Queen Elizabeth I Playing the Lute

The watercolor miniature by Nicholas Hilliard shows Queen Elizabeth (c. 1580) playing the most popular instrument of the time. Hilliard did many miniatures of members of Elizabeth’s court. Elizabeth used cosmetics and wigs to cover up the scars of smallpox and the loss of much of her hair. (By Nicholas Hilliard [1547–1619] / Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire, UK / Bridgeman Images.)