It has been said of Elizabeth, that although she had not much taste for painting, she loved pictures of herself. Her court painter was a Fleming, LUCAS DE HEERE (1534?--1584), who had also been employed by Queen Mary, whose portrait (dated 1554) by him belongs to the Society of Antiquaries, and was at the "Old Masters," in 1880, No. 202. He painted, in 1570, the gallery of the Earl of Lincoln, describing the characteristics of different nations. With a sarcastic wit, which Elizabeth doubtless appreciated, he represented the typical Englishman as naked, with a pair of shears, and different kinds of clothes beside him, unable to decide on the best fashion. DE HEERE painted Elizabeth in full state, as she loved to be depicted, attended by Juno, Minerva and Venus. This picture remains at Hampton Court (No. 635), and is dated 1569. Mr. Wynne Finch has a capital picture of small figures, representing _Frances Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, and her second husband Adrian Stokes_, dated 1559, by this able painter. Many other works by him exist in English seats. Other foreign artists of this reign were CORNELIUS VROOM, who drew designs for tapestry, representing the victory of Lord Howard over the famous "Armada" of the Spaniards (these tapestries were burnt with the Houses of Parliament in 1834); FEDERIGO ZUCCHERO (1643--1609), whose portrait of the Queen in a fantastic dress is in the possession of the Duke of Devonshire, and was No. 229 in the National Portrait Exhibition, 1866; and MARC GHEERAEDTS, or GARRARD (1561--1635), of Bruges. There are three portraits ascribed to Gheeraedts in the collection of the Marquis of Exeter, and others were exhibited in the first (1866) National Portrait Exhibition. The most important of all the works attributed to Gheeraedts is the group of eleven _English and Spanish Statesmen_ assembled at Somerset House, which has been recently acquired for the National Portrait Gallery at the Hamilton Palace sale.[E] A very fine little example, signed "M.G.," is a full-length portrait of _Queen Elizabeth_, standing, holding a branch of olive, with a sword and a little shock dog at her feet. It belongs to the Duke of Portland, and was long lent to the South Kensington Museum. A head of _Camden_, in the Bodleian, is signed with the artist's name in full. A very fine full-length portrait is at Woburn Abbey; other signed specimens are at Barron Hill and Penshurst.
Society Brief
English Painters — Part 11
2026-11-15 00:49:55 · Cedar Herald Index
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