The Rainbow portrait was a propaganda painting of Queen Elizabeth, painted by Isaac Oliver in the 17th century, the last year of Elizabeth’s 44-year reign.
There are many hidden symbols that Elizabeth wanted to put across to her people; such as the serpent down her sleeve, her unusually patterned dress, and does the 69-year-old Queen really have to be wearing fairy wings?
Elizabeth’s dress is actually decorated with eyes and ears, showing that she sees and hears everything that goes on in her country, the jewelled serpent coiled down her left arm, has a heart shaped ruby in its mouth, the serpent illustrating wisdom, and the ruby, the queens heart. In other words, her affection is controlled by her wisdom, as Elizabeth is known for not getting married at any point, she was ‘a woman in a man’s world’ and would lose a large amount of her power to her husband if she married.
The rainbow portrait gets its name from what Elizabeth is holding in her right hand, a rainbow, with the inscription ‘Non sine sole iris’ meaning ‘No rainbow without the sun’. The rainbow is representing peace, and its purpose is to inform her people of her wisdom, and how it can ensure prosperity and peace over the land. The sun is often
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This is because, if she looked like she was nearing the end of her life, her people would not think of her as their Queen, but as a dying woman, a dying woman without an heir to the throne. Not many people realised how old the Queen was, which was her aim, or there could have been fighting to get the throne. When Elizabeth died at Richmond palace on the 24th of March 1603, the Elizabethan era was over. Elizabeth’s cousin, Mary Queen of Scots had a son, James VI, he became King, and England was a protestant country