VMFA Podcast Transcript for
The Armada Portrait and the Portrait of Queen Henrietta Maria with Sir Jeffery Hudson with Commentary by Fourth Graders

Created by Jan Johnston and Shannon Reibel

[Guitar music]
[Children's laughter]

Speaker 1: Hi, Welcome to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts' special exhibit, Rule Britannia. This brief podcast is designed to give you an over review of two paintings. Although this podcast is for all ages, helping us with this discussion are local fourth grade students who will lend us their insight and commentary, some serious, some comical.
Now let's walk over to the Armada Portrait. This large, feature painting is in the middle of the exhibit.
What do you think about these clothes? Would you want to wear this outfit?

Child 1: I wouldn't because, um…you couldn't run, you couldn't kick, you couldn't throw a ball in it probably!

Child 2: I think that you would have a really hard time sitting down because you have to wear this big hoop skirt under it, and that's why the skirts poof out. And that's what they did like, um, in the 1800s probably, um, and in a younger time than that…So when you sat down you'd probably have to hold your skirt down because it would fly up, and that could be a serious problem.

Child 3: I probably wouldn't want to wear it because it'd probably be too much to wear, and it's probably be heavy and kinda hard to walk in…and plus it might be itchy.

Speaker 1: If you stand slightly to the left, you'll be able to see the Portrait of Queen Henrietta Maria with Sir Jeffery Hudson. How do the two queens compare?

Child 1: Queen Henrietta, there's not a lot going on with her dress. And it…all it does really look like is she's outside with her, um, son.

Child 4: Queen Elizabeth I is outside…wait…I mean inside! And Queen Henrietta Maria with Sir Jeffery Hudson is outside because you can see the sky and clouds.

Child 5: Um, queen Elizabeth I is sitting and Queen Henrietta Maria is standing, and I think both of them are actually inside. I think the tree is just a painting.

Speaker 1: Oh! So I see you picked up on some differences between our two British queens. The poses, however, are rather similar: the turn of the head, the turn of the body, and the placement of the right hand. Both the queens have their right hand resting on something. What are their hands resting on?

Child 4: A globe!

Speaker 1: A globe. What do you think that means?

Child 4: Um, that she is looking at the globe to see what land she wants to take over next.

Speaker 1: What do you think that means about England if the Queen of England has her hand on the globe?

Child 5: That she's trying to find a place, maybe, that she wants to go to or, like he said, take over.

Speaker 1: Um-hum, good idea.

Child 6: Or…she's looking for some…someplace to make a new…a new colony.

Speaker 1: Ooh, good idea!

Child 2: I think that why she's putting her hand on the globe is maybe because she's very educated, and um she's looking for different places on the globe.

Child 4: Her hand's on the globe because she's teaching school because it says English school, 16th century.

Speaker: Actually, the English school is the school of artists who painted it, but that is a great way to try to look at the title to try to figure out what's going on in the painting.
So Queen Elizabeth has her hand on the globe. Do you remember what Queen Henrietta Maria had her hand on? Let's go take a look.

Child 1: She has her hand on it looks like her son's monkey.

Speaker 1: Why do you think he's holding a monkey?

Child 5: Because that's probably his favorite kind of animal.

Child 4: Because queens in that day usually had monkeys for deliveries and stuff around the castle because the monkeys delivered little messages around the castle.

Speaker 1: (Stifling a laugh) Very cool.

Speaker 2: (Whispered) That's awesome.

Speaker 1: (Stifling a laugh) I did NOT know little monkeys delivered messages around the castle. Can you guess the monkey's name? Any ideas?

Child 2: Um, probably Something like King George…or something…

[Children giggling in the background]

Speaker 1: Wouldn't the other king's get mad?

Child 2: Or something very royal…

Speaker 1: Okay…

Child 2: Um…like…um…like James or George or…Jeremy.

Speaker 1: Okay, it would have a British name because it's a British monkey.

Child 4: Sir Jeffery Hudson.

Speaker 1: You think that's the monkey's name?

Child 4: Sir Jeffery Hudson.

Speaker 1: Okay.

Child 4: I actually think it's a girl because it has a little bow on its head. So, a girl's name maybe like Lorene.

Speaker 1: (Chuckling) So whether or not you agree with our fourth grade art critics that the royal monkey's name was Lorene or that the dresses really were itchy, we hope you've enjoyed this special podcast. Thanks.