Analysis of “The secret of England’s greatness” by Thomas J. Barker

“The secret of England’s greatness” is a painting by Thomas J. Barker. It was painted in 1836 during the Victorian age.

In the painting you can see Queen Victoria handing the bible to an ambassador of East Africa. They are in the front of the painting. In the middle distance, behind Victoria, you can see Albert. In the background you can see Queen Victoria´s lady-in-waiting and two politicians- Lord John Russell and Lord Palmerston. The scene is an imaginary scene based on real persons. The picture is just pure propaganda, which is a symbolic for

how England used to spread Christianity.  

Because Victoria and the ambassador are placed in the foreground the focus is on them.

Because of this they are the most important people in the painting.

Queen Victoria is the most important person in the painting. She is handling the ambassador the bible, which symbolizes England´s colonisation of India and parts of Africa. Therefore the bible is the focus of the picture since Christianity was a big part of the colonisation. There are many different things in the painting, that makes the bible centre of attention. All the lines in the painting go to the vanishing point of the bible.

The ambassador of East Africa is dressed in a leopard cape, which symbolize

The picture portrays how England colonised India and parts of Africa.

There are a lot of different colours in the picture. The colours harmonize very well with each other because there aren’t any vivid colours. The most visible colours are: red, blue and white.
Red, blue and white is also the colours of Great Britain’s flag even dough this read is more Bordeaux. 

Prince Albert is standing in red, which is a symbolic for power and passion. The red colour is also a royal colour. There is also a big curtain in red.
The blue colour is also a royal colour. Victoria is also wearing a blue sash. Victoria is also standing in her big white silky wedding dress. The white wedding dress is a symbolic for: purity.
The throne in the left side is a green, which is a symbolic of truth and power.

Queen Victoria is standing in her silky wedding dress and a blue sash. She is wearing a lot of different jewellery: a necklace, bracelets, earrings, her crown, and she is also decorated with flowers, which is a symbolic for her beauty. Victoria is also wearing a watch with a picture of her father inside. The reason why she has a picture of her father in her watch is because she never knew him. This way she is honouring him.

Sofie * 2, Puk, Marcus