Portrait miniatures: royal portraiture 1580-1625

Miniatures were particularly useful to the monarchy. They were small enough to be given personally, sometimes in a public ceremony, as a sign of the monarch's favour. But since a miniature could be presented unframed, the person receiving it often had the expense of providing a suitable locket.

Elizabeth I's wealthier subjects started to wear her image as a sign of loyalty in the 1580s, when Protestant England was threatened by Catholic Spain. James I, who inherited the throne in 1603, learned from Elizabeth the propaganda power of miniatures and during his reign Nicholas Hilliard and Isaac Oliver produced many miniatures of the king and his family.

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Nicholas Hilliard, portrait of Elizabeth I

Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619)
Portrait of Elizabeth I
About 1586-7
Watercolour on vellum, stuck to pasteboard; set into a vellum mount in the 17th century
Inscribed on the mount in Latin 'Elizabeth Queen of England'
Museum no. P.23-1975
Bequeathed by Mrs Doris Herschorn

Elizabeth was now about 53.As she grew older poets and painters increasingly emphasised her supposedly divine power. Late portraits of the queen were rarely simple likenesses. Here, the crescent moon jewel in her hair symbolises the goddess Diana.

Nicholas Hilliard, portrait of Elizabeth I

Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619)
Portrait of Elizabeth I
About 1600
Watercolour on vellum, stuck to pasteboard
Museum no. P.1-1974
Purchased from the Earl of Radnor with the aid of a special Treasury Grant

Elizabeth reigned from 1558 to 1603. In her later years anxiety increased about who would inherit the throne. Hilliard responded with images that portrayed her as ever youthful. To emphasise Elizabeth's role as queen, he concentrated on her fantastic costumes.

Isaac Oliver, portrait of Elizabeth I

Isaac Oliver a(bout 1560-1617)
Portrait of Elizabeth I
About 1590-2
Watercolour on vellum, stuck to a playing card
Museum no. P.8-1940
Purchased with funds from the R.H. Stephenson Bequest

This was probably a 'face-pattern' for other artists, especially printmakers, to copy. Oliver's use of shadow has emphasised that Elizabeth was nearly 60. Later her government later tried to suppress such honest images.

Nicholas Hilliard, portrait of James I

Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619)
Portrait of James I
About 1604
Watercolour on vellum, stuck to a playing card
Inscribed within the border in Latin, 'James, by the grace of God King of Great Britain, France and Scotland'
Museum no. P.3-1937

James was the son of Elizabeth's cousin and great rival, Mary, Queen of Scots. He inherited the English throne after Elizabeth's death in 1603.

Isaac Oliver, portrait of Anne of Denmark

Isaac Oliver (about 1560-1617)
Portrait of Anne of Denmark, Queen of James I
About 1612
Watercolour on vellum, stuck to pasteboard
Museum no. FA.689

James Stuart married Anne of Denmark in 1589 when he was James VI of Scotland. She produced two male heirs, Prince Henry and Prince Charles, and a marriageable daughter, Princess Elizabeth.

Nicholas Hilliard, portrait of Princess Elizabeth

Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619)
Portrait of Princess Elizabeth'
About 1606-9
Watercolour on vellum, stuck to a playing card
Museum no. P.4-1937

Elizabeth was James I's only daughter, born in 1596. She married the future King of Bohemia in 1613 and was known as 'Elizabeth of Bohemia'. Her grandson became George I, the first Hanoverian king of Great Britain.

Nicholas Hilliard, portrait of Charles I

Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619)
Portrait of Charles I, when Duke of York
About 1605-8
Watercolour on vellum, stuck to pasteboard
Museum no. P.10-1947
Given by E. Peter Jones

Charles was James I's youngest son, born in 1600. He was a weak child, but when his athletic older brother Henry died unexpectedly in 1612, he became Prince of Wales.

John Hoskins, portrait of James I

John Hoskins (about 1590-1664/5)
Portrait of James I
About 1620-5
Museum no. P.27-1954
Watercolour on vellum, stuck to pasteboard

James I (1566-1625) is shown here a few years before his death. He wears round his neck the distinctive blue ribbon of the Order of the Garter, the highest order of chivalry.