King Henry VIII

WALL LABEL: King Henry VIII, c.1540s

Hans Holbein’s portrait of Henry VIII, originally commissioned for the Palace of Whitehall, has become the most recognisable image of this infamous monarch. Several different versions of this painting exist and, while AGSA’s painting is not likely to have been painted by Holbein himself, it was certainly painted during Henry’s lifetime. Today Henry VIII is one of the most notorious members of the British royal family, known of course for his six wives, or perhaps more importantly his ability to get rid of them!

Recent scientific assessment indicates that no drawing lies beneath the paint layer, although there is evidence of small dots of chalk, known as ‘pouncing’. This technique was a method of transferring a drawing (on paper) onto the wood panel: small holes were made in the paper, outlining the image, with chalk then pushed through these pin holes, removing the need for comprehensive underdrawing. Infrared imagery also highlighted the existence of gold and silver leaf under the top paint layers, a technique used in the sixteenth century to emulate the gold and silver woven textiles favoured by royalty.

Tansy Curtin, Curator of International Art Pre-1980