Full Record |
| Title |
Portrait of Henry VIII |
| Collection |
Victoria Art Gallery, Bath |
| Artist |
After Holbein, Hans, the younger (German painter, draftsman, born 1497 or 1498, died 1543, active in Switzerland and England)
Previously attributed to British School
Previously attributed to Holbein, Hans, the younger (German painter, draftsman, born 1497 or 1498, died 1543, active in Switzerland and England)
Previously attributed to follower of Gwillim Sweeter (unknown school) |
| Date Earliest |
probably 1537 |
| Date Latest |
probably about 1600 |
| Description |
The original portrait by Holbein was included in a wall-painting at Whitehall Palace (1537, destroyed 1698), and is known through the surviving cartoon at the National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG 4027), and three-quarter and full-length copies. The Victoria Art Gallery portrait is close to a version in the Royal Collection. In the Victoria Art Gallery portrait, the King is depicted three-quarter length, standing in a frontal position. He is sumptuously attired and bejewelled, and wears a plumed hat, ermine robe and velvet doublet, chains and rings. He holds gloves in his right hand and rests his left hand on his sword. |
| Current Accession Number |
BATVG:P:1984.28 |
| Subject |
portrait (Henry VIII) |
| Measurements |
91.5 x 71 cm.0 cm (estimate) |
| Material |
oil on panel |
| Acquisition Details |
Given by Captain F. H. Huth 1916 |
| Publications |
Wright, C., Old Master Paintings in Britain: An Index of Continental Old Master Paintings executed before c.1800 in Public Collections in the United Kingdom, London, 1976, p. 91; Catalogue of Paintings at Guildhall, The Assembly Rooms and Pump Room, Bath, Bath Museums Service, Bath, 1985, p. 9, cat. no. 23; Sloman, S., Victoria Art Gallery: Concise Catalogue of Paintings and Drawings, Bath, 1991, p. 18 (as British School, after Holbein). |
| Notes |
Captain Huth of Beckford House, Bath, was an important donor and supporter of the Gallery. He requested that the present work and two other royal portraits he donated in 1916 be hung in the Guildhall. |
| Rights Owner |
Victoria Art Gallery, Bath |
| Author |
Dr Susan Steer |
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