A SNAKE IN THE GRASS
In an homage to the visionary designer Alber Elbaz, today’s focus is on a few ensembles from his Spring 2012 Collection for Lanvin featuring serpentine prints starring the ambiguously symbolic snake. Of all the juxtapositional possibilities from history including Cleopatra’s Egyptian asp, Greek Mythology’s Medusa, Hinduism’s Naga and the Pre-Columbian Vision Serpent to name a few, an obscure painting of the Virgin Queen dating from the 16th Century seemed to be the most apropos analogy. Revealed nearly 400 years later, Queen Elizabeth I was secretly hiding a serpent twined around her fingers in the forgotten painting.
Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I • Circa 1580s - 1590s • Unknown Artist • National Portrait Gallery, London
Despite not being displayed since 1921, The National Portrait Gallery discovered an image of a mysterious coiled snake that appeared in the portrait of a jewel-laden Queen Elizabeth I. The portrait was painted by an unknown artist somewhere between 1580 and 1590. It was revealed over time and decay that the Tudor monarch was originally holding a serpent in her hand as opposed to the current innocuous nosegays. The queen certainly owned jewelery featuring emblems of serpents, which were probably understood as a symbol of wisdom, prudence and reasoned judgment as represented in the Rod of Asclepius. No other portrait of Elizabeth, however, appears to depict her holding a snake. The snake was likely painted over with an inoffensive little bouquet of roses due to the fact that in Christian iconography it is often a symbol of original sin or the devil, where as a posy was a conventional symbol of virginity or virtue. Infra-red technology was critical in revealing the changes made to the painting and aided in an artist’s rendering of a fairly accurate impression of what the snake would have looked like before the bouquet. The x-rays that drove the serpent out of its lair also indicated that the snake was initially painted black with greenish blue scales and was almost certainly painted from imagination... Just as this painting invokes the dualities of good and evil, femininity and masculinity, and the macabre romance behind a pretty facade, so too did Alber Elbaz’s beautifully complex garments. • All runway images courtesy of Vogue
With the help of infrared technology, an artist’s impression of the snake with greenish blue scales hidden beneath the portrait’s top layer of paint • Image courtesy of The Independent
Detail of the Edge of the Hand and the Snake • Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I • Circa 1580s - 1590s • Unknown Artist • National Portrait Gallery, London
Detail of Silk Serpent Print Dress • Spring / Summer 2012 Collection • Alber Elbaz for Lanvin
An augmented image highlighting the painting’s secondary hidden face hidden beneath the portrait’s top layer of paint • Image courtesy of Elixir of Knowledge
With the help of infrared technology, an artist’s impression of the snake with greenish blue scales hidden beneath the portrait’s top layer of paint • Image courtesy of PA Images via Elixir of Knowledge
Jewel Encrusted Serpent Print Dress • Spring / Summer 2012 Collection • Alber Elbaz for Lanvin
Infrared Reflectogram Mosaic Image of the Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I • Circa 1580s - 1590s • Unknown Artist • National Portrait Gallery, London
Infrared image highlighting the snake hidden beneath the portrait’s top layer of paint • Image courtesy of PA Images via Elixir of Knowledge
Detail of Silk Serpent Print Scarf • Spring / Summer 2012 Collection • Alber Elbaz for Lanvin
Silk Serpent Print Cocktail Dress • Spring / Summer 2012 Collection • Alber Elbaz for Lanvin
X-Ray Mosaic Image of the Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I • Circa 1580s - 1590s • Unknown Artist • National Portrait Gallery, London
Silk Serpent Print Jacket • Spring / Summer 2012 Collection • Alber Elbaz for Lanvin
The painted-over snake coming to the surface out from under the innocuous nosegays
Fei Fei Sun (left) covered in printed flowers juxtaposed to Liu Wen (right) cloaked in Alber Elbaz’s serpents for Lanvin • Spring / Summer 2012 Collection • March 1, 2012 • Vogue • Peter Lindbergh
Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I • Circa 1580s - 1590s • Unknown Artist • National Portrait Gallery, London
