The Plimpton "Sieve" portrait of Queen Elizabeth I [graphic] / [George Gower].
1579
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Title
The Plimpton "Sieve" portrait of Queen Elizabeth I [graphic] / [George Gower].
Created/published
1579.
Description
1 painting on panel : oil ; 104.4 x 77 cm + frame ca. 50 x 38.5 in.
Associated name
Note
Attribution by Roy Strong.
Inscriptions: Above the globe at upper left: "TVTTO VEDO & / MOLTO MANCHA [last two letters are joined]" ("I see everything and much is lacking"). Above the royal arms at upper right: "E R." On the royal coat of arms: "HONI SOIT QV ... I MAL Y PENSE" and "SEMPER EADEM." Beneath the arms: "STA[last two letters are joined]NCHO RIPO / So & RIPOSATO / AFFANO 1579" ("Weary rest and rested breathlessness" from Petrach's Trionfo D'Amore, IV, 1.145). On the rim of the sieve running along the upper left quadrant: "ATERA [portion obscured by overpainting] MAL DIMORAINSELA" ("A terra il ben mal dimora in sella"-"To earth the good, bad remains in the saddle")
Versions: Strong lists two other versions, one of which, now missing, is described by George Vertue in the eighteenth century (see Strong 1963, p. 66). Strong discusses the surviving version at length in his book Gloriana of 1987, where it is recorded as in the possession of Lane Fine Art Ltd., London (it is now in a private collection in Florida). Its measurements (34 x 24 in.), medium (oil on panel), and provenance are corrected from his earlier listing.
Related works: A series of other works, dating from about 1580 and slightly later, also show Elizabeth holding a sieve in her left hand, though she now turns to the viewer's left. In addition, she is shown with a symbolic pillar. The most famous of this group is the Siena Portrait (Pinacoteca di Siena, oil on canvas, 49 x 36 in.), which, according to Jordan, was recently discovered to be by the Antwerp painter Quentyn Massys the Younger ("Representing Political Androgyny," p. 164)
Title from Pressly.
Inscriptions: Above the globe at upper left: "TVTTO VEDO & / MOLTO MANCHA [last two letters are joined]" ("I see everything and much is lacking"). Above the royal arms at upper right: "E R." On the royal coat of arms: "HONI SOIT QV ... I MAL Y PENSE" and "SEMPER EADEM." Beneath the arms: "STA[last two letters are joined]NCHO RIPO / So & RIPOSATO / AFFANO 1579" ("Weary rest and rested breathlessness" from Petrach's Trionfo D'Amore, IV, 1.145). On the rim of the sieve running along the upper left quadrant: "ATERA [portion obscured by overpainting] MAL DIMORAINSELA" ("A terra il ben mal dimora in sella"-"To earth the good, bad remains in the saddle")
Versions: Strong lists two other versions, one of which, now missing, is described by George Vertue in the eighteenth century (see Strong 1963, p. 66). Strong discusses the surviving version at length in his book Gloriana of 1987, where it is recorded as in the possession of Lane Fine Art Ltd., London (it is now in a private collection in Florida). Its measurements (34 x 24 in.), medium (oil on panel), and provenance are corrected from his earlier listing.
Related works: A series of other works, dating from about 1580 and slightly later, also show Elizabeth holding a sieve in her left hand, though she now turns to the viewer's left. In addition, she is shown with a symbolic pillar. The most famous of this group is the Siena Portrait (Pinacoteca di Siena, oil on canvas, 49 x 36 in.), which, according to Jordan, was recently discovered to be by the Antwerp painter Quentyn Massys the Younger ("Representing Political Androgyny," p. 164)
Title from Pressly.
Provenance
Provenance: Acquired by George Arthur Plimpton by 1930; by descent to his son Francis T.P. Plimpton.
Source of acquisition
Bequest of Francis T.P. Plimpton, but retained by his widow during her lifetime by agreement with the Library. Delivered to the library in 1997.
Exhibited
Washington, D.C., Folger Shakespeare Library, 1991. Royal autographs : the Tudor and Stuart monarchs of England.
Washington, D.C., Folger Shakespeare Library, 2003. Elizabeth I (catalog p. 51)
Washington, D.C., Folger Shakespeare Library, 2000. Decade of Collecting (catalog entry 17)
New York, NY, The Jewish Museum, 2012-2013. Crossing Borders.
Washington, D.C., Folger Shakespeare Library, 2003. Elizabeth I (catalog p. 51)
Washington, D.C., Folger Shakespeare Library, 2000. Decade of Collecting (catalog entry 17)
New York, NY, The Jewish Museum, 2012-2013. Crossing Borders.
Cited/described in
Pressly, W.L. Paintings in the Folger Shakespeare Library, 187 (Plate 28)
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Genre/form
Place of creation/publication
Great Britain -- England.
Item Details
Call number
ART 246171
Folger-specific note
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