Rule #4: Create intimacy

As tokens of loyalty and affection, portrait miniatures were an intimate way to further one’s agenda. Power players commissioned Nicholas Hilliard and Isaac Oliver, the most talented miniaturists in England, to paint these exquisitely detailed portraits, often set in locket-like gold frames. They were to be viewed privately, rather than hung on a wall for all to see.

Power player move: marry the queen’s crush

Nicholas Hilliard was the most sought-after limner in Queen Elizabeth’s reign, painting nearly all of the influential men and women in her inner circle. This portrait by him is tentatively identified as Lettice Knollys, a cousin of the queen and one of her ladies-in-waiting. When Knollys secretly married the Earl of Leicester, the queen’s greatest love and one of Hilliard’s most important patrons (Rule 13), she was banished from court.

A Favorite of King James

Philip Herbert grew up in the court of Queen Elizabeth but enjoyed a meteoric rise to power under King James, who was enamored with Philip’s appearance and enthusiasm for hunting and jousting (Rules 8 and 3). Philip here wears the blue ribbon of the Order of the Garter (Rule 2). Shakespeare’s “First Folio” was dedicated to Philip and his brother William.

The royal family

Prince Henry was the first child of King James and Queen Anne. A beloved heir to the throne and patron of the arts, he died of typhoid at the age of 18. After his premature death, miniatures of him were in high demand. Henry here wears the blue ribbon of the Order of the Garter with a pendant George (Rule 2) over his armor.

These miniatures, believed to depict King James and Queen Anne, were painted and framed as a pair by an unidentified artist. The style of the monarchs’ attire and ruffs, especially Anne’s standing wired lace ruff, suggests they were made around 1620.