Today’s #portraittuesday treat is a drawing by the Henrician court artist Hans Holbein the Younger, an artist who was at Henry VIII’s court while Anne Boleyn was queen.
The drawing is housed in the Royal Collection and although the sitter’s identity is not firm, it was labelled “Anna Bollein Queen” by Sir John Cheke, one of Edward VI’s secretaries and secretary of state to Lady Jane Grey. Although, as others have pointed out, some of Cheke’s identifications have been incorrect, Cheke did know Anne Boleyn so, as art historian Bendor Grosvenor points out, “It seems inconceivable that he would get Anne’s identification wrong”.
You can read more about this Anne Boleyn drawing in Bendor Grosvenor’s excellent article on it – https://www.arthistorynews.com/articles/894_Anne_Boleyn_regains_her_head
I’m so annoyed twice iv tried to post a comment on the Holbein sketch and my iPad keeps jumping and clearing the page ggggr! Giving up now!
Oh no!
Will try again tomorrow!
I never liked this portrait by Holbein. I think he tried to make her look dowdy and unattractive. The sagging double chin is horrible! If I were Anne and I saw this, I would have had him banished from court!!
It isn’t the most flattering portrait but perhaps double chins were seen as good! We all definitely have a double chin when we look down like that with something tied there.