The Eyes of the Queen: Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and Nicholas Hilliard
The Eyes of the Queen: Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and Nicholas Hilliard
By Lark E. Mason, Jr.
Nicholas Hilliard is an amazing artist. His miniatures capture the essence of the person painted; detailed, intimate, and jewel-like. I first saw Hilliard’s work in the V & A and have never forgotten the experience. Not just the images, but the presentation and the technique. The three-dimensionality of the lace collars, painted in a thick impasto so they stand out and cradle the face, the brilliant blue background, the exquisite gold lettering, the delicate shading. The miniatures are more than just artistry, these are biographical and historical, captured images of people like ourselves embroiled in all sorts of complications of life which we are privy to, but they were not at the time they were painted.
Image: https://astrofella.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/leicester.jpg
We see their personalities. The confidence in the portrait of Robert Dudley (1532-1588), Elizabeth I favorite and skilled advisor at court, accomplished diplomat and businessman, and advocate for non-conforming protestants. The Hilliard portrait of Dudley is in the National Portrait Gallery and is stunning. His head is turned to his right, his lace collar rises up over his cheeks and he wears a short Van Dyck beard and long, drooping but finely manicured mustache. Theres a slight ruddiness to his face. He has closely cropped hair and is wearing a caplike formless hat with black feather and jeweled border. His jacket is black with short tufts of gathered lace on the shoulders, and he wears a ruby or garnet, and sapphire gold necklace similar to the small gold-mounted jewels that encircle the edge of his cap.
https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/discover/cheapside-hoard-collection-focus
Dudley's role as the Queen’s advisor and administrator was complicated by their desire for marriage which for political reasons was impossible. His fashionable garments spoke of his position at court. His eyes are remarkable. They are penetrating and slant towards the viewer, he is not smiling, he’s confident, experienced and secure and apprising himself of who the viewer is before him. Its not a surprise that the Queen’s code name for him was a symbol representing his ‘eyes.’ And in addition to their intensity, he was indeed the ‘eyes’ for the Queen, advising and steering policy through incredibly treacherous political waters that led eventually to his commandeering the response against the Spanish Armada.
An earlier portrait of Dudley in the Wallace Collection by Steven van van der Meulen dating to around 1560, presents a similar but much less intimate view of Dudley. Unlike the Hilliard, intended for discrete, personal use, the van der Meulen portrait was meant to be seen, showing him an an advisor and representative of the Queen. The difference between these two depictions is remarkable.
Attributed to Steven van der Meulen (active between: 1543-1568), Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Oil on oak panel, Image: The Wallace Gallery
The bold blue and black blocks of color and gold lettering that encircles the inner frame of the miniature combine to put the focus on Dudley’s face and more specifically, his eyes. They appraise, they judge, they calculate, and sort, all captured by Hilliard and doubtlessly, presented exactly as Dudley wanted himself presented. Its worth seeing this portrait after viewing a wonderful video by Thomas Mould of London, reviewing the basics of liming and Hilliard and his student Isaac Oliver. The portrait is best viewed when magnified, enabling the viewer to see the details of Oliver’s work, but also the person of Robert Dudley. Earl of Leicester. The portrait is an image of Dudley in his mid-forties in 1576, an intensely private view now made public.
https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/discover/cheapside-hoard-collection-focus
