THE FACE OF ANNE BOLEYN? What did Anne Boleyn look like? Hans Holbein the younger | History Calling
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- Does this famous drawing by HANS HOLBEIN the younger show the face of ANNE BOLEYN? It is clearly inscribed as such, but not in a 16th century hand and debate has raged for centuries as to whether or not this really is the doomed second wife of Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I, or if we have a case of mistaken identity on our hands. In this Tudors documentary from History Calling we’ll look at the provenance of this Tudor portrait which has passed through the hands of King Henry VIII, King Edward VI, Henry FitzAlan, 12th Earl of Arundel, John, Lord Lumley, then perhaps Henry, Prince of Wales, followed by his brother King Charles I. It then went to Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke, Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel, King Charles II & finally the rest of the Kings and Queens of England from Charles onwards. It is now part of the Royal Collection of art & is held at Windsor Castle. I’ll explain to you where the inscription comes from & how much we can trust its identification as Queen Anne Boleyn (which was supposedly provided by John Cheke, a tutor to Edward VI). We’ll ask whether Anne would ever have allowed herself to be drawn in such an informal manner, in her bedclothes and if this woman’s face even matches up with other images and descriptions we have of her. Along the way, we’ll address the question of what Anne Boleyn looked like.
Amazon storefront: www.amazon.com...
Instagram: / historycalling
Patreon: / historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
DOES THE CHEQUERS’ RING SHOW A PORTRAIT OF ANNE BOLEYN AND ELIZABETH I
• Does the CHEQUERS’ RIN...
ANNE BOLEYN’S B NECKLACE
• ANNE BOLEYN’S B NECKLA...
THE FACE OF JANE BOLEYN ?
• The face of JANE BOLEY...
TUDOR QUEENS’ CONSORT NECKLACE
• TUDOR QUEENS’ NECKLACE...
ART HISTORY PLAYLIST
• Art History
SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII PLAYLIST • Six wives of Henry VIII
ANNE BOLEYN PLAYLIST
• Anne Boleyn
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
LEARN MORE
John Rowlands and David Starkey, ‘An Old Tradition Reasserted: Holbein's Portrait of Queen Anne Boleyn’ in The Burlington Magazine, vol. 125, no. 959 (1983), pp 88-92.
Eric Ives, ‘The Queen and the painters: Anne Boleyn, Holbein and Tudor royal portraits' in Apollo (1994), pp 36-45.
Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn (Wiley-Blackwell, 2005)
amzn.to/3xLivgr
Susan Bordo, The Creation of Anne Boleyn: In Search of the Tudors' Most Notorious Queen (One World Publications, 2014)
amzn.to/3zznLY1
Sarah Morris and Natalie Grueninger, In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn (2013)
amzn.to/2W9oJct
Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009) amzn.to/36IqD5r
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004)
amzn.to/3wImKIh
BUY OR RENT:
The Tudors, season 1
amzn.to/2VCwQ0j (US link)
The Tudors, season 2
amzn.to/2VMPnHw (US link)
The Tudors, season 3
amzn.to/3BijsPB
The Tudors, season 4
amzn.to/3z16S58 (US link)
Henry VIII and his Six Wives (2016 docu-drama)
amzn.to/3jiCkag
Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016 docu-drama)
amzn.to/3wH2mr2
DVDS:
The Tudors complete collection: amzn.to/3gWs4Ty (UK link) OR amzn.to/3z3Ef7n (US link)
Henry VIII (2003) amzn.to/2ZrjK4U (UK link) OR amzn.to/3z73ndj (US link)
Henry VIII and his Six Wives (2016 docu-drama): amzn.to/3gXU4GH
Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016 docu-drama): amzn.to/3h7Qh8z (UK link) OR amzn.to/3xKuBGA (US link)
Thumbnail: Photo of Hans Holbein drawing from Rijks Museum, public domain (detail)
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommon...
Do you think this drawing shows Anne and why? Let me know below and remember to check out my Patreon for bonus material at www.patreon.com/historycalling and see my Amazon storefront at www.amazon.com/shop/historycalling
No, I don’t think it is her, for the reasons you yourself listed. For a more likely sitter, maybe we could try looking into the mistresses of Hans Holbein (I know nothing about his private life, he might not even have any idk, but I shall look into it :)
For me, not having watched the whole video yet, this is not her. She must have been a beauty and very smart to have kept Henry interested for so long and have him give up his religion which he took very seriously ("defender of the faith"). This woman is not. She would have more in her eyes and probably not a double chin.
Also her nose on other portraits is not "crooked"
For me, the British Museum drawing looks more like her
@@Meine.Postma Actually, Anne was not considering a beauty, Katherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves were the only one of his wives that were generally remarked upon as beautiful (except for Henry w Anne of Cleves lol). Also I don’t consider this woman ugly, actually finding her prettier than the woman in the “B pattern” portraits and another Holbein sketch claiming to be her, but that’s just my opinion.
@@lfgifu296 I know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Still her eyes don't do it for me. Also they said she was not pretty in the usual sense, but she was considered some sort of "foreign beauty"
No, I don't think it's Anne. I can't imagine that she would have been sketched in intimate attire. I do wonder if it's Holbein's English wife. He was married (bigamously, as he had a wife and children back home) to an Englishwoman, according to Fanny Moyle's recent biography of Holbein, "The King's Painter," but we know nothing about her. If Holbein could not have afforded the level of attire the lady wears, he certainly would have been in a position to borrow it--or to have imagined it.
