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1 of 253523 objects
Nicholas Bourbon (c.1503-1549/50) 1535
Black and coloured chalks, and pen and ink on pale pink prepared paper | 30.8 x 25.9 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 912192
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A portrait drawing of Nicholas Bourbon (c.1503-1549/50), a French poet at the court of Henry VIII. A bust length portrait in profile to the left. He holds a pen in his right hand. A woodcut of 1535 is based on this drawing, and shows the figure in reverse. Inscribed in an eighteenth-century hand at upper left: Nicholas Borbonius Poeta. The French poet Nicholas Bourbon was drawn by Holbein in the typical pose of a scholar, caught in the act of writing. Bourbon came to England in 1535 and became part of a circle of foreigners at Henry VIII's court which included Holbein and the astronomer Nicholas Kratzer. Bourbon praised Holbein's work as exceeding that of Apelles, the legendary Greek painter.
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
Black and coloured chalks, and pen and ink on pale pink prepared paper
Measurements
30.8 x 25.9 cm (sheet of paper)
Object type(s)
Other number(s)
RL 12192Featured 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