The Arts

• Henry VIII was a keen patron of the arts. Primarily, he used portraiture to communicate his power. Images presented him as fecund (to emphasise the longevity of the Tudor dynasty).
• Henry VIII commissioned portraits from his royal painter, Hans Holbein.
• Strong (1967): "Henry VIII's construction and dissemination of his royal images as the first propaganda campaign in English history".

• Walker (2003): "Elizabeth changed the image of monarchy for ever".
• Elizabeth was not a keen patron of art. Primarily, surviving portraits of Elizabeth were commissioned by the nobility to gain favour or lobby the Queen.
  • E.g. the Sieve Portraits commissioned by Sir Christopher Hatton, which stressed Elizabeth I’s virginity during her courtship with the Duke of Anjou.
  • E.g. The Rainbow Portrait commissioned by Cecil.

• Under Elizabeth I, England’s composers were equal (if not superior) to their contemporaries on the continent.
• Elizabeth I herself was an accomplished musician, particularly on the lute and virginals (an instrument like a keyboard).
• Elizabeth I commissioned William Byrd to compose music for the Chapel Royal.
  • E.g. he wrote the 'Great Service'.

• In the Elizabethan Court, courtiers would try and gain the Queen’s attention (and favour) through poetry. They either presented their own poetry or commissioned poets.
• Butler (2015): Courtiers would give intimate performances of their own poetry.
• E.g. Edmund Spenser’s ‘Fairie Queene’.

• The Tudor period was defined by Shakespeare’s plays.
• Shakespeare benefited from the patronage of Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southampton.
• Although Elizabeth I was not a patron of Shakespeare’s, he dedicated plays to her. E.g. A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

• Shakespeare is the most famous playwright of the Tudor period.
• However, there were other great playwrights, such as Christopher Marlowe (who wrote plays including Dr. Faustus).
• Elizabeth was a keen supporter of plays. However, Puritans believed the theatre distracted people from prayer, or even as sinful.
• A letter from the Lord Mayor of London (1597): “Plays give opportunities for the ungodly people that are within this city to assemble themselves.”
• The Privy Council (1600): “It is considered that the use of such plays, not being evil in itself, may with good order and moderation be suffered in a well governed state”.

• Many of the Tudor monarchs were accomplished musicians.
• Henry VII employed foreign musicians for his court to bring new influences to England.
• Elizabeth encouraged musicians such as William Byrd and Thomas Tallis, employing them in her Chapel Royal. She spent around £1,500 annually on music.
• The Tudor period saw the rise of congregational music.
• E.g. From 1662 onwards, the Book of Common Prayer included singing anthems.

• English poetry was influenced by the Renaissance.
• Poetry was read aloud, not to be read on a page.
• Key poets included:
  • Thomas Wyatt introduced the Petrarchan sonnet into the English canon. (A Petrarchan sonnet has two stanzas. One has eight lines, the other has six. It has a rigid rhyming structure).
  • Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey.
  • Walter Raleigh.
  • Philip Sidney.
  • William Shakespeare created his own form of sonnet. This was an adaption of Petrarch’s form.

Theatres:

• In this era, many of the first permanent theatres were built. Rich and poor attended the same performances for the first time.
• The Globe was built in the City of Southwark, as the City of London was opposed to the construction of theatres. They were said to encourage crime and create disruption.
  • Palaces:
• Howarth (1997)” “The Tudor royal palace was a theatre of kingship”.
• Henry VII built palaces such as Richmond Palace.
• Henry VIII had nearly 60 residences. The grandest was Nonsuch Palace.
• Elizabeth I did not support royal buildings. This led to the rise in ‘prodigy houses’ by Elizabeth’s courtiers (such as Cecil).