I believe the best likeness of Anne Boleyn can be found in the face of her daughter Elizabeth, who is said to look very much like her mother, with her fathers red hair.
Yes, it would be wonderful to know just how much Elizabeth resembled her.
Well if that’s true, then Anne wasn’t pretty at all. 😢
I think Elizabeth had some of her mother's features (chin, face shape a little bit, slenderness, eye color), but she looks more like her paternal great grandmother with her deep-set eyes, and like her father in hair color and nose. We all have different opinions, of course, though!
@@ProudKansan08 Maybe by modern day beauty standards but in that time period they desired different traits.
@@ProudKansan08look at the pictures of younger elizabeth before her smallpox scars took over her face
I’m in awe of the talent Hans Holbein possessed. I like to draw myself but in comparison to his work mine look like a child did them.
Would you mind doing a video of him and his son?
Maybe one on HH the younger at some point, though I'm not sure people would be interested enough? Biography videos are also very time consuming to do as they need to cover so much.
@@HistoryCalling Thank you! HH is in my opinion an extremely interesting man. That talent and his access to so many powerful, famous and educated people!
@@HistoryCalling If it helps, I barely knew who Holbein was before your videos, but now with how often he’s come up, with how often his work is theorized over and attempted to connect to the person in the portrait, with how popular he apparently was in Henry’s court and many of the politically involved of the day, and how he managed to stay in Henry’s good graces even as the man burned through many of the wives he’d painted (especially with his having painted Anne of Cleaves and apparently faced none of Henry’s real-or-affected wrath over her appearance being less than he expected), I’ve been becoming increasingly interested to know more about the man, and I would absolutely watch the hell out of a video about him. :D
I would love a video on Holbein the younger. A chance to learn of his extraordinary life as an artist, and a chance to see many of his sketches and paintings together in one video.
I've overlaid this portrait on the portrait of Elizabeth 1 and lined up the faces. I think you will be shocked how much they matched. Although at first glance they do not look alike, at closer look I think they do: the slightly protruding lower lip, the deep set dark eyes, the bump in the nose. It convinced me that this must be a portrait of Anne.
but are you prepared to overlook the mountain of evidence *against* this being her for a supposed familial resemblance?
@@lfgifu296 No, but I would like to see that mountain of evidence. It wasn't presented here.
@@tarabrightstar It was presented in the video.
Another amazing episode from you!! You HAVE to be the BEST on RUclips in my opinion 😊❤😊
I tend to agree with everything you said, regarding this particular portrait drying. Specially, with the other etching‘s that are found on the back of it. There’s no reason why they would be there if it was a picture of Anne. What I am curious about, so is the statement that the image on the coin didn’t match the other two images posted live end. And it makes me think of the coin with King Charles the third that’s recently been minted. I wonder if there’s any sort of computer software that could compare a photo of King George with a likeness of the coin, and then take the likeness of Anne from the coin and try to create a photo of what she wouldn’t look like in person. That would be really interesting to see.
Another great video HC 🥳 as much as I wish it was- I really don’t think this is a sketch of Anne. Have you seen the Nidd Hall Portrait? There have been rumblings that it may be of Anne. Also, would you recommend Ives biography of Anne, or could you say which book you think gives the best account of her life? Thanks for the great content!
I have seen the Nidd portrait and it might be her. I'd need to research it. Yes, I'd definitely recommend Ives' book. Really all the other biographers since are (in my opinion) just regurgitating his work.
Could it be Catherine of Aragon? She had red hair and pale skin. Also she is supposed to have gained weight from many (sadly mostly miscarried) pregnancies.
I think it's too late for her. She wouldn't have been at court anymore to be drawn by Holbein.
I never knew there was a coat of arms on the back. That’s why I love this channel. I always learn something 😊. Just curious if there are any other ideas about who woman in the picture is? I don’t think it’s Anne either
I personally think it looks more like Jane Seymour than Anne. Also, I remember accounts of Anne being very fashionable. I don't think she would have been caught dead in a night gown. Also, Henry the VIII would have beheaded Hans Holbein for such a portrait of Anne, accusing him of adultery and treason as well. Finally, if all portraits of Anne were subsequently destroyed following her fall from grace, why would this portrait survive and be passed down to Edward?
Yes, there are a lot of problems with this ID. On the subject of how the picture ended up with Edward, if it was just tucked away in a big pile of pictures it could easily have been forgotten about. Also Henry didn't worry too much about totally eradicating Anne. Bits of her jewellery were still in his inventories years and years after her death for instance. I think he probably had so much, he didn't even remember what some of his belongings were.
The double chin looks a lot like Jane's but not the rest of the portrait.
Wrong hair colour
you could conclude relation when observing this Hans Holbein portrait and the portrait of Thomas Boleyn by Hans Holbein. I can believe it is Anne Boleyn
The portrait once thought to be of Anne's father is now identified as James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond, so although Butler was distant relation via Anne's paternal grandmother, he's too distant to be of use in determining the identity of the sitter in the portrait under discussion.
If it is the face of Anne Boleyn, then the young actress who played her in "Wolf Hall" was a very close match to this face. Interesting.
I've always had a problem with it, due to her garb. She was fiercely proud to be Queen and this is not, in any way, a regal portrait. I don't buy it! Thanks for another great video, I do enjoy seeing your videos pop up on a Friday.
Thanks Jonny. Yes, I can't see someone as image conscious as Anne posing for this either.
is it me or are the men drawn more precisely and detailed? ( holbein sketches )
Why hasn't anyone suggested Katherine Howard?
