From Powells.com
The Best Books of 2019 (So Far)
Staff Pick
Elizabethan miniatures are a thing of beauty and Nicholas Hilliard can be credited for raising them to their very heights. This is not just an art history book with beautiful jeweled illustrations of Hilliard's work, it is also a very fascinating biography of a man who rose from poverty to become Elizabeth I's decorated painter (and possible spy), but who ultimately ended up imprisoned for debt at the end of his life. A very engrossing read. Recommended By Sheila N., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
This illustrated biography follows Nicholas Hilliard’s long and remarkable life (c. 1547–1619) from the West Country to the heart of the Elizabethan and Jacobean courts. It showcases new archival research and stunning images, many reproduced in color for the first time. Hilliard’s portraits — some no larger than a watch-face — have decisively shaped perceptions of the appearances and personalities of many key figures in one of the most exciting, if volatile, periods in British history. His sitters included Elizabeth I, James I, and Mary, Queen of Scots; explorers Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh; and members of the emerging middle class from which he himself hailed. Hilliard counted the Medici, the Valois, the Habsburgs, and the Bourbons among his Continental European patrons and admirers. Published to mark the 400th anniversary of Hilliard’s death, this is the definitive biography of one of Britain’s most notable artists.
Review
"This is a book I have long been waiting for, the first fully documented biography of Nicholas Hilliard setting him within the political, social and cultural worlds of his age. It will long remain the definitive work." Roy Strong
Review
“Elizabeth Goldring’s illustrated biography Nicholas Hilliard: Life of an Artist, published to coincide with a major centenary exhibition, tells his story with all the flair of her last book, an examination of the flamboyant and (for his day) selfie-loving Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester” Suzi Feay, Financial Times
Review
“A landmark scholarly biography...Goldring excavates the connections that let an Exeter goldsmith become an artist renowned at the courts of Europe. She has rescued a Renaissance in miniature” Jonathan Jones, The Guardian
Synopsis
This beautifully illustrated biography tells the story of portrait painter Nicholas Hilliard's extraordinary journey from the West Country to the heart of the Elizabethan and Jacobean courts.
About the Author
Elizabeth Goldring is an honorary associate professor at the Centre for the Study of the Renaissance at the University of Warwick and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.