hey welcome back to the YouTube channel for the Renaissance English History Podcast if you are new here a very special warm welcome to you my name is Heather and I have been podcasting on tutor England since 2009 and on this channel I put all of my old episodes as well as lots of shorter content fun stuff extra stuff book reviews random ramblings that has to do with history so make sure you subscribe so you never miss a video that I put out if you want to tutor fight your YouTube algorithm and who doesn't want to tutorify their YouTube algorithm right anyway subscribe so today I'm going to talk about a the famous Armada portrait of Elizabeth the First the tutors were masters of propaganda I actually did a couple of episodes on tutors and propaganda and how they used imagery to to further their cause and show their majesty and all that kind of stuff but nothing says it more than the Armada portrait of Elizabeth the first so let's start to unpack it shall we like I said Elizabeth was more than a queen she was a master of Public Image she understood how power in art and perceptions could solidify her Authority and the Armada portrait which was created in 1588 is a testament to this savviness it's not just a painting it's a piece of strategic propaganda that symbolizes a Monumental event Elizabeth's victory over the Spanish Armada so first let's look at her dress she's dressed lavishly her dress is just dripping with pearls and with jewels that symbolized of course her her wealth and her prosperity and the prosperity of England under her rule um the pearls in particular are symbols of Chastity that again shows Elizabeth as the Virgin Queen the queen who was married to her country and she married her country and look how great that marriage is going right it's going really well for everybody look at where her hand is resting on a globe specifically her hand is over the Americas this is powerful it's a direct reference to England emerging as a global power their nascent Empire is starting an and burgeoning Maritime prowess it's a big deal for her to have her hand not just on the globe but with her hand on a globe over the Americas that's saying like look Spain and Portugal you guys thought you had it you had all these little treaties dividing stuff up we're here now and we're gonna start being part of this so make way now let's talk about the rough that she's wearing it extends from her face like the sun's Rays she is the center she's the source of warmth she's the source of beauty and goodness in her realm so let's look at the background too on the left you have this dark stormy scene which depicts the defeat of the Spanish Armada of course they talk about the Protestant winds the blue the Spanish Armada away right now and on the right you have this these calm English Waters the the message is of course that Elizabeth has brought Divine favor she's brought peace and stability and she's banished The Tempest of the Spanish invasion look at Elizabeth herself she's poised she's confident she's looking outwards she has amazing posture she is Serene amidst all of the chaos she's a beacon of steadfast leadership her eyes face the viewer there's this kind of sense of directness she's she's looking right at you she's almost like daring you to question her Authority she's not just a passive Queen in any of this she is Resolute she is an active participant in her Realms Affairs now here's a fun fact there are actually three known versions of this painting the versions vary slightly but they maintain the same core symbols and themes this suggests that the painting was actually intended for display in multiple prominent locations which would be this kind of enduring reminder of Elizabeth's Victory and a visual Testament to her power let's not forget the small details too see the mermaid mermaids were believed to of course lure Sailors to their deaths with their siren song this is maybe an allusion to the way England outwitted the Spanish Navy so what's the bottom line the Armada portrait of Elizabeth the first is not just an artifact of tutor art it is a master class in Royal propaganda subtly weaving symbols and themes to project an image of a powerful prosperous and steadfast Queen so thanks so much for watching I hope you found that enjoyable leave a comment and let me know if you did because I will do more of these painting propaganda breakdowns if you did they're fascinating like I said I've done a couple of episodes on them I'll put some links in as well so you can listen to the whole episode but if you like this hit the like button and let me know and I will do some more of these of these types of videos the propaganda of the tutors is so awesome it's it's such a master class honestly all of the like branding experts and stuff that people have today they just need to look at the tutors the tutors did it first so thanks so much for watching I said that already but it stays the same thank you and I will see you in the next video have a great rest of your day and I will talk to you soon