@2:51 black chalk? What are you talking about? Do you mean charcoal or red conté?
I came here to tell my history, i commonly see visions and images getting formed in any sort of thing i see, mostly on designed walls, i called my bathroom's wall as "The Mystery Wall" cause there are just many weird faces and things in it, at first you just don't notice but when you pay attention and see the wall deeply you"ll find them all and won't just unseen anymore, the biggest/most noticiable face in the wall, is what i call a portrait of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart cause its literally him, looks like his confirmed portraits but in my wall, he is kinda smiling, i happen to dream with Anne cause i've always been her fan, she's my favorite Queen of all time, and i know and believe that everything that i see is at least 98% correct, something just tells me it is, i have huge faith in Jesus and God and something always tells me is him sending me these visions, i continue, in my dream i was in my bathroom close to the wall and this portrait suddenly appeared out of nowhere in it, i got scared but there was nothing real/human looking, it was just like when you post a portrait to your wall, it was Anne's portrait as i got closer i see this vision and it was this woman with this beautiful deep look kinda smiling, she was dressed all black and had the famous tudor hat kind of clothing in her head, by the few seconds i saw it, i was shocked at how drop dead gorgeous/totally stunning the woman was but it was so quick, she had a sweet vibe, a very dark complexion that made a contrast with her very dark eyes, they were basically pure black looking, she looked tall or at least from a proportionated height, a bit taller than average like in the middle, she had a long neck and an oval face shape just like how she was described one, it impacted me cause her face was beautiful, the first word that came to my mind in the exact moment i saw her in the dream was "Charm", her deep look/eyes reminded me of someone i know who also has the same look and very beautiful/deep eyes, who has a look/eyes that captives people, Anne had exactly the same one, i remember this historian saying that Anne's dark complexion and eyes gave an "exaggerated charm" then that is the heck of a true if the woman that i saw was truly Anne cause i'm still hooked, if that was really Anne let me tell you that she was a living doll, at this point i'm still very schocked by the face i saw and i am wanting to remember it a little bit more cause i know it was stunning, once i woke up i don't remember the dream clearly, sorry to break you guys wishes regarding The Moost Happi Medal as Anne's true appearance, but the closest one was definitely the National Portrait Gallery/Nidd Hall Portrait and this sketch that resembled the vibe of the face i saw the most.
Well. The features are similar to Elizabeth I and the famous portrait of Anne. But AB had dark hair and eyes. IMO, Holbein drew many women looking alike, or at least like sisters.
Another good episode. The noses in the drawings really seem to change. British people have that nose shape like John Lennon for example. To me the thing I noticed was Ann had some great sweater puppets. j/k
Holbein one of my favorites. .. and one of my favorite images.. I'd like to think he drew the Queen , as she was going to look at the block that fateful day. But the blond hair as you mentioned has always made me doubt that. I have assumed that art historians have carbon dated the paper to insure all these drawings are authentic.... or have used some kind of scientific measure to insure they are not fakes. Perhaps a more logical possibility is the lass is a household member of lower status so she is dressed in a more work friendly attire. . ... or maybe she is a girlfriend who's beauty the artist just had to capture for all time when they were intimately sitting. A spreadsheet of Cheek's accuracy might be insightful... using numbers to quantify his accuracy ... but.... Many artists start portraits by copying a portrait. So it doesn't surprise me that there are many similar portraits out there.. and for that reason they might not really be fakes ..but peddlers can recognize a profit when it stairs them in the face. I can't forget we have had hundreds of years for people to devious things. Thanks for another trip through history.
I don't think it's been carbon dated, but it has a pretty solid provenance and the style of the drawings are all in line with one another and with Holbein's known style, so I don't think there's ever been any reason to doubt them. The paper might be watermarked as well, which would narrow down the date range.
I always defer to you in these matters. Im not seeing a difference in hair color as it looks brunette to me. The double chin is troublesome tho as its not portraid in any other image. I believe you in your assessment. Thanks for all you do. I enjoy this presentation.
Oh that's because I'm using a copy from the Rijks Museum for copyright reasons. If you Google the original, held by the Royal Collection, the hair is bright blonde. :-)
@@HistoryCalling ok. That makes sense. That's why I always defer to you in these matters. Did you go to the Rijks museum? Stayed in a hotel across the street from it for a month. Visited often. What treasures. Of course I walked the 8 blocks down the street to visit the Van Gogh a dozen times at least. Rijks is a shrine to ostentation. LoL. I love it. You may have pulled the photo off the internet but I can visualize you really enjoying that art district.
I don't think it is Anne. Seems odd she'd pose for such an informal portrait.
Yes, there are so many issues with the Anne identification that much as I'd like it to be her, I very much doubt it too.
it doesnt look like her for one her jaw was square not oval and hair colour wrong need i go on not to mention time difference also henry wouldnt allow it taken with the queen in her night gown
Can her skull not be plastered and worked on to know what she looked like? Hard to believe her family home didn't have paintings of her
I would guess many portraits of her were destroyed in the aftermath of her downfall. Her family did not wish to be identified with her, and if they had portraits, I'm sure many of them were made to disappear. Her skull would have to be exhumed, which would probably not be permitted merely to satisfy our curiosity about what she looked like.
The only thing I can think of as a skeptical and completely unfounded possibility (truly just my imagination running away with me) would be perhaps there was an idea of producing a private portrait of Anne for Henry VIII himself showing her in less formal attire such as this. Without any evidence of such a portrait ever being commisioned I am confident in saying that my little theory is entirely incorrect. I simply had to throw it out there for fun's sake. I am also highly doubtful that this is her, though the long nose and oval face does seem to be reminiscent of Elizabeth I's features, many English women of the time seem to have those same basic features in many regards. There is too much room for doubt.
