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7
I had forgotten that not only Elizabeth but also Anne of Cleves was in Mary's coronation train -- and I like the way she is portrayed in the above picture. She looks younger than Elizabeth there; I wonder if that was the painter's intention? -- Love her robes, too ... though they must have weighed a ton!
I hadn't really noticed that she looks younger. That's an interesting question! I can't imagine having to wear the layers of heavy fabrics and jewels that Mary favored.
No, they must have weighed her down tremendously. Mary looks more gentle and "approachable" than Elizabeth in this picture, too. Which is an interesting contrast to her stern-faced depiction just a year later, in the Eworth portrait included in your blog post ...
I've seen many people criticize Mary for how she appears in that portrait, but I think she appears as a woman attempting to fill the role of a king. If she looked kind and pretty, wouldn't people accuse her of being weak? She really couldn't win. :-/
No, she couldn't ... and of course, there aren't many portraits of Elizabeth showing her as anything other than a stern monarch, either. The only exceptions I can think of are the Rainbow and the Zuccaro Portraits (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Elizabeth_I_Rainbow_Portrait.jpg and https://www.artuk.org/discover/artworks/elizabeth-i-15331603-183147) -- and in neither of them, Elizabeth is shown as benevolent. That's why I find the above portrayal of Mary so striking ... on the very occasion of her coronation, she is shown as (1) younger than her sister, (2) better-looking than her sister, AND (3) kindhearted. I'm pretty sure Mary herself would have been very happy with that portrayal -- I think this is the way she would have wanted to be perceived.
I agree! It makes me even happier to look at it now. :-)
Good! :)
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