Miniature
ca. 1613 (made)
| Artist/Maker |
Object Type
After the childless Elizabeth I (ruled 1558-1603), James I (ruled 1603-1625) offered the nation a hopeful dynastic future. He had a young family: Prince Henry (1594-1612), who was his heir, Prince Charles (1600-1649) and Princess Elizabeth (1596-1662). James embraced portraiture as a way to promote the new Stuart dynasty. During this reign, there was a massive proliferation of miniature portraits of members of the Royal Family.
People
Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I of England, married Frederick V, Elector Palatine of the Rhine (1596-1632), in 1613. The couple became King and Queen of Bohemia in 1619, but were exiled in 1621. They became a causecélèbre in Europe. Elizabeth used miniatures as propaganda weapons, to keep the couple in the minds and hearts of their supporters. She lived in exile mostly in The Hague, The Netherlands. At her court she employed English miniaturists such as Alexander Cooper (around 1609-?1658). The couple's grandson became George I of England (ruled 1714-1727), the first of the Hanoverian dynasty.
This portrait of Princess Elizabeth is a version of a miniature painted to celebrate her marriage to Frederick in 1613. All the known versions of this miniature are by Isaac Oliver (born about 1558, died 1617), or follow his style. But Nicholas Hilliard (possibly born in 1547, died 1619) was miniature painter to Elizabeth's father James I. It is therefore possible that the original was by Hilliard.
After the childless Elizabeth I (ruled 1558-1603), James I (ruled 1603-1625) offered the nation a hopeful dynastic future. He had a young family: Prince Henry (1594-1612), who was his heir, Prince Charles (1600-1649) and Princess Elizabeth (1596-1662). James embraced portraiture as a way to promote the new Stuart dynasty. During this reign, there was a massive proliferation of miniature portraits of members of the Royal Family.
People
Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I of England, married Frederick V, Elector Palatine of the Rhine (1596-1632), in 1613. The couple became King and Queen of Bohemia in 1619, but were exiled in 1621. They became a causecélèbre in Europe. Elizabeth used miniatures as propaganda weapons, to keep the couple in the minds and hearts of their supporters. She lived in exile mostly in The Hague, The Netherlands. At her court she employed English miniaturists such as Alexander Cooper (around 1609-?1658). The couple's grandson became George I of England (ruled 1714-1727), the first of the Hanoverian dynasty.
This portrait of Princess Elizabeth is a version of a miniature painted to celebrate her marriage to Frederick in 1613. All the known versions of this miniature are by Isaac Oliver (born about 1558, died 1617), or follow his style. But Nicholas Hilliard (possibly born in 1547, died 1619) was miniature painter to Elizabeth's father James I. It is therefore possible that the original was by Hilliard.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour on vellum, with frame of ebony on oak |
| Brief description | Elizabeth of Bohemia |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
|
| Credit line | The Salting Bequest |
| Object history | Probably painted by Isaac Oliver |
| Summary | Object Type After the childless Elizabeth I (ruled 1558-1603), James I (ruled 1603-1625) offered the nation a hopeful dynastic future. He had a young family: Prince Henry (1594-1612), who was his heir, Prince Charles (1600-1649) and Princess Elizabeth (1596-1662). James embraced portraiture as a way to promote the new Stuart dynasty. During this reign, there was a massive proliferation of miniature portraits of members of the Royal Family. People Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I of England, married Frederick V, Elector Palatine of the Rhine (1596-1632), in 1613. The couple became King and Queen of Bohemia in 1619, but were exiled in 1621. They became a causecélèbre in Europe. Elizabeth used miniatures as propaganda weapons, to keep the couple in the minds and hearts of their supporters. She lived in exile mostly in The Hague, The Netherlands. At her court she employed English miniaturists such as Alexander Cooper (around 1609-?1658). The couple's grandson became George I of England (ruled 1714-1727), the first of the Hanoverian dynasty. This portrait of Princess Elizabeth is a version of a miniature painted to celebrate her marriage to Frederick in 1613. All the known versions of this miniature are by Isaac Oliver (born about 1558, died 1617), or follow his style. But Nicholas Hilliard (possibly born in 1547, died 1619) was miniature painter to Elizabeth's father James I. It is therefore possible that the original was by Hilliard. |
| Associated objects | |
| Bibliographic reference | Graham Reynolds, 'Portraits by Nicholas Hilliard and his Assistants of King James I and his Family', The Volume of the Walpole Society, vol. 34, 1952, pp. 14–26 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | P.152-1910 |
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| Record created | March 27, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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