Like yourself I don't think it happened here, but it is a fun idea and Kings were known to do such things (Charles II had raunchy portraits of his mistresses for private viewing for instance).
Well I feel the need to complete your week with a question haha- two actually- have you ever read any Brontë sisters’ books? If so, which is you favourite and what did u think of them all?
Just Jane Eyre, which I very much enjoyed. I tried Wuthering Heights and couldn't get past the first chapter. I just found it too dense.
@@HistoryCallingOh, Jane Eyre is so great!! (I must admit Charlotte Brontë is my favourite;) I have not yet tried to read Wuthering Heights, I’m currently reading Agnes Grey, by Anne Brontë. But I do recommend Villette, also by Charlotte- m e s m e r i z i n g
@@HistoryCalling The only reason I got through Wuthering Heights was it was required reading. I've been debating trying it again since that English class was 13 years ago now, just to see if I truly couldn't get into it or if it was just the fact that it was required that made me not want to...but I don't think I will since I do remember a lot about it and it just does not interest me in the slightest.
@@nicolemeiner6903Well now I’m curious to see if I can read it haha. Have you read any other by the Brontë sisters? (I shan’t ask of Emily as she only has that one, at least published)
I'm going to make a confession here which may lose me subscribers... I haven't read Lord of the Rings either and when I tried to I just hated it! Sorry LoTR fans. Please don't hate me. I really tried. 😳
I definitely don't think this is Anne Boleyn..Anne l would imagine was very Pertit and feminine looking with very Dark Eyes that's why she stood out so much ❤
Happy Friday. It doesn’t look like Anne Boleyn. She is not slender as the other famous Portrait.
There is going to be a movie about Catherine Parr coming out called Firebrand based on the book Queen’s Gambit. I saw Becoming Elizabeth this after Henry’s death but the movie is during their marriage but it should be interesting to watch.
Yes, someone else mentioned that to me a few days ago and I'm excited to see it. The cast looks really good. I hope they do her justice and don't go the old 'nursemaid to the King' route, which is rubbish.
I watched some of the Tudors but I stopped after Henry had Catherine Howard beheaded. I need to go back and see how Catherine Parr was portrayed in the Tudors. I liked they way she as portrayed in Becoming Elizabeth and sad when she died in childbirth
It really is frustrating that none of the images can be definitively said to be her. I guess it’s only human to want to know what someone looked like to feel like you truly understand their place in history. But then again, I think of all the non-famous people in history that even their names and their existence are erased through time and unknown to us. So, not knowing the way someone looked is not the worst case scenario historically speaking.
The medal is definitely her, so we have a little something to go on and I personally think the Chequer's Ring is her too, so there's that (even though it's not contemporary). I agree though that a good portrait from the 1520s or 1530s would be amazing to have.
Yes! I suppose we default most to portraiture when we think of true likenesses. I, too, believe the Chequers ring is her image as well. Still…not too shabby for a person to be so famous nearly 500 years later, even with all the image uncertainty. 😁
Exactly. Hopefully she'd be flattered that she's still one of the most talked about women in history 😀
I do not believe that is her hair sticking out the cap. I think it's a gold fabric.
Hmm, we'll have to agree to disagree there. I can see the individual strands of hair in the original picture.
" this is she" is the correct grammar - not "this is her"
I think the main thing throwing me off as an artist myself is that the sketch shows the hair rendered to be darker, whereas the colourised version has lighter hair. It could be that the colourised pigment faded over time, or that it was just added later. If I were to have sketched a blonde/fair haired person to be painted later on, I wouldn't have bothered adding so much darkness to the hair and wasting materials.
Also in terms of weight, I'm quite a slim person but if I lower my head even slightly, my fat distribution looks similar to the sketch, and the subject seems to have their head slightly lowered looking quite... defeated, almost?
Plus, it's no secret that historical portraits and photos were commonly edited to look favourably on the subject (example: Elizabeth I choosing one portrait to represent her likeness, or Edwardian women using paint to make their waists look impossibly tiny). It could be that while Anne was still seen in a good light, the portraits of her (and by extension, the copies) were made to still be recognisably true to life but tweaked to be for favourable, and the sketch was either not intended to be seen but still showing a true likeness or it was sketched when she was due to be executed when no one was seeing her favourably. And it could just be the loss of a pregnancy, too.
Not only that but lighting also plays a part in this, too. A front angle with flattering lighting could easily disguise if she had a healthy bit of chin fat. Lighting can change someone's appearance quite drastically, in fact.
I don't really have a solid opinion of whether or not the sketch is Anne or not, but just some things I thought about.
What an excellent dissertation. Your thoughts were very enlightening to me on this subject.
It does look a lot like the 'Most Happy' medal, in my opinion. I think this could be her.
agree!!
I am doubtful it is her. So many during her lifetime spoke of her as not the beauty Mary was, but her spirit, flirtatious ways and her eyes made her fascinating. I’m not sure we see that in the person represented here. It is true that this was not an “official”
portrait, but there is just too much going against it being Anne. You never fail to draw me in with your excellent videos. Thank you. 😊
Thanks Amy. Yes, I think there are just too many problems with an identification as Anne for it to be reliable.
David Starkey believes it is her. I believe it as well
I certainly respect Dr Starkey's abilities as an historian but this is one area where we'll have to disagree I'm afraid.
