A Courtly Brush: The Life and Art of Robert Peake the Elder Robert Peake the Elder, a name resonating with the opulence and political intrigue of late Elizabethan and early Jacobean England, stands as a pivotal figure in the development of English portraiture. Born around 1551, his life unfolded against a backdrop of shifting power dynamics, religious tensions, and an evolving artistic landscape. While details of his early training remain somewhat elusive—apprenticed to a London goldsmith in 1565—it’s clear that Peake quickly gravitated towards the decorative arts, finding employment at cour…