Mysterious Snake Appears on Queen Elizabeth Painting

National Portrait Gallery in London was shocked with snake figure which mysteriously appears in the painting of the 16th century depicting Queen Elizabeth I. According to the researchers, the snake was in the original version was described in a circle on the fingers of the queen. But the snake images seem to be less suitable, so by the artist in the last minute replaced with rose.
Now, after so many years later, the snake appeared again because of age and consumed painting pictures of flowers roses fade. The painting was created by an unknown artist in the 1580s or early 1590s. The painting is not on display at London gallery since 1921 but will be part of a thematic exhibition The Changing Faces of Elizabeth I, from March 13 to September 26.
According to the gallery curator, a snake is sometimes used to symbolize the wisdom, and power of judgments, but the scaly creatures were also associated with the symbol of evil and original sin. Well, the painter may remove serpent for those double different philosophy of snake. Snake is in queen’s greep but has a greenish-blue scales, so that almost certainly that it was painted by the imagination because it is more like a dragon than a snake actually.

In X-rays found also face of another woman whose identity is unknown. Unidentified woman's face was facing the opposite direction and in a higher position than the queen's face. Her eyes and nose were covered by Queen Elizabeth's forehead.
Photo gallery sure is a woman's face early paintings by different painters who closed with a portrait of the Queen. This shows how the painting of the 16th century sometimes recycled by the artist. Unknown woman appeared wearing a French hood, with the clothing style in 1570-1580's. Means an interval of several years before the painting was recycled back to painting portraits of Elizabeth.

Source: Kompas