Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest reigning monarch, died Thursday at 96 years old. During her record 70-year-long reign, she led the country through the aftermath of World War II, a bitter divorce from the European Union, and most recently the Covid-19 crisis. She became not only an icon, but a trusted leader among uncertain times.
Elizabeth, along with the rest of the British royal family, was a prolific art collector. The British royal family owns the largest private art collection in the world, known as the Royal Collection Trust. Comprised of over one million objects, the collection is spread across over a dozen royal residences, some of which are open to the public.
In 2013, Elizabeth Fullerton reviewed the exhibition“In Fine Style: The Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion” at the Queen’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace. The show paired 60 notable paintings with garments worn by royalty and courtiers during the same period.
Below is a look at some of the foremost artworks in the Royal Collection Trust in light of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing.
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Artemisia Gentileschi: An Allegory of Peace and the Arts, 1635–38, oil on canvas, 29 by 35 feet; at Marlborough House, London.
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Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Massacre of the Innocents, 1565–67, oil on panel, 43 by 62 inches.
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Michelangelo Buonarroti: Archers shooting at a herm, ca. 1530, red chalk on paper, 13 by 9 inches.
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Rembrandt van Rijn: Christ and St Mary Magdalen at the Tomb, 1638, oil on panel.
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Nicolas Poussin: Triumph of Pan, ca. 1635, pen and ink with wash, black chalk, and stylus on paper, 9 by 13 inches.
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Johann Zoffany: Tribuna of the Uffizi, 1772–77, oil on canvas, 49 by 61 inches.
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Leonardo da Vinci: Superficial anatomy of the shoulder and neck (recto), ca. 1510, pen and ink with wash and black chalk on paper, 11 by 8 inches.
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Rembrandt van Rijn: The Shipbuilder and his Wife, 1633, oil painting, 45 by 67 inches.