By Madeline Josa
In 1554, the artist Hans Eworth completed a painting of Queen Mary I of England simply titled Portrait of Queen Mary I. Eworth’s grand painting holds far more subtle messaging, influence, and political implications than a first glance initially implies. Royal portraiture was a means of propaganda before the invention of photography because it could be displayed for important political figures and guests to see, and it could convey a subliminal message to this targeted audience based on what the royal who was depicted wished to convey to key political influences. Examining the fashion choices of Queen Mary I in this portrait reveals how these fashion choices conveyed a certain message to her targeted audience about her power, status, and wealth as the queen of England.
In this portrait of Queen Mary I of England, Mary is depicted standing upright with no surrounding objects around her such as books, desks, chairs, or other inanimate objects that could convey a political message to the audience. Mary is not holding any objects; her hands are merely clasped in front of her in a demure pose, showcasing the jewellery on her fingers. The only outside object in the painting is Mary’s red velvet Cloth of Estate, which makes up the backdrop of the painting. The entire focus of the painting is on Mary herself and what she is wearing, so the painting is perfect to dissect the political image Mary wished to project at this moment through her fashion choices alone.
In this painting, Mary is wearing a style of dress requiring a Spanish farthingale. The Spanish farthingale was an undergarment worn under a lady’s outer skirt that acted as a support to hold up the shape of the skirt. It was similar in design to the hoop skirt of the 19th century, but it was cone-shaped rather than bell-shaped. The Spanish were the first to start wearing this type of dress support, hence the name the Spanish farthingale.1 The conical, stiff shape of Mary’s bodice is also Spanish in style.2 The style and shape of Mary’s dress is so important because of the date of the painting and its connection to the broader political events of Europe in the 1550s. The sixteenth century was the high point of Spanish power in the Americas because no other European countries had established imperialistic ties in the Americas yet, and as a consequence of this imperialistic prowess, Spain accumulated an abundance of wealth and status in Europe.
This newfound wealth and status caused the eyes of Europe to look to Spain for influence in the hopes of emulating Spanish success.3 This emulation of Spain crossed over into women’s fashion, as exemplified here in this painting of Queen Mary I of England. Mary was the queen of England, yet she is depicted in a royally commissioned portrait in a Spanish style of dress. This depiction illustrates the influence Spain extended throughout Europe due to Spanish power and status gained from imperialism. While this painting of Mary in a Spanish farthingale is evidence of Spain’s cultural influence on Europe, it is also evidence of part of the image Mary wished to project to her political audience. Spanish styles were the height of fashion in Europe during the sixteenth century, and this can be viewed as Mary wishing to depict herself as keeping up with the fashion, and by extension the politics, of Europe since the two are directly connected, therefore bringing herself some legitimacy and political know-how as a monarch in defiance of any political figure who opposed her position of power. It is important for any monarch to be viewed as keeping up with the intricacies of politics and government in the world, and even more important for Mary since she was a woman in the traditionally male space of monarchy.
Another reason Mary aligned herself with Spanish fashion, in addition to keeping up with fashion and political “trends,” is because of the cultural associations of the Spanish. Spanish fashion was known for being stiff, severe, and demure in comparison to the previous fashion trends that had come out of Italy in the previous century.4 By wearing clothing that was associated with the ideas of stiff severity and demureness, Mary crafted an image of herself as being severe and demure as well. In this way, Spanish fashion served a dual purpose for Mary by creating an image of herself as being a serious and demure monarch who had enough political acumen to be a legitimate ruler.
Another important aspect of Mary’s fashion choices in this painting are the jewels she is wearing and choosing to display in this royal portrait. The brooch Mary is wearing on top of her sternum was originally a piece of jewellery listed by Katherine Parr, the last wife of her father, King Henry VIII, as one of the jewels in the coffer of the queen’s jewels. This is significant because Mary was choosing to showcase herself in jewellery that rightfully was meant for the queen of England, again legitimising her position of queen. More important though, is the pendant hanging from her waist, which was a piece of jewellery from her father King Henry VIII’s collection. While the brooch worked to establish Mary as queen, this pendant owned by the former king worked to legitimise Mary’s place in a position of power usually reserved for a man. Mary was unwed at the time of this painting, so she had to send a strong political message that she could rightfully hold the position of ruler of a country even though she was a woman. By wearing a previous king’s jewellery, Mary established herself in line with the power typically held by male monarchs.
Speaking to Mary’s unwed status, of equal importance to the jewellery Mary presents herself wearing is the jewellery she is explicitly not wearing. Notably absent from this painting is Mary’s wedding ring because she had not yet married Philip of Spain; the wedding would take place later in the year of 1554. Mary’s impending nuptials have to be taken into account because this may have impacted her fashion choices in this painting. Mary is dressed in a distinctly Spanish style, and while this style of dress served to establish herself as up with the political times, this style also might have served to ingratiate herself with Philip and the Spanish court. Since she had not yet married Philip, Mary may have chosen to wear clothing from the Spanish court in order to signal to her court and the Spanish court the impending union between herself and Philip.
Through her clothes and jewellery alone, Queen Mary I fashioned herself a strong political image meant to convey legitimacy, power, and severity. Since this portrait lacks any inanimate objects or superfluous background details, the focus of the painting is on Mary alone and what she chooses to adorn herself in. Her fashion choices were meant to convey a subliminal message to her political audience and guests, and therefore her fashion can be attributed as a facet of her political agency as a woman in a position of power. Though this is just one portrait of Queen Mary I, it works to establish the image of herself she wished to present, and her fashion choices play a key role in that image.
Works cited
1 Jazmin Montalvo, “Spanish Farthingale,” FIT Fashion Timeline, last modified September 10, 2018, https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/spanish-farthingale/ .
2 Hennessy, “Female Geometry” 99.
3 Hennessy, “Elegant Formality” 94.
4 Hennessy, “Elegant Formality” 94.
Bibliography and further reading
Eworth, Hans. “Portrait of Queen Mary I.” 1554. London: Society of Antiquaries of London,
1554. https://collections.sal.org.uk/object-ldsal336
Hennessy, Kathryn, ed. “Elegant Formality.” In Fashion, The Definitive Visual Guide. New York, New York: DK Penguin Random House, 2019
Hennessy, Kathryn, ed. “Female Geometry.” In Fashion, The Definitive Visual Guide. New York, New York: DK Penguin Random House, 2019
Montalvo, Jazmin. “Spanish Farthingale.” FIT Fashion Timeline. Last modified September 10, 2018. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/spanish-farthingale/
Bluestocking Oxford 