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1 of 253523 objects
Queen Anne Boleyn (c.1500-1536). On the verso, a coat of arms of the Wyatt family, and other heraldic sketches c.1533-6
Recto: Black and coloured chalks on pale pink prepared paper. Verso: Black chalk | 28.2 x 19.3 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 912189

Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/8-1543)
Queen Anne Boleyn (c. 1500-1536). On the verso, a coat of arms of the Wyatt family, and other heraldic sketches c.1533-6


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Recto: A portrait drawing of a woman traditionally believed to be Anne Boleyn (c.1500-1536), second wife of Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I. Bust length, almost in profile to the left. She wears an informal nightgown lined with fur (possibly the 'black satin nightgown' given by Henry to Anne during their courtship), and a linen undercap shaped with wire over the ears and held in place by a band of linen tied at the back. Inscribed in an eighteenth-century hand at upper left: Anna Bollein Queen. By 1526 the King had fallen in love with Anne Boleyn and after divorcing Katherine of Aragon married Anne in 1533, shortly before the birth of their daughter, Elizabeth. Anne was clever and cultured, but failed to provide Henry with the son he needed. She was charged with adultery and was executed for treason in May 1536. On the verso of the sheet is a sketch of the coat of arms of the Wyatt family and other heraldic studies.
Provenance
Henry VIII; Edward VI, 1547; Henry FitzAlan, 12th Earl of Arundel; by whom bequeathed to John, Lord Lumley, 1580; by whom probably bequeathed to Henry, Prince of Wales, 1609, and thus inherited by Prince Charles (later Charles I), 1612; by whom exchanged with Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke, 1627/8; by whom given to Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel; acquired by Charles II by 1675
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Recto: Black and coloured chalks on pale pink prepared paper. Verso: Black chalk
Measurements
28.2 x 19.3 cm (sheet of paper)
Markings
watermark: Briquet 11391, hand and crown [same as 12199]
Object type(s)
Other number(s)
RL 12189Featured in
ExhibitionHenry VIII : a 500th anniversary exhibition : Drawings Gallery
explores the life of one of the most significant figures in the history of the English monarchy
ExhibitionIn Fine Style: The Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion : The Queen's Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse
Traces changing tastes in fashionable attire in Great Britain in the 16th and 17th centuries.