str8thinker
10th December 2010, 03:18
Several portraits of this monarch include one or more snakes (serpents).
The most famous of them is the Rainbow Portrait, c. 1600, attributed to Isaac Oliver (though this is by no means certain), which can be viewed at Hatfield House.
http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/rainbowportrait.jpg
A large jewelled serpent on her left sleeve holds from its mouth a heart-shaped ruby (allegedly Elizabeth's heart) on a chain. On its head rests an orb, possibly the globe of the world or a celestial sphere. Elizabeth is holding a rainbow in her right hand, and the Latin inscription 'Non sine sole iris' on the painting translates as 'No rainbow without the sun'.
This painting is well known for the eyes and ears which decorate her orange cloak. Less obvious are the equally numerous mouths. Since she was often referred to as the Virgin Queen, perhaps one should ignore the exceptionally vulva-like ear positioned over her genitals [1]. "Elizabeth's headdress poses a second problematic reading. The pale arc emerging from its top has been described both as an aigrette and as an 'overarching ray' of queenly light" [2]. The hair style of the Queen with its "Thessalonian bride allusion. . . [contributes] to the sponsa Dei (wife of God) theme". [1]
Inigo Jones's designs for the Masque of Blackness (1605) "based the masquers' headdresses on one which Vecellio depicts for his Sposa Tessalonica [no image available]. Exactly the same source was used by the painter for the Queen's headdress in the 'Rainbow' portrait". [1]
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Inigo_Jones%2C_design_for_Masque_of_Blackness_1605.jpg/220px-Inigo_Jones%2C_design_for_Masque_of_Blackness_1605.jpg
If you find this painting fascinating, as I do, I commend you to read my references to it below. They are equally fascinating and reflect the current thinking of each generation of writers, basing their interpretations on religious, political and even sexual iconographies. The long pearl necklace she wears symbolizes purity and virginity. The more one looks into this painting, the more enigmatic it becomes, like an Elizabethan Mona Lisa.
However, speaking from the viewpoint of an "awake and aware" member of this forum, what else can we read into it? Why is the rainbow she holds so colourless? It looks more like a piece of plastic tubing purchased from the local hardware store. Does the sun, flowing into her (maybe by the beam from her headdress) invest her with the power to turn it on (no rainbow without the sun)? Sun god? Where have we heard that before? "That Elizabeth can go beyond the possible - not only reach but also restrain the rainbow - would surely have resonated well with an audience who would have ascribed to her a near-divine stature." [2] Many comparisons have been made between the Virgin Queen and the Virgin Mary.
And what of the rainbow itself? It has been portrayed as two reptilian monsters joined together, one pointing toward the past, the other pointing toward the future, but this is only one of several interpretations. Whatever the original intention, the rainbow is now firmly in her grasp. "...at the outset of the seventeenth century, the rainbow continued to serve its traditional roles as herald of God's Noachian covenant and as token of an idealized antiquity". [2]
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/6d7c0788f3.png (http://www.freeimagehosting.net/)
The ears, eyes and mouths seem to me to have a sinister implication more in keeping with the three-letter acronym organizations of today than suggesting that she embodied the eyes, ears and mouths of her people. And the great serpent on her sleeve that has gripped her heart. Does it signify knowledge, like the serpent of Eden? And why does it support the Earth (or heaven)?
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/6e524dbf5c.png (http://www.freeimagehosting.net/)
------------------------------------------------------
The Hardwick Portrait, circa 1599, by Nicholas Hilliard can be viewed at Hardwick Hall (maintained by the National Trust). "It was comissioned by the legendary Bess of Hardwick, who also embroidered the queen's skirt. The skirt is amazing - sea serpents, dragons, etc." [3]
http://www.marileecody.com/gloriana/elizabethhardwick.jpg
Although several snakes are included, the iconography here is simpler and seems to mean that she can assert dominance over (the creatures of) the earth and, importantly, the oceans, allowing no impedance to colonization of the New World. They are all "below" her.
