Queen Elizabeth I

Sitterback to top

• Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603), Reigned 1558-1603. Sitter associated with 125 portraits.

Artistback to top

• Unknown artist. Artist associated with 6232 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Paint loss from the surface has made it difficult to see how it would have originally looked, but has revealed information about the history of the painting. The portrait of Elizabeth has been painted over an unfinished portrait of an entirely different female sitter. The eyes and nose of the face underneath can now be seen where paint has been lost from Elizabeth's forehead. The identity of the original sitter remains a mystery but her headdress, which can be just made out, appears to date from the 1570s or 1580s.

Related worksback to top

• NPG D40453: Artist's impression of how the serpent in NPG200 might originally have looked (source portrait)

Linked publicationsback to top

• Cooper, Tarnya; Fraser, Antonia (foreword), A Guide to Tudor and Jacobean Portraits, 2012, p. 44
• Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 200
• Strong, Roy, Tudor and Jacobean Portraits, 1969, p. 103

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

• Concealed and Revealed: The Changing Faces of Elizabeth I (13 March 2010 - 26 September 2010)

Subjects & Themesback to top

• Crowns and tiaras
• Flowers and plants
• Hats and head-attire
• Jewellery
• Portraits with Archive documents