Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
1 portrait of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
attributed to studio of Nicholas Hilliard
watercolour and bodycolour on vellum, circa 1595
9 3/4 in. x 8 in. (248 mm x 203 mm)
Accepted in lieu of tax by H.M. Government and allocated to the Gallery, 1994
Primary Collection
NPG 6241
Sitterback to top
- Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (1565-1601), Soldier; favourite of Elizabeth I. Sitter associated with 25 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Nicholas Hilliard (circa 1547-1619), Miniature painter. Artist or producer associated with 34 portraits.
This portraitback to top
This portrait was probably painted to celebrate Essex's role in the Accession Day tilt of 1595. He is depicted wearing elaborate armour on which is embroidered his impresa of diamonds within a circle. The battle scene beyond may refer to his command of the cavalry at Flushing in the Netherlands at the start of his career.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Tudor Portraits Resource Pack, p. 36
- Bolland, Charlotte, Tudor & Jacobean Portraits, 2018, p. 68 Read entry
Handsome, eloquent and impetuous, Robert Devereux was the stepson of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and the last of Elizabeth I's favourites. He was married to Frances Walsingham, the daughter of Elizabeth's spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham and widow of Sir Philip Sidney. Described by his friend Francis Bacon as having 'a nature not to be ruled', Essex was confirmed as a popular hero when he raided the Spanish city of Cadiz in 1596. However, he lost his place at court in 1599 while serving as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, after coming to terms with the Earl of Tyrone without the queen's permission. Following a period under house arrest, Essex attempted to rouse rebellion in London against the queen's ministers; this failed, and he was executed at the Tower of London in the spring of 1601. This portrait was probably painted to celebrate Essex's role in the Accession Day tilt of 1595. He is depicted wearing elaborate armour, which incorporates an impresa of a circle filled with uncut diamonds beneath the letters DUM FORMAS MINUIS ('While you form me, you deform me'), a bold allusion to the perils of trying to contain his unruly character. The battle scene beyond may refer to his command of the cavalry at Flushing in the Netherlands at the start of his career.
- Cannadine, Sir David (Introduction); Cooper, Tarnya; Stewart, Louise; MacGibbon, Rab; Cox, Paul; Peltz, Lucy; Moorhouse, Paul; Broadley, Rosie; Jascot-Gill, Sabina, Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits, 2018 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA, 7 October 2018 -3 February 2019. Bendigo Art Gallery, Australia, 16 March - 14 July 2019.), p. 105
- Charles Nicholl, Shakespeare and his Contemporaries, 2015, p. 10
- Charles Nicholl, Shakespeare and his Contemporaries, 2015, p. 10
- Clare Gittings, The National Portrait Gallery Book of Elizabeth I, 2006, p. 26
- Cooper, John, Visitor's Guide, 2000, p. 24
- Cooper, Tarnya, Elizabeth I & Her People, 2013 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 10 October 2013 - 5 January 2014), p. 98
- Cooper, Tarnya, Elizabeth I & Her People, 2013 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 10 October 2013 - 5 January 2014), p. 98
- John Cooper, National Portrait Gallery Visitor's Guide, 2006, p. 24
- MacLeod, Catharine, Tudor Portraits in the National Portrait Gallery Collection, 1996, p. 36
- MacLeod, Catharine (preface, appreciation) Wilks, Timothy (introduction) Smuts, Malcolm (appreciation) MacGibbon, Rab (appendix), The Lost Prince: The Life and Death of Henry Stuart, 2012 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 18 October 2012 to 13 January 2013), p. 39
- Nicholl, Charles, Insights: Shakespeare and His Contemporaries, 2005, p. 9
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 208
- Walker, Richard, Miniatures: 300 Years of the English Miniature, 1998, p. 25
- Williamson, David, Kings and Queens, 2010, p. 102
- Williamson, David, The National Portrait Gallery: History of the Kings and Queens of England, 1998, p. 105
Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top
- Elizabeth I and Her People (10 October 2013 - 5 January 2014)
Events of 1595back to top
Current affairs
The Nine Years War begins in Ireland. The Earl of Tyrone leads an uprising against the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I. He appeals to the Catholic Philip II of Spain for assistance.Spanish ships land in Cornwall sparking fears of a new Armada. They burn Penzance and Mousehole but then flee.
The Jesuit poet and Catholic martyr Robert Southwell is executed for treason. His Saint Peter's Complaint and Other Poems is posthumously published.
Art and science
Sir Walter Ralegh sets out on a voyage to Guiana (now Venezuela) to find the mythic land of 'El Dorado' where there was said to be large amounts of gold. His search is unsuccessful.Sir Francis Drake sails for the West Indies.
William Shakespeare writes Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream at about his time.
Portrait of the poet and clergyman John Donne is painted at about this time.
International
Battle of Fontaine-Française- Henry IV of France defeats the Spanish army and the remnants of the French Catholic League under Charles, Duke of Mayenne.Sigmund Báthory, Prince of Transylvania and Michael the Brave, Prince of Wallachia defeat the Ottoman army at the Guirgevo (in present-day Romania).
Mehmed III succeeds Murad III as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
Comments back to top
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William Heap
10 October 2017, 20:32
I have made an addition to the previous post.
A closer examination of the background is necessary. The large encampment with artillery, earthworks and a gabion in the background of the portrait suggest their presence at a siege. There are three pieces of artillery and a gunner depicted in fortified positions. A sapper’s tool used for digging trenches is perhaps also visible. Mounted horsemen are present in the background on the left as well as pikemen behind the encampment. The evidence leads us to either Gournay or Rouen during his campaign in France; that is to say, 1591. It could be asked why Essex would choose Rouen as it was ultimately a failure. There are two possibilities: either the portrait was painted during the siege or he saw Rouen as something to celebrate. In another well-known engraving by Thomas Cockson, the siege of Rouen does appear next to his moment of glory at Cadiz. As for the artist, Nicholas Hilliard, he had previously visited France 1576-79. On this occasion he painted the 'freebooter' Sir Anthony Mildmay (Cleveland Museum of Art 1926.554) in a similar 'on campaign' pose.
Finally, we have one other item linking this portrait to the campaign in France. Essex is also wearing a white sash (perhaps bearing fleurs-de-lys) on his right arm as well as white crests in his helmet and his horse. White was the colour adopted by Henri IV.