Continued in next post...
The most famous of them is the Rainbow Portrait, c. 1600, attributed to Isaac Oliver (though this is by no means certain), which can be viewed at Hatfield House.
http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/rainbowportrait.jpg
A large jewelled serpent on her left sleeve holds from its mouth a heart-shaped ruby (allegedly Elizabeth's heart) on a chain. On its head rests an orb, possibly the globe of the world or a celestial sphere. Elizabeth is holding a rainbow in her right hand, and the Latin inscription 'Non sine sole iris' on the painting translates as 'No rainbow without the sun'.
This painting is well known for the eyes and ears which decorate her orange cloak. Less obvious are the equally numerous mouths. Since she was often referred to as the Virgin Queen, perhaps one should ignore the exceptionally vulva-like ear positioned over her genitals [1]. "Elizabeth's headdress poses a second problematic reading. The pale arc emerging from its top has been described both as an aigrette and as an 'overarching ray' of queenly light" [2]. The hair style of the Queen with its "Thessalonian bride allusion. . . [contributes] to the sponsa Dei (wife of God) theme". [1]
Inigo Jones's designs for the Masque of Blackness (1605) "based the masquers' headdresses on one which Vecellio depicts for his Sposa Tessalonica [no image available]. Exactly the same source was used by the painter for the Queen's headdress in the 'Rainbow' portrait". [1]
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Inigo_Jones%2C_design_for_Masque_of_Blackness_1605.jpg/220px-Inigo_Jones%2C_design_for_Masque_of_Blackness_1605.jpg
If you find this painting fascinating, as I do, I commend you to read my references to it below. They are equally fascinating and reflect the current thinking of each generation of writers, basing their interpretations on religious, political and even sexual iconographies. The long pearl necklace she wears symbolizes purity and virginity. The more one looks into this painting, the more enigmatic it becomes, like an Elizabethan Mona Lisa.
However, speaking from the viewpoint of an "awake and aware" member of this forum, what else can we read into it? Why is the rainbow she holds so colourless? It looks more like a piece of plastic tubing purchased from the local hardware store. Does the sun, flowing into her (maybe by the beam from her headdress) invest her with the power to turn it on (no rainbow without the sun)? Sun god? Where have we heard that before? "That Elizabeth can go beyond the possible - not only reach but also restrain the rainbow - would surely have resonated well with an audience who would have ascribed to her a near-divine stature." [2] Many comparisons have been made between the Virgin Queen and the Virgin Mary.
And what of the rainbow itself? It has been portrayed as two reptilian monsters joined together, one pointing toward the past, the other pointing toward the future, but this is only one of several interpretations. Whatever the original intention, the rainbow is now firmly in her grasp. "...at the outset of the seventeenth century, the rainbow continued to serve its traditional roles as herald of God's Noachian covenant and as token of an idealized antiquity". [2]
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/6d7c0788f3.png (http://www.freeimagehosting.net/)
The ears, eyes and mouths seem to me to have a sinister implication more in keeping with the three-letter acronym organizations of today than suggesting that she embodied the eyes, ears and mouths of her people. And the great serpent on her sleeve that has gripped her heart. Does it signify knowledge, like the serpent of Eden? And why does it support the Earth (or heaven)?
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/6e524dbf5c.png (http://www.freeimagehosting.net/)
------------------------------------------------------
The Hardwick Portrait, circa 1599, by Nicholas Hilliard can be viewed at Hardwick Hall (maintained by the National Trust). "It was comissioned by the legendary Bess of Hardwick, who also embroidered the queen's skirt. The skirt is amazing - sea serpents, dragons, etc." [3]
http://www.marileecody.com/gloriana/elizabethhardwick.jpg
Although several snakes are included, the iconography here is simpler and seems to mean that she can assert dominance over (the creatures of) the earth and, importantly, the oceans, allowing no impedance to colonization of the New World. They are all "below" her.
Continued in next post...