2 OF 47

Sir Walter Ralegh

2 of 47 portraits of Sir Walter Ralegh

Sir Walter Ralegh

attributed to 'H' monogrammist
oil on panel, 1588
36 in. x 29 3/8 in. (914 mm x 746 mm)
Purchased, 1857
Primary Collection
NPG 7

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Sitterback to top

Sir Walter Ralegh (1552-1618), Soldier, sailor, poet and writer. Sitter associated with 47 portraits.

Artistback to top

'H' monogrammist (active 1588). Artist associated with 2 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Ralegh's dramatic costume is lavishly embellished with pearls, symbols of purity and much favoured by Elizabeth I. The pearls on his cloak form the rays of a 'sun-in-splendour', a common heraldic device.

Related worksback to top

NPG D39190: Sir Walter Ralegh ()

Linked publicationsback to top

Clare Gittings, The National Portrait Gallery Book of Elizabeth I, 2006, p. 23
Cooper, Tarnya; Fraser, Antonia (foreword), A Guide to Tudor and Jacobean Portraits, 2012, p. 22
MacLeod, Catherine, Tudor and Jacobean Portraits in the National Portrait Gallery Collection at Montacute House, 1999, p. 17
Nicholl, Charles, Character Sketches: Elizabethan Writers, 1997, p. 48
Nicholl, Charles, Insights: Shakespeare and His Contemporaries, 2005, p. 96
Ribeiro, Aileen, The Gallery of Fashion, 2000, p. 57
Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 511