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Secondary sourcePainting

Monument to Queen Elizabeth I in Westminster Abbey

Hubert Francois Bourguignon d'Anville Gravelot

An 18th-century engraving of Elizabeth I's tomb monument in Westminster Abbey, showing how she was memorialised after her death.

This engraving shows Elizabeth I's tomb monument in Westminster Abbey, built to commemorate her after death.

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Engraving of the monument to Queen Elizabeth I in Westminster Abbey: a tall arched canopy with columns, coats of arms, and a recumbent effigy of the queen on a tomb chest with lion sculptures. Latin inscriptions and a title line run along the bottom.
Claude du Bosc after H.F.B. Gravelot, Monument of Queen Elizabeth in Westminster Abbey, 18th century. Wellcome Collection.

About this source

What it is

This is an engraving made in the eighteenth century by Hubert Francois Bourguignon (Gravelot), after his own drawing, engraved by Claude du Bosc. It is held by the Wellcome Collection and shows the monument to Queen Elizabeth I in Westminster Abbey, with a tall arched canopy, coats of arms, and a recumbent effigy of the queen on a tomb chest guarded by lion sculptures.

Why it matters

The image documents how Elizabeth I was commemorated long after her death through a grand tomb monument. It reflects the respect and status given to her in national memory, and it also shows how artists such as Gravelot and engravers like du Bosc kept recording and reproducing royal monuments for later audiences.

Look closer

  • Why do you think such an elaborate monument was built for Elizabeth?
  • What do the coats of arms and lion sculptures suggest about her status?
  • This engraving was made long after Elizabeth's death — how might that affect what it tells us?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Elizabeth I on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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