Reviews for In public view

The average rating for In public view based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-06-25 00:00:00 Scott Oakford Roy Strong focuses here completely on the plenitude of portraits that were painted of Elizabeth and discusses their iconographical and cultural significance in a way which is both erudite and accessible. The scale of Elizabeth's portraiture was unheard of in England since the time of the Roman emperors and this book explores why and how the images were made, and how they were made to have meaning for their contemporary audiences. The extended use of allegory (in the 'sieve', 'ermine' and 'rainbow' portraits, for example) is explained, and the way Elizabeth's image changed over the years of her reign (1558-1603) is explored. Strong takes a very positive view of Elizabeth in this and his other books but that doesn't stop this being a fascinating read. Following an extended introductory chapter, this looks at all the extant portraits and explains the iconography and significance of them within their cultural and social contexts.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-10-22 00:00:00 Jun Sato As a find at a used book sale, I can't complain that it fit in the paper bag that I paid $5 to fill. The layout of the book was strange because I had to keep flipping from the actual portraits to the explanation of them. He listed all of the portraits, but didn't have a picture to accompany the listings. It's a good source to see some rare portraits of Elizabeth and I guess a book is always good if you learn something (how much Elizabeth loved her hands; so much that they were featured prominently in a lot of portraits)