Elizabethan lives

Abstract

When tobacco first arrived in Elizabethan England, medical men prescribed this rare new drug as a possible means to combat the plague. Plague was a constant threat. In 1581, the London Bills of Mortality were established to record what was happening parish by parish in the capital. Elizabeth I tried tobacco, but apparently didn't much like it. The Virgin Queen, who reigned from 1558 to her death in 1603, is the subject of Elizabeth I & Her People, at London's National Portrait Gallery, which seeks to explore this monarch and her age through a series of fine portraits and artifacts. One of Elizabeth's early strategic moves was to recall all the debased currency, much of it issued by Henry VIII to fund his war chest. Her new coinage restored the country's image as a viable trading partner and sparked a revival in the economy; portraits of William Cecil and Thomas Gresham, who masterminded the currency business, are on display. Sir Walter Raleigh, of course, features as one of the great adventurers and beaux of the Elizabethan age. The exhibition's curator Tarnya Cooper is keen to illustrate the nascent meritocracy and social mobility in Elizabethan society. Evidence of trade is beautifully represented by the haberdasher's exhibit. Having one's portrait painted marked success in a chosen venture—calligraphy or printing, law, the Church, or medicine. A worn suit of linen clothing hanging in a glass case captures the lot of the common man. Thought to have survived because it was part of an artist's costume box, it has seen much real use before this. The disembodied set of clothes aptly sums up the many unknown men who served Queen and Country. Women are also well represented in the portraits: there is a captivating portrait of the Countess of Southampton as a young newly married woman combing her hair at a dressing table. A collection of ladies' paraphernalia accompanies the portrait, so comb and pins and pomander can be seen close up. The six-chambered pomander would have allowed a blend of scents to help alleviate the stench of the streets and ward off miasmatic diseases. What to put in the pomander is illustrated by a fine copy of John Gerard's Herball, opened to the page on peonies. The medical profession features in portraits of Edward Lister (d 1620), physician-in-ordinary to the Queen (and to James I, who followed her), and a crude but powerful painting of John Banister (c 1532–99). He studied medicine at Oxford University, was licensed in 1573, but mostly practised surgery. Banister was one of many provincials attracted by London's growing importance during Elizabeth's reign. He is shown demonstrating an anatomy lesson, his hands touching the opened cadaver. Sleeves protect his stark black clothes. Indeed, black is a common colour in the portraits on display here, and it is not a colour of mourning; rather as the most expensive colour to dye clothes it is worn as a status symbol. As a work of art, the painting, by an unknown artist, suffers in comparison with the anatomy lessons of the Dutch masters, but in its stark realism, it still has a capacity to move. The objects and pictures have been gathered from an impressive range of private and public collections. The balance of painting and artifact is finely judged and the objects have been carefully chosen to illuminate the more traditional works of art. If Elizabeth gets an entire room to herself, where the famous portrait by Nicholas Hilliard is the star, she also has a fascinating cast of supporting characters. The exhibition wonderfully succeeds in evoking an age still known by the name of its monarch. Elizabeth & Her PeopleNational Portrait Gallery, London, UK, until Jan 5, 2014 http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/elizabethi/exhibition.php Elizabeth & Her People National Portrait Gallery, London, UK, until Jan 5, 2014 http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/elizabethi/exhibition.php