1. The Original Selfie Fad
Elizabethan Era Art
The Original Selfie Fad

2. England was late to the Renaissance party
The Reformation began in Germany with Martin Luther’s Ninety-five Theses in 1517, at the height of the Renaissance (which began in the 14th century but lasted until the 17th century).
Because of the strict view of religion, not all Northern European countries adopted the artistic ideals in time with Southern European countries.
Henry VIII (Queen Elizabeth I’s father) brought England into the Reformation by calling for a separation of the Church of England from Rome (mainly so he could get divorced from his first wife).

3. So… Why were they tardy to the party?
The Tudor dynasty was actually pretty short, starting at the end of the War of the Roses when Henry VII took the throne back for the Stuart line (but also Tudor, as he was a Stuart cousin, but born a Tudor) from the Yorks. His entire reign was about uniting the Yorks and Tudors to keep the country from going back to civil war.
Then his son, Henry VIII, did the thing with the church.
Henry VIII’s children, all from different mothers, either had extremely short reigns (like his son Edward VI, who ruled from the age of 9 until his death at age 15), or were heavily contested as to their legitimacy (Elizabeth herself was born to Henry’s second wife, and in the eyes of the Catholic church would be considered illegitimate, and therefore ineligible to rule).

4. So… Why were they tardy to the party?
Essentially, England had a lot going on during the Tudor dynasty, and while the rest of Europe was taken with the Renaissance and trading foreign knowledge of the arts, England was just trying to prevent another civil war for which family would rule.

5. Ok, but it clearly changed…
Queen Elizabeth I’s reign wasn’t easy, but it did last a lot longer than her predecessors, so for sheer stubbornness, she was able to finally unite the conflicting churches (at least temporarily) while bringing a bit of the Renaissance to England.
The Elizabethan Era became a time period of intellectualism, foreign diplomacy, and artistic creativity.
The theater in particular was especially popular, with playwrights like Shakespeare (hmmm, sounds familiar) and Christopher “Kit” Marlowe becoming the height of social circles.

6. Right, but it’s fine art Monday, so…
So let’s talk about the art.
Elizabeth was pretty particular, including her image, and welcomed many portraitures to court to capture the images and opulence of courtiers that were in her favor.
These artists (most notably Lucas Horenbout and Nicholas Hilliard) would often be foreign and/or study with foreign artists to capture both the English “posh” style as well as the more “exotic” French or Italian styles of painting.

7. Elizabeth: The original Kardashian

8. Seriously, Homegirl liked looking at herself

9. You think I’m kidding?!

10. There are literally hundreds!

11. And these were all painted! It’s not like they had cameras or anything!

12. Assignment
Use your phones to look up a portrait of anyone in this time period. (Best to search “Elizabethan Era Portraits”)
Then, write a paragraph describing the tone and mood set in each of the portraits. Answer the “why” of the paintings: Why this subject? Why the facial expressions? Just… why?