The Rainbow Portrait of Elizabeth I was painted by Isaac Oliver in 1600. Although it is argued that Marcus Gheeraerts, who is the brother-in-law of Oliver’s teacher, actually painted it. Oliver was born in 1506 in France and died in 1617 in England. Oliver lived most his life in France and only moved to England in 1608 to be with his father. The composition is really basic. The canvas is held vertically and Elizabeth I is taking up the whole canvas. The painting is kind of monochromatic because orange is the only color but being used. Elizabeth’s dress is all different hues of orange and even the background though it looks black still has a tint of orange in it. The painting gives us the feeling that Elizabeth is strong, empowered woman and nothing is going to take her down. This is probably the image she was trying to get by because at the time she was getting really sick and only three years later passed away. Elizabeth I was the type of queen that would not want any country, including her own, to know that she was ill.

Marie Antoinette

I love European history. So I decided to do my concept-folio on the royalty of art. It will be all about old Kings and Queens, famous or not. I chose to do my critique on this portrait of Marie Antoinette because she if one of the better known queens of France and she is one of my favorites.

Critique: Jean-Baptiste Gautier-Dagoty’s portrait of Marie Antoinette is one that delights the eye. He was an artist during the French revelation. Jean-Baptiste Gautier-Dagoty painted a couple of portraits of the young French queen, each enraging the common people of France and adding fuel to the revolutionary fire. The composition of this painting balances the picture nicely. Marie Antoinette sits in a bib, blue, poofy dress while her surrounding is red. The contrast between the warm and cool colors makes the painting pop. The value in this painting is used to Antoinette’s advantage. The light is shining right on her and her surroundings are pretty much in the shadows, showing she is the most important part to this painting. This is how she thought in life too; she was the most important woman and everyone should look up to her. The texture in the dress shows rich material of the dress that cost a lot. The harmony of the coloring and shading makes it beautiful and makes the spectator see why the French commoners did not appreciate Marie Antoinette.