Tarnya Cooper

Charlotte Bolland

Who were the Tudor kings and queens and what did they really look like? Mention Henry VIII and the familiar image of the rotund, bearded fellow of Hans Holbein the Youngers portraits immediately springs to mind reinforced, perhaps, by memories of a monochromatic Charles Laughton wielding a chicken leg in a fanciful biopic. With Elizabeth I its frilly ruffs, white make-up and pink lips in fact, just as she appears in a number of very well-known portraits held in the Collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London. But the familiarity of these representations has overshadowed the other images of the Tudor monarchs that were produced throughout their reigns. During the sixteenth century the market for portraits grew and so the monarchs images multiplied as countless versions and copies of their likeness were produced to satisfy demand. Taken together, these images chart both the changing iconography of the ruler and the development of portrait painting in England. In considering the context in which these portraits were made, the motivations of the sitters and the artists who made them, the purposes to which they were put, and the physical transformations and interventions they have undergone in the intervening five centuries, the authors present a compelling and illuminating investigation into the portraiture of the Tudor monarchs.

Kings and Queens Rediscovered

The Real Tudors

The Collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London, is renowned for its portraits from the Tudor and Jacobean eras, many of which are on display at the Gallery or at Montacute House, our regional partner in Somerset. This book presents portraits of key individuals from this period, from the monarchs and members of the ruling elite to the writers, artists and artisans that characterised the literary and artistic flourishing of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. An introductory essay provides important historical context, and the ninety works selected from the collections of the National Portrait Gallery and National Trust are accompanied by extended captions exploring the sitter and artist's significance to the period and technical information about the portrait. The publication features sections on Tudor monarchs, the Stuarts, courtiers, the family in portraiture, and iconography.The Collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London, is renowned for its portraits from the Tudor and Jacobean eras, many of which are on display at the Gallery or at Montacute House, our regional partner in Somerset. This book presents portraits of key individuals from this period, from the monarchs and members of the ruling elite to the writers, artists and artisans that characterised the literary and artistic flourishing of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. An introductory essay provides important historical context, and the ninety works selected from the collections of the National Portrait Gallery and National Trust are accompanied by extended captions exploring the sitter and artist's significance to the period and technical information about the portrait. The publication features sections on Tudor monarchs, the Stuarts, courtiers, the family in portraiture, and iconography.

Charlotte Bolland

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