PAINTING THREE
AS ‘TWERE THE MIRROR UP to NATURE
As ‘twere the mirror up to nature, Oil on linen, 30 x 40 x 7/8 in (76.20 x 101.60 x 2.222 cm), Click on image for lightbox view.
A costume designers role is to translate a character through their clothing. A costume fitting is an opportunity for the costume designer and actor to determine how the clothing the actor wears will best suit the motivations of the character and the specific needs of the play. In this painting, the viewer sees the actor portraying the Second Player (who plays the Queen in the play within the play) being fit by a draper and first hand, as the designer looks on and discusses the other elements of the costume that haven’t yet been donned - the wig and jewelry.
Rainbow Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I by Marcus Gheerarts the younger
The dress being fit on the actor is a direct visual allusion to Queen Elizabeth I. It’s the same garment that she is wearing in the famous Rainbow Portrait by Marcus Gheerarts the younger, which was commissioned for her by William Cecil as a gift when she visited his home (for what turned out to be the last great festival season of her reign). It was meant to be symbolic of her vast intelligence apparatus, as the orange cloak is covered in embroidered eyes and ears. On the right sleeve of the linen dress is a bejeweled, coiled snake symbolizing the serpent of wisdom. Since Gertrude stands in for Elizabeth in Hamlet, the Player Queen wearing a garment that is associated with the actual queen is an insult to Gertrude for her role - complicit or not - in the former king’s death, especially considering this dress is a celebration of her powerful secrecy network.
The costume sketch for this dress, as well as the sketch for the second player’s arrival costume are on the bulletin board behind the designer, along with the research that inspired them. Below that sketch is the Veronese portrait of an unknown subject; it is believed to be Edward de Vere, as he was traveling in Verona at the same time of its painting, and the face resembles other images of him.
The bodice of the Player Queen’s dress is covered in embroidered flowers, some of which are mentioned by Ophelia in her “madness bouquet” monologue as well as the Hellebore / Hebenon flower which is the poison used to kill the Player King. On the sleeve, embroidered wild (Tudor) roses and vines cover its entirety.
In the rear of the fitting room there are racks with costumes for other actors and a shelf with accessories, boxes and shoes. Atop that shelf is a symbolic pairing of the Ghost’s helmet later seen in the technical rehearsal painting and a beret - the same one that de Vere is wearing in the Welbeck portrait. This is a subtle reminder that this play is about inheritance and legacy and that the complicity the Player Queen represents, leads to the dissolution of that legacy for Hamlet / de Vere.
The numbers 17 and 40 were associated with Oxford during his life and after. The 17 is a self evident reference to the ordinal assigned to his place in the line of Earls of Oxford. On the clock above the fitting mirror, the minute and hour hands form a V, while the second hand points to seventeen. To represent the 40 or 4T (one of Oxford’s codenames), the drawers have labels listing their contents; items commonly used in costume fittings. The bottom four all begin with the letter t and the bottom drawer label T.apes (containing bias, tailors, twill and other tapes) is a nod to Oxford’s identity being supplanted by an ape or imitator in the form of the man from Stratford.