If you look at any suspected miniatures of her, the features are the same. There's also a comparison from the 70s you can find online
Honestly hard to say- I'm inclined to think not based on the likeness to known portraits but we don't have enough likenesses to rule it out with certainty :( and I do agree that it's less likely to have an intimate portrait of her making it even less likely, but I guess it's possible that it was done while she was pregnant with Elizabeth or something. I'd want a scientific analysis of the pigment for the blonde hair though- I know lots of pigments fade over time and a sketch wouldn't have been done with long term preservation in mind. Still without any real reason to believe it is her beyond the name (written by someone unreliable) I think it's probably not
If only more of the portraits of her had survived!
I know. I wish we had a bona fide portrait from life from her too. It's one of those things historians dream about finding. It would make a person's career I'm sure 😀
I think that woman in this drawingg is the same woman thats on another Holbein sketch...if you compare them then you see why I think so :D I just think that on one drawing she is just gained wight a little bit
I don't think it's her, for the reasons you state. Could it be Jane Seymour?
Thank you for this! I’ve had the honor of seeing this portrait in person twice now - once at Windsor and again on an exhibition here in the states in Cleveland! Your videos covering paintings and portraits are some of my favorite. It’s fascinating!
Oh wow, I'm jealous. I wish I'd been able to see it in person. I'm glad you like the videos. I love the art history ones too :-)
Great exhibit, wasn't it! I was able to see it at the Met in NYC. Did you like the rest of the museum? We went there back before the Pandemic and really liked it, even without this fantastic exhibit.
@@tessat338 I saw the same exhibit and was disappointed that they accepted this image as a true one of Anne. It made me question their judgment! It was a great exhibit and it was grand to see in person so many portraits of Elizabeth. I have a membership at the Met and go there often.
@@tessat338 It was amazing! Last year I went to the Met but also the Morgan Library in NY was having an exhibition dedicated to Hans Holbein! Thought I’d died and gone to heaven!! Have also been to the Louvre and National Portrait Gallery- you could say I’m obsessed, lol.
@@paddypaddy2834 Yeah! My mom and I went to the Holbein Exhibit last year at the Morgan. The Met show really filled in the gaps of the really famous Holbeins that I wanted to see the most.
I suspect we wouldn’t be so sceptical if the woman in the image was more attractive. We want to believe Ann’s power was cos she was a fox. All the pix of Henry’s wives didn’t show they were stunning beauties, quite the opposite, by our standards today anyway. Henry was no Adonis, perhaps people were all just more ‘normal’ looking then. Humdrum I know but there really weren’t that many in the pool to choose from back then.
Perhaps, although people at the time just said that Anne was sufficiently good looking, nothing special. I agree though that there is a tendency nowadays to pretty her up and get really good looking actresses to play her like Natalie Portman, who are likely much better looking than the real woman. Henry was said to be very good looking in his youth, but this was definitely on the wane by the mid 1530s.
Exactly. I think the drawing is more reliable than any of the other depictions of her.
I've always thought this drawing seemed so different from every other image, it didn't make sense to me that it was Anne. But I couldn't have explained why, exactly, other than the hair color, until I listened to your thorough exploration of it. I must agree with you that it seems far more likely to be a member of the Wyatt family.
Thanks Colette. Yes, I think so too.
I am convinced it is Anne.The subject of this preparatory sketch shows a woman with similar features to known portraits of George and Thomas Boleyn.......
There are no authenticated likenesses of these two gentlemen. HC has a good video on the two portraits in question. So they are sadly of no use in determining the sitter's identity.
I still feel this is a potential image of Anne. I've seen some websites where they have compared the same two alleged images of her by Holbein and it appears to be the same woman, but at different stages in life. Also, there is a little known portrait of Anne called the Belmont Portrait that also looks like the woman Holbein drew (and that the NPG portrait might have been later based on). The Nidd Hall portrait also has the same lips as the Belmont portrait. And the Nidd Hall cannot be Jane Seymour because it has brown eyes and not blue. Although brunette, I don't think she legitimately had black hair or even dark brown hair - it could well have been Auburn for all we know. So many descriptions are based on slander, "goggle eyed", "goitered", "black crow" etc. I'd be interested to find out whether the french royals had a more relaxed or informal approach to sitting for a portrait, as Anne wasn't typically English. This might also explain why she would sit in her robe and others wouldn't. It could even have been seen as daring.
The moment I heard in this video that the sitter had blonde hair I was like NOPE!
I'm currently reading Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I by Tracy Borman and in that book, and in many others that have statements from those who saw Anne, her hair is always described as very dark, even black, and her eyes are dark too.
Also, as you said, this lady looks NOTHING like the other portraits, even though none of those were done when she was alive, in my mind, they resemble the physical descriptions of her better.
As always, great video :-)
Thank you. Yes, the blonde hair is one of the clinchers for me too. Like yourself, I've never seen any suggestion that Anne was anything other than a brunette.
@@HistoryCalling I have. I've seen it suggested that the descriptions of her hair as "black" simply meant a dark version of whatever her actual hair color was, and that the diplomats describing her only saw her by candlelight and torchlight, which caused her hair to appear darker than it would during the daytime. I could believe that her hair was dark blonde/light auburn. We're so used to being told that it could not have been any color but black, but there may really no reason that this has to be the case.
