# Portrait of Elizabeth I, Queen of England [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [HILLIARD, Nicholas]() - Date: 1551-1600 - Technique: Oil on panel, 79 x 61 cm ## Commentary Queen Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, as she fashioned herself, controlled her never aging image. Elizabeth is an icon here. The body's volume is suppressed. Elizabeth's head and red hair are like gems placed into a sumptuous setting. Her laced collar and her jewel and pearl-encrusted dress compete for the viewers. She bears the red Tudor rose in her right hand. She also sports a jewelled Tudor rose on her chest just above a phoenix. This mythical desert-bird was a symbol of immortality and regeneration, since it would renew itself by building a funeral pyre and then rise again from its ashes. Here the phoenix functions as a symbol for her reign. <P> <TABLE ALIGN=LEFT CELLPADDING=5 BORDER=1 WIDTH=320 BGCOLOR="\#99CCCC"> <TR VALIGN=MIDDLE><TD><IMG SRC="/support/gif/listen.gif" BORDER=0 VALIGN=MIDDLE> Suggested listening \(streaming mp3, 18 minutes\):<BR><A HREF="\#" onClick="w=window.open \('/music1/18\_cent/handel\_fireworks.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350'\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return true"><B>George Frideric Handel: Fireworks Music</B></A> </TD></TR></TABLE> ## Related artworks - [Portrait Medal of Queen Elizabeth I]() - [Portrait of a Woman]() - [Portrait of George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland]() - [Queen Elizabeth I]() - [Queen Elizabeth I]() - [Queen Elizabeth]() - [Self-portrait, aged 30]() - [Young Man among Roses]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()