14 OF 125

Queen Elizabeth I

14 of 125 portraits of Queen Elizabeth I

Queen Elizabeth I

by Unknown artist
oil on panel, early 17th century with 18th century overpainting
33 1/2 in. x 26 3/8 in. (851 mm x 670 mm)
Transferred from British Museum, 1879
Primary Collection
NPG 542

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Sitterback to top

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

Artistback to top

Unknown artist. Artist associated with 6233 portraits.

This portraitback to top

The portrait of Elizabeth that can be seen at first glance was virtually all painted in the eighteenth century. However, recent technical analysis has revealed that this image was painted over the top of an early seventeenth-century portrait. Dendrochronology (tree-ring dating) indicates that the wood used for the panel was felled some time after 1604, just after the queen's death. Therefore the original portrait was posthumous, based on a pattern developed during Elizabeth's lifetime.