interested inwards costume in addition to dress - so the emphasis inwards portraits tends to live on what they wore. Who knew that evidently dark stuff was a sign of wealth - due to the quantity of dye required to create lineament dark cloth?

and finally..... they were absolutely obsessed amongst detail. Some of the embroidering in addition to jewellery displayed inwards portraits is absolutely fantastic. Those who similar realism remove to come upward in addition to report some of the paintings inwards this exhibition. The flat of item portrayed at times is quite staggering. They're non so interested inwards perspective or proportion. Psychology plays no move inwards their concepts of what portraiture is about. Their paintings are all well-nigh telling yous who this somebody is in addition to what their standing is. They remind me somewhat of Dutch Still Life paintings which tell a even out - except these are portraits

The skirt of the Hardwick Hall portrait - amongst pictures of nature - animals, birds, flowers in addition to fruit

My favourite portrait was i which was a lot less formal than the rest. This is a portrait of a noble adult woman at her dressing table.

Elizabeth Vernon, Countess of Southampton

Digital resources

I do wishing the NPG would furnish much clearer navigation to the narrative well-nigh in addition to images of the exhibition online. A link on the domicile page for the exhibition to what is described equally an introductory cinema yesteryear the curator (which I'd already seen - so why I didn't initially click it) vastly underplays what's on offer.

Here's the digital resources which are available well-nigh this exhibition

The films (plural) focus on the dissimilar rooms of the exhibition. My criticism would live I'd conduct hold liked to encounter lot less talking heads in addition to much to a greater extent than images from the exhibition.

Introduction to the Elizabethan Age (3m24s) - a really helpful inroduction inwards narrative terms but images to instruct amongst the even out instead of exactly a talking caput would conduct hold been nice
Encountering the Queen: Portraits of Elizabeth I (3m27s). See also Queen Elizabeth I ('The Darnley portrait') (3m29s)
The Nobility in addition to Gentry (1m07s)
Elizabethan Merchants in addition to Portraiture (2m07s)
Cultural Changes: Public Theatres in addition to Literacy (2m30s)
Social Mobility inwards the Elizabethan Period (1m14s)
The Elizabethan Bookshelf (2m11s) - this highlights books inwards the exhibition - including a Herbal

There's never going to live plenty infinite to replace the want to purchase a catalogue - in addition to indeed to a greater extent than data in addition to to a greater extent than images mightiness truly Pb to to a greater extent than visitors! That's equally good equally beingness helpful to people who are unable to visit. In this historic current of digital communication, I do mean value a National Gallery too needs to mean value long in addition to difficult well-nigh how it tin communicate its exhibitions to people who don't alive inwards or can't instruct to London. The game mightiness live fun - but I'd rather encounter investment inwards an abbreviated digital catalogue - amongst to a greater extent than well-nigh the fundamental themes of the exhibition.

How to encounter the exhibition

Advance booking is highly recommended for this exhibition. The gallery used for the exhibition is i which tin instruct really hot at times. However I'm assured that the numbers visiting at whatever i fourth dimension volition live express - via timed ticketing. Hence if yous want to encounter this exhibition at a fourth dimension convenient to you, I'd start booking your tickets now.

This is an exhibition which is saltation to live really pop amongst schools in addition to schoolhouse children doing the Tudors inwards primary school. If yous want to avoid lots of modest children, I'd propose visiting afterwards 3pm - which is usually when they start to disappear.

For those bringing children to London to encounter the exhibition yous mightiness similar to too conduct hold inwards an associated exhibition. The Cheapside Hoard: London’s Lost Jewels at the Museum of Londo ls in addition to gemstones which were recovered inwards . xi Oct 2013 – 27 Apr 2014. www.museumoflondon.org.uk

Other reviews of the exhibition

Daily Telegraph - Elizabeth I in addition to her People, National Portrait Gallery, review - Absolutely sad in addition to ignorant. The so-called "art critic" Alastair Smart judges portraits of the 16th century yesteryear standards associated amongst the 20th in addition to 21st centuries i.e. that portraits should live well-nigh the people in addition to non their status. Has he e'er heard of putting the cart earlier the horse? How tin yous estimate portraiture yesteryear concepts which conduct hold non yet been invented? The whole indicate of the curator's scholarly endeavours is to demonstrate that Tudor times was the initiatory of all current where painters started to brand portraits of ordinary people - but these were all the same of professionals. The whole thesis of the article assumes that Holbein had some amazing psychological insight into the people he painted - equally opposed to beingness an fantabulous draughtsman in addition to painter.
The Guardian - Sir Walter Raleigh's crescent Moon compliment to Elizabeth I revealed opts for the latest press liberate theme in addition to an interesting even out - but says niggling well-nigh the exhibition. Maybe they didn't truly see the exhibition?

Exhibition details

ELIZABETH I AND HER PEOPLE Supported yesteryear The Weiss Gallery
10 Oct 2013 - v Jan 2014, National Portrait Gallery, London www.npg.org.uk

Gift Aid ticket prices: (includes voluntary Gift Aid donation of 10% to a higher house touchstone price): Adult £13.50, Concs. £12.50/£11.50
Standard ticket prices: Adult £12.50, Concs £11.30 / £10.40)

Elizabeth I in addition to Her People is curated yesteryear Dr Tarnya Cooper, the National Portrait Gallery’s Chief Curator in addition to its Curator of Sixteenth Century Portraits. She is the writer of A Guide to Tudor & Jacobean Portraits (2008) in addition to Citizen Portrait – Portrait Painting in addition to the Urban Elite, 1540–1620 (2012).