Arts and Culture Elizabethan England
Overview:
- Elizabethan Golden Age has been much written about in historical accounts
- There was an indefinite flourishing of creativity and cultural achievements most commonly
attributed to the spread of the Renaissance which began in Florence in the late 15 th century
- Change was not quickly shared by all and many displayed a strong continuity with their
medieval past
Art
Evidence of Golden Age:
- Artists of the Tudor Court were inspired by the Renaissance and came from Europe, mainly
Flanders. Such as Hans Holbein and the Flemish painter Peter Rubens
- The Reformation had a significant impact on English art. Italian artistic influence was greatly
diminished because of its close association to Roman Catholicism.
- Iconoclasm associated with the Reformation destroyed much medieval religious art and
the skills of painting and making elaborate stained-glass windows were almost lost in England.
- A new strong tradition of portrait miniature began as exemplified by Nicholas Hilliard, the
most famous English miniature painter at the time, who learned his craft from European artists.
- Elizabeth appointed him the official miniature painter in recognition of his skill and he went
on to paint a number of miniatures for the Queen and some larger panel portraits.
- Nicholas Hilliard painted the famous ‘Young Man among Roses’ which is believed to be the
Earl of Essex.
- Nobility, gentry and courtiers got onto this trend and began to commission miniature portraits
for themselves to establish status and wealth.
Evidence not a Golden Age:
- This new English trend of portrait miniatures was still very conservative by European
standards and was not as creative and innovative as new European art of the time.
Architecture
Evidence of Golden Age:
- A true English Renaissance style emerged in Elizabethan architecture rather than the partial
Renaissance style seen in some buildings under Henry VIII (Hampton Court Palace) and Edward I
(Somerset House)
- The new trend for Elizabeth were large stately homes rather than costly palaces
- Many nobility members, gentry and courtiers such as Hatton, Dudley, Burghley bought ex-
monastic land and constructed large, magnificent show houses in the countryside that would
be lavishly furnished to house the Queen during her Royal Progress
- Glass was a very expensive material at the time so nobility would characterise their houses with
extremely large windows: Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire or Burghley House in Lincolnshire
Evidence not a Golden Age:
- Urban housing, farmhouses and many manor houses remained in the more traditional
perpendicular style which was characterised by mullioned windows, vaulted roofs and
the use of ornaments to decorate
Literature
Evidence of Golden Age:
- Increase in education created a highly literate population
- Great literature was produced in this period that included increasingly rich language as the
century advanced, due to importation of foreign words and competition between
Overview:
- Elizabethan Golden Age has been much written about in historical accounts
- There was an indefinite flourishing of creativity and cultural achievements most commonly
attributed to the spread of the Renaissance which began in Florence in the late 15 th century
- Change was not quickly shared by all and many displayed a strong continuity with their
medieval past
Art
Evidence of Golden Age:
- Artists of the Tudor Court were inspired by the Renaissance and came from Europe, mainly
Flanders. Such as Hans Holbein and the Flemish painter Peter Rubens
- The Reformation had a significant impact on English art. Italian artistic influence was greatly
diminished because of its close association to Roman Catholicism.
- Iconoclasm associated with the Reformation destroyed much medieval religious art and
the skills of painting and making elaborate stained-glass windows were almost lost in England.
- A new strong tradition of portrait miniature began as exemplified by Nicholas Hilliard, the
most famous English miniature painter at the time, who learned his craft from European artists.
- Elizabeth appointed him the official miniature painter in recognition of his skill and he went
on to paint a number of miniatures for the Queen and some larger panel portraits.
- Nicholas Hilliard painted the famous ‘Young Man among Roses’ which is believed to be the
Earl of Essex.
- Nobility, gentry and courtiers got onto this trend and began to commission miniature portraits
for themselves to establish status and wealth.
Evidence not a Golden Age:
- This new English trend of portrait miniatures was still very conservative by European
standards and was not as creative and innovative as new European art of the time.
Architecture
Evidence of Golden Age:
- A true English Renaissance style emerged in Elizabethan architecture rather than the partial
Renaissance style seen in some buildings under Henry VIII (Hampton Court Palace) and Edward I
(Somerset House)
- The new trend for Elizabeth were large stately homes rather than costly palaces
- Many nobility members, gentry and courtiers such as Hatton, Dudley, Burghley bought ex-
monastic land and constructed large, magnificent show houses in the countryside that would
be lavishly furnished to house the Queen during her Royal Progress
- Glass was a very expensive material at the time so nobility would characterise their houses with
extremely large windows: Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire or Burghley House in Lincolnshire
Evidence not a Golden Age:
- Urban housing, farmhouses and many manor houses remained in the more traditional
perpendicular style which was characterised by mullioned windows, vaulted roofs and
the use of ornaments to decorate
Literature
Evidence of Golden Age:
- Increase in education created a highly literate population
- Great literature was produced in this period that included increasingly rich language as the
century advanced, due to importation of foreign words and competition between