Sir John Cheke is my 13th Grandfather. Being that he was so well connected with Hanz Holbien,so connected with all 3 of Henry VIII's children,and that his wife was a privy counselor to Elisabeth I. And his sister married William Cecil,who was the most important person next to Queen Elizabeth. Or that he was so close to Edward. Or that Mary wrote letters back and forth to him. I think he probably knew who people were and what they looked like. You can't under estimate the intimacy and access he had. Of course the lithograph of him is pretty hideous. I know of 2 portraits of him from life that are far better. Like these posthumous portraits of Anne,these compared to a live authentic portrait are rather dull. Holbien captured the essence of a person. Even if it were commissioned. Something more realistic. I believe both sketches of Anne identified by Cheke are actually Anne. Sure you can occasionally misidentify a face,but you don't misidentify someone so well known. Also,in a sketch,someone can appear blonder,or lighter eyed. But in the final portrait everything is brought to value. It's kind of like an over exposed photograph. The capture of the face,the shape and the proportion matters more than the shading. Is this Anne? Yeah! I think so.
The drawing was undoubtedly for a passport picture which we all know looks nothing like the passport holder!
😂 So true. My passport pics are nearly always awful.
After much research, I do believe this is actually Anne Boleyn. It wasn't unusual back then for the nobility to have miniatures done in a more casual/personal setting. I also think her hair color has eroded over the years. If you look towards the roots, you can see darker shades that were initially drawn in. I also think it resembles the Most Happy Medal.
Anne was a fashion icon. She would not have wanted to be shown in her nightwear.
Oooh maybe Holbein had a mistress or lover from the Wyatt Family
He had in fact a (bigamous) wife in London, and I rather think this is she.
@@edithengel2284 the scandal 😍
There is only one known portrait of Catherine Carey, Queen Anne Boleyn's niece, but this portrait also looks like Catherine. And it would make sense for her to look like her aunt.
It would even make more sense if Catherine Carey(Henry’s child with MAry Boleyn) was Elizabeths’ half sister and the fact Elizabeth so resembled her mother Anne That is a lot of immediate shared DNA.
not the face of Anne Boleyn - a nice Holbein sketch none the less of some other person - probably mis-labelled as you suggest - I would relish a video on Charles I art collection - 👽✨
Such a big collection though. I'm not sure where I would start ...
@@HistoryCalling - omg it was the best in the world at the time - I don't remember anything good on YT or video period specifically about it
Some of my videos do look at items which were held within it, if that helps, like the one on Elizabeth's I's first solo portrait.
@@HistoryCalling - indeed and they're great - just a overview of the collection could make a fun video - and you could say nasty things about Cromwell as a bonus - 🛸✨
@@HistoryCalling There is a rather nice book about it called "The Sale of the Late King's Goods" by Jerry Brotton, if you haven't run across it already.
I looks like Holbein’s wife to me…
The English, and bigamous, one, I think.
Thanks for another incredibly interesting video HC! The mystery of Anne Boleyn's true appearance has baffled me for many decades now and I've changed my opinion several times over the years. For a long time I looked for features that resembled Elizabeth's in trying to sort it out, but gave up on that once I realized how much Elizabeth took after her father's side. She seems to have Henry Tudor's face shape and nose with Elizabeth of York's hair and skin colour. She most likely inherited part of her mother's personality and temperament but I don't think they resembled each other much physically unfortunately. Whether right or wrong, Anne's likeness will probably always be associated with the most commonly used "B" portrait unless another portrait is discovered. I really wish some talented artist would try to recreate a larger, cleaned up version of the miniature in the Chequers ring so we could compare it to the other images for further analysis one day though.
Yes, a bigger version of the Chequer's Ring would be fantastic. I too tend to visualised the B pattern portraits of her, especially the National Portrait Gallery one.
I wonder if this is Jane Seymour.
I'm inclined to say not. The drawing hints at red hair under the cap whereas I always thought of Anne as being dark haired. Holbein is a bit of a puzzle to me. He is regarded as such a talented artist and indeed his depiction of other people in the court are stunning. However the pictures of Henry and his queens are never in the same league. They are devoid of the detail and proportions of his other subjects. Is this just me ? Was he purposely vague in these paintings? They are competent but not like his other works.As I say, he leaves me puzzled.
I think it’s because these are sketches- not only have they faded over time, but they were made as preparatory drawings for a portrait. I still think they show great detail and he does a great job at capturing the psyche of his subjects, though.
I had the pleasure of seeing the wonderful Holbein exhibit at the Morgan Library last year. You would have loved it!!
Jealous over here 😰 You're right. I would have loved that. Was photography allowed (I'm wondering if I might find pics of it on Flickr).
I saw that as well, and have never forgotten it. Oddly, the freshest memory of a face from that exhibit is not of "Anne," but of Dr. Butts.
A tour of many of Holbein's portraits came to the Houston Museum of Fine Arts in the '80's, and I got to stand in front of them and be amazed at each one. I remember it like it was yesterday. If any of you ever get the chance to see them, by all means do it.
@@HistoryCalling yes, photography was allowed! In fact, they encouraged people to use their phone cameras to zoom in on many of the pieces since there were a lot of miniatures and jewelry in the exhibited collection. I took a few photos of my favorite pieces. I hope you are able to find some on the web - the textual info from the curators was very interesting as well; maybe it’s available somewhere. Fingers crossed for you!
@@perniciouspete4986 they really are striking. I’ve had the privilege of seeing a lot of great art in person, but Holbein’s work is really arresting in a way that’s quite unique.
