Original - The "Hampden" portrait of Elizabeth I of England was painted by the Netherlandish artist Steven van der Meulen around 1563. Art historian Sir Roy Strong has suggested that this is "one of a group produced in response to a crisis over the production of the royal image" as a number of old-fashioned and unflattering portraits of the queen were then in circulation. This is the earliest full-length portrait of the young queen, and depicts her in red satin trimmed with pearls and jewels. The painting made headlines in November 2007 when it was auctioned by Sotheby's for ₤2.6 million, more than twice the maximum predicted.
Reason
Hidden from the public for almost 50 years, this life-size full-length image of Elizabeth I of England by Steven van der Meulen is historically significant as the earliest full-length image of the Queen, painted in the 1560s in the brief period before the emergence of symbolic portraits representing the iconography of the "Virgin Queen". The painting is newsworthy as it was auctioned for ₤2.6 million in November 2007, more than twice the maximum expected. (See DYK for 27 March 2008).
Articles this image appears in
Steven van der Meulen
Creator
Scan by PKM. Artist: Steven van der Meulen

Promoted Image:Elizabeth I Steven Van Der Meulen.jpg MER-C 09:32, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]