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Roy Strong
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The Elizabethan Image: An Introduction to English Portraiture, 1558–1603 Hardcover – August 13, 2019

by Roy Strong (Author)
4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 49 ratings
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Fifty years after his seminal Tate gallery London exhibition, ‘The Elizabethan Image’, leading authority Roy Strong returns with fresh eyes to the subject closest to his heart, The Virgin Queen, her court and our first Elizabethan age

From celebrated portraits of the Queen and paintings of knights and courtiers, to works depicting an aspiring ‘middle class’, Strong presents a detailed and authoritative examination of one of the most fascinating periods of British art. Enriching previous perceptions and ways of seeing the Elizabethans in their world, he reveals an age parallel in many ways to our own—a country aspiring professionally and changing socially. The gaze is from the inside, capturing the knights, melancholy lovers, poets (including Sidney, Donne and Sir John Davies), court favourites and their ‘Gloriana’—as they mirrored and made themselves. 

Beginning with the great portrait of the Queen in grand procession with her Garter Knights, Strong pinpoints the characters and key motifs that run through the rest of the book: chivalry, changes to the social order, emblems and imagery – the full richness of the Elizabethan imagination. These pictures were intimate—personal commissions by private individuals, and not necessarily for public view. As such they are a glimpse into private worlds and sentiments and speak eloquently for the people who paid for, painted and lived amongst them, reversing an academic tendency to treat the portraits as if they had a life of their own, not grounded by the real people who commissioned them.

Roy Strong concludes this richly illustrated volume with the famous and complex Rainbow Portrait, unpicking the iconography of this final painting of an ageless Elizabeth in her ‘Mask of Youth’. Within a year of its completion the queen was dead—her portraits increasingly demoted and replaced by Mary Stuart’s—as the splendour of the Elizabethan age and ‘the cult of the queen’ made way for new monarch James VI, who was to rule over a united England and Scotland.

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    224 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Yale University Press
  4. Publication date
    August 13, 2019
  5. Dimensions
    7.75 x 1 x 10 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0300244290
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0300244298
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Britain’s great Renaissance man – in the sense both that the Renaissance is his period, and that he can turn his hand to anything – appears as spring-chickenish as he is inexhaustible. His 43rd book, The Elizabethan Image, is published this month, and its sequel, The Stuart Image, is already being written – Hannah Betts, Telegraph

“There is no better person to introduce this period afresh and to convey its richness and complexity, with the aid of the magnificent illustrations that run through this book” —Frances Spalding, Daily Mail (Book of the Week)

“[A] lavish production [. . .] Strong has always had an instinctive feel for, and understanding of, the Elizabethan mindset and aesthetic. This book is no exception — and is particularly good on the ways in which the upwardly mobile used portraiture to signal their social ascent. Learned yet accessible, The Elizabethan Image provides a rich overview of the portraiture of the period which will appeal to fans of Strong's original publications as well as to a new generation of readers” — Elizabeth Goldring, Spectator

CHOICE Outstanding Academic Titles, 2020

About the Author

Roy Strong is a historian, a writer, a broadcaster, and a leading authority on Elizabethan portraiture. He was director of the National Portrait Gallery from 1967 until 1973 and of the Victoria and Albert Museum from 1974 until 1984.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press (August 13, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0300244290
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0300244298
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.47 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.75 x 1 x 10 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 49 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
4.9 out of 5
49 global ratings

Top review from the United States

Connie Marie Carroll
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Book
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2020
Verified Purchase
This is the book I have been waiting for. I had ordered couple of other books, but this one is THE book I wanted. It has some portraits of Elizabeth that I've never seen before with details along with written explanations about the paintings. It almost makes my costume history library complete.
4 people found this helpful
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Gooseberry
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully illustrated, well researched and readable
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 14, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is a sumptuously illustrated book by the redoubtable Sir Roy Strong, the popular academic, gardener, writer and, formerly, TV, museum and gallery man. His love of the period and his learning show in the writing which is nonetheless accessible to the general reader. The book covers royal and elite late Tudor portraiture, with some early Stuart works. Inevitably there is some overlap with his 1977 offering “The Cult of Elizabeth” which dealt with Elizabethan portraiture and pageantry. The Elizabethan Image is however much to be preferred, if only because it is up to date, has a wider remit and is illustrated fully in colour. When I pulled out my copy of The Cult of Elizabeth to see how much overlap there is I noticed it boasts, charmingly, “94 illustrations, 4 in colour”. How our expectations have changed!

I might also add that The Elizabethan Image is a conveniently sized book to read and peruse, supported comfortably by one hand, rather than an oversized coffee table book.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Imparare a leggere i vestiti
Reviewed in Italy on October 23, 2020
Verified Purchase
Cercavo da tempo un testo che mi guidasse nella lettura dei dipinti di Elisabetta e l'ho trovato.
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wayne 1
5.0 out of 5 stars Art
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 26, 2022
Verified Purchase
Good book on Elizabethan art
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Parsifal
5.0 out of 5 stars The secrets of 16th century English portraiture revealed
Reviewed in Canada on December 30, 2019
Verified Purchase
Strong's love letter to Queen Elizabeth the First a.k.a Oriana , Diana , Gloriana , the Virgin Queen, and to her intimates - especially the men ( handsome and charismatic) who populated her court. The text is largely commentary on the many works of art with detailed explanations of the painted emblems and impressa ; the details characteristic of Elizabethan portraiture. Anyone interested in the Tudor period of English history will need to own this book.
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tallulah montegue
4.0 out of 5 stars Fast delivery.
Reviewed in Canada on February 1, 2020
Verified Purchase
Love the book. Paintings of Elizabeth is why I bought it.

Wish the paintings were full length.
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