Since the new Barbie film is coming out soon I think you should make a video on the history of Barbie and how she has changed through out the years as time has progressed
Again, I don't think that would be possible for copyright reasons. :-(
Anyone with their head at that angle, slightly dipped, would have what appeared to be a double chin. And people then usually aged quickly. So, in my opinion, it's not a lady up to the age of 40. I'd also side with that 1983 article regarding her ability to be informally dressed. Maybe it was during pregnancy? After all, there's no stomach in view, and she could've put on some pounds. Also, if the name was added in the 18th C., couldn't the hair colour and lip colour also be applied then?
Perhaps, but why would the artist not just ask her to life her head to produce a more flattering silhouette? There's also the blonde hair and the Wyatt heraldry to think about. I suppose in the end though, we'll never know for sure one way or the other.
@@HistoryCallingthanks! Any number of reasons. Reading a book. Embroidering. Perhaps what would've been a radical, resulting portrait, if it was indeed painted, was destroyed in 1536. But then why wasn't the sketch? So fascinating! Great video!
Looks like a pregnant woman the nose is long and strong as shown in the other AB portraits
I really don’t think this is Anne, it looks nothing like we’re told she looked like in all other sources. It could easily be another lady from Henry’s court. And, honestly, for such a cosy intimate portrait of a woman in her nightwear, I would suggest a far more likely identification is Holbein’s wife. Maybe it was a personal portrait that wasn’t meant to go public but ended up bundled in with other sketches after his death?
How it got mislabelled as Anne is likely something getting lost in translation.
There’s a suit of armour in the Tower of London that anyone today could look at and say “That’s Samurai armour, it’s Japanese”. But in the 18th century, before most people in Europe could identify Samurai armour on sight, it got mislabelled as Persian owing to a mix up in the paperwork. So, you know… these things happen. 😂
Exactly. Mislabellings happened and still do happen all the time.
I don't think it's Anne. She was slender and had a small neck. Also as she was a Queen it would have been a scandal if a drawing had been done wearing her night clothes. I think it might be his wife or mistress.
I find it so incredibly amazing that all these years later, we know King Henry gave anne Boleyn a black satin nightgown when they were sweethearts!! Also due to the Brit's meticulous record keeping (plus some Yanks too, I suppose) I've found many of my ancestors all around the Isles dating back to the 12th century, even though many of them were even in the American Colonies long before the rebellion. Many were seemingly just normal middle class people too, but they kept track of everyone!
I know. I love reading those little details in the records. It makes the people seem much more real.
Once again, a meticulous examination of a historical artifact and a careful evaluation of the sources for the identification as Anne. You've raised enough doubts for me to agree that we shouldn't use it as an authentic image of the mother of Elizabeth I. Probably the most significant point, which I've never seen raised before, is that the woman is wearing nightclothes. If the royals of the time were so careful about controlling their images, and so keenly aware of the message every portrait would send, it just doesn't seem likely that Anne would have consented to sit for preliminary drawings in such an outfit. Not even during her last days. It's much more likely to have been someone very close to Holbein, as you suggested. Another possibility is that this woman, or her family, felt her time was short and they didn't want to miss the chance to have an image of her done by such a gifted portraitist. When you add the fact that we can't even know for sure that Cheke made the identification, I agree that we don't really know who this is.
Thanks Ann. Yes, there are a lot of problems with the identification for sure. The blonde hair is the thing that really puts me off.
I've always felt this was a love/intimate portrait of Anne for Henry's eyes only. She's wearing what looks like her infamous 'black night-robe' which she had made with expensive fabrics given to her by Henry. I actually think this is very much Anne's character to be drawn in what might be considered something 'racy' for the times. This would be clothing a woman of rank wouldn't wear in public... could she be reminding Henry of her sex appeal when she's pregnant and his eye is wandering? It's a good theory, at any rate.
With all the evidence you’ve given here, I don’t think that it’s her. Besides, if it was her, who would have commissioned Holbein to paint her in such a state of undress? Too many things don’t add up, and I’m thinking it’s more of a “say it’s Anne, we can get more money that way” idea many years later
Yes, I tend to think that might be what happened (or a genuine misunderstanding about who the sitter was).
I have heard it argued that the "golden hair" you see in the image is not in fact hair at all, but a part of her headgear, likewise that the informal dress is because she was expecting when this drawing was made, intriguingly she does have the pronounced chin that we see in the Moost Happy Medal. If you take the Moost happy medal, the 2 Holbein drawings and the Chequers Ring , you can arrive at the best representation of Anne images, that give us the most approximate idea of what Anne actually looked like.
Is there any reasonable possibility that the drawing could have been hastily created while Anne awaited execution? Might that explain the casual context and wardrobe? I admit it is quite a stretch (and your other compellingly stated reasons against the image being Anne), just trying to exhaust all possibilities.
I think that's very unlikely partly because I can't see Henry paying to have a new image of Anne done and partly because we'd know if Holbein had been granted access to the Tower during her imprisonment.
I believe this is Anne, and she may have been pregnant during this drawing. It's not very flattering, but she's dressed like a lady who prefers comfort over style, perhaps.
I know it’s silly, but in my mind’s eye when I think of Anne Boleyn I always see Genevieve Bujold, who played her in Anne of a Thousand Days. That was the movie that first got me interested in the Tudors. I also think of the portrait at Hever Castle of her.🇨🇦
Not silly at all. She gave a great performance 😀
Genevieve Bujold and Richard Burton were great in that film, my favourite Henry viii and Anne Boleyn 😊
👏👏 Great detail as always, HC! Interesting - to this day peoples' descriptions can be skewed when someone triggers intense dislike as in Anne's case. She was a complex woman, as was her daughter.
