Portret van koningin Elizabeth I 1604

This is Frans Hogenberg's portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, etched sometime between 1540 and 1590. Note the pearls adorning the Queen. Pearls, often associated with purity and wealth, have been used since antiquity. Consider Botticelli's Venus, emerging from the sea, her skin glowing, also linked with pearls. These precious gems also connect to the tears of Aphrodite, further linking pearls to an ancient past. Across cultures, pearls have signified the moon, water, and feminine power. Their lustrous quality evokes a sense of the ethereal and the divine. In this portrait, pearls serve to amplify Elizabeth's status as a powerful, almost mythical ruler, deeply embedding her image within a timeless narrative of beauty, strength, and sovereignty. They offer a cyclical reaffirmation of the enduring archetypes and symbols that continue to resonate through the collective psyche.