Synopses & Reviews
This book is the first comprehensive survey of aristocratic art collecting and patronage in Elizabethan England, as seen through the activities of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (ca. 1532and#150;1588). One of the most fascinating and controversial people of his day, Leicester was also the most important patron of painters at the Elizabethan court. He amassed a substantial art collection, including commissioned works by Nicholas Hilliard, Paolo Veronese, and Federico Zuccaro; helped foster the birth of an English vernacular discourse on the visual arts; and was an early exponent, in England, of the Italian Renaissance view of the painter as the practitioner of a liberal art and, thus, fit company for the educated and well-born. Although Leicesterand#8217;s picture collection and personal papers were widely dispersed after his death, this volumeand#8217;s pioneering research reconstructs his lost world and, with it, a turning point in the history of British art. Some of the paintings featured here are little-known images from private collections, never before reproduced in color.and#160;and#160;
Review
and#39;This beautifully produced study of the patronage of Elizabeth Iandrsquo;s favourite is published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. Itandrsquo;s a specialist work that sets his collecting and architectural patronage in the context of Dudleyandrsquo;s remarkable career.and#39;andmdash;John Goodall, Country Life
Review
and#39;A landmark publication, which will become essential reading for anyone interested in the collecting of art at the Elizabethan, Jacobean and Caroline courts . . . Congratulations are due not only to the author herself but also to Yale University Press for producing such a handsome, lavishly-illustrated publication. This impressive and beautifully presented book, in short, deserves to reach the widest possible readership.andrsquo; andndash; Robert Hill, Journal of the History of Collections
Review
andlsquo;Elizabeth Goldringandrsquo;s fascinating study restores courtier Robert Dudleyandrsquo;s reputation as an important patron, collector and cultural pundit. With its pioneering archival research and its lavish illustrations andndash; many of previously unpublished images andndash; this book will appeal to scholars of Elizabethan culture and interested amateurs alike.andrsquo; andndash; Katie Campbell, Cassone: The International Online Magazine of Art and Art Books
Synopsis
This detailed and pioneering study offers the first in-depth look at Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, whose patronage and art-collecting activities made him a powerful influence on Elizabethan taste.
and#160;
About the Author
Elizabeth Goldring is an associate fellow at the Centre for the Study of the Renaissance, University of Warwick.