Myths (re)told in the iconography of Elizabeth I

Abstract

The English sixteenth century constitutes a double re-naissance, for it recovers both the Classical Antiquity and the Italian Quattrocento in a most peculiar way. It was, in fact, a re-covery, but also a re-discovery, a re-visitation and a re-writing: of theories, themes, matters, characters and myths, skilfully amalgamated with the native substratum, the Breton matter and the medieval courtly tradition. Amidst a unique set of contextual factors, namely Humanism and Reformation that coincided with the reign of Elizabeth I, the English Renaissance could flourish in a creative, original manner. The monarch became the iconic figure of that blooming, golden age, the inspirer of artists, in general, and of writers, in particular. The portraits of the Queen establish a curious, complementary interrelation with the literary works of the time; they are “speaking pictures” that, metaphorically and metonymically, tell stories, and have forever shaped a mythological character. I will focus on Elizabeth I and the Three Goddesses (1569), The Phoenix Portrait (ca. 1575) and The Rainbow Portrait (ca. 1600), aiming to shed some light on how myths were told and retold in the emblematic iconography of a paradigmatic Queen.