THANKS STEPHEN FOR YOUR CONTINUING GENEROSITY. Yes, she's definitely one of those polarising characters and a lot of people do find it difficult to be objective when talking about her.
I really appreciate your astute observations surrounding this drawing. Since first seeing it ascribed to Anne, I've always held it in the back of my mind as a wishful glimpse of what Holbein made of the Queen. Surely he painted her, and sadly nothing survives. Your video is very helpful in dismissing this image. I'm hopeful that someday something may emerge from France as the youthful Anne Boleyn!
The reason I have always believed that this anne Boleyn by Holbein….if you look at her profile certain features like her nose, her dark wide eyes at the length and shape of her overall head if you look at a portrait of Elizabeth, the first you can see similarities in bone structure in nose length and eye shape This is why I 100% believe this is what anne looked like because her daughter Elizabeth the first looks like her too. I think Mary the first look more like her father Elizabeth the first look more like her mum and Mary her dad❤heart 🎉🎉
Love your voice! It draws me in.
History calling I got my niece and my bff both into English and I sent my niece one of your videos to watch as your an amazing history channel.
Thanks Lyka. I hope she enjoyed it 😀
If this were a portrait of Anne, I doubt very much that she would have allowed for the double chin to remain. The sixteenth century’s version of Photoshop would have been employed! Plus, looking at this sketch and comparing it to the death mask of Elizabeth I doesn’t really show much of a family resemblance. It still is a beautiful piece of art. I love this channel.
Thank you. Yes, I agree - whoever she is it's a great drawing. She looks so lifelike.
One, Holbein was known for drawing people as true to life as possible, warts and all, and two, it was actually the preference for women to have a bit of flesh on them back then, and Anne was notoriously described as thin, as if this was a weakness or defect. You're thinking of 21st century ideals of beauty, not 16th century views.
Thank you! I always thought it was strange that this picture was supposed to be Anne Boleyn. I always thought it looked more like Jane Seymour, but I'm probably wrong.
She would fit better with the blonde hair. We do have another drawing definitely of Jane though, so I suspect it's not her as I'm not aware of anyone else having two Holbein drawings (which is not say that it's impossible).
Thanks for the very interesting video. I appreciate your points and can see why you have reached your conclusions, however, we are going to have to agree to disagree that this drawing does not look like other portrayals of Anne. This is a subject with which I am obsessed, so I am going to share my opinion as someone with a very good eye for likeness, who paints portraits for a living.
I believe that both Holbein drawings that are thought to be of Anne are her at different stages of life and angles. Seeing them in the same orientation side by side, they are similar enough as drawings, with the features all lining up perfectly, with the exception of the nose being sharper in the gable hood sketch, something that can be accounted for as a drawing variation. These are not photographs, so we cannot compare them as such!
As you point out, Holbein's drawings were not stand alone works of art but preparation for paintings. Because these sketches were reference material, they did not necessarily have all the detail a painting would have, but they do have a fresh, liveliness that comes from working from life. In my opinion, his drawings are far superior to his paintings.
For those who say that one of the Holbein drawings purporting to be Anne (the younger, better looking version in a gable hood) could not be her because of the eye colour being too light, take a look at how dark the eyes are in the painting of Sir Henry Guildford versus the drawing, where they are much lighter. There is also the issue of pigments fading with time, or possibly someone adding colour at a later date, so the argument that this woman could not be Anne due to hair colour I do not think is valid. The area thought to be light hair could be part of her headdress, or the shading has faded with time or someone altered the original drawing, which may not have been filled in dark at all to begin with despite her actual dark hair. As a sketch used to create a painting, portraying areas lighter allows for more detail to show. Holbein may have portrayed the eyes and/or hair lighter than they actually were in order to show detail to be used in the creation of the painting. I know that is what I would do, making a mental note that the eyes were actually dark brown.
I wish I could post images to illustrate my points, but the portrait medal and this Holbein sketch line up very well as far as likeness goes, taking into account that the medal is somewhat of a caricature. Keeping in mind neither of these images are photographs so would have variation from reality & taken from different angles, and are artist’s representations that will not necessarily perfectly portray the subject, look at how similar these 2 images are in appearance: long oval face, aquiline nose, slightly receding yet strong chin with fullness beneath (Perhaps the swelling that was written about her which made some call her goitrous), full mouth with slightly pursed lips & slightly more prominent lower lip.
Someone here mentions the resemblance of this sketch to the drawing of Catherine Willoughby, which I have compared side by side with both Holbein sketches. At first glance, the sketch of Catherine Willoughby does look a lot like the nightgown sketch of Anne. However, when comparing side by side, you can see that Catherine's eyes are less hooded (more of her mobile lid shows) with less space between the brow and crease of the eye. Her face is also shorter, especially below the nose (I lined up the bottom of all the noses) and her mouth is a lot thinner. The nose is also smaller. The two drawings by Holbein purporting to be Anne match very closely in proportion with fuller lips, aquiline nose and a distinctive, longer chin area.
Finally, I think Hollar chose the other drawing of Anne simply because it is a more attractive portrayal! And, to me, Elizabeth resembles her paternal grandfather, Henry VII, more than anyone else so perhaps not much of Anne's appearance other than a long oval face. My thought about the casual attire is that this sketch was done during her confinement with pregnancy, which would also partially explain her more puffy appearance. Anyone would have a double chin in this pose, especially with a string under her jaw holding the cap in place and I think this throws people off, so many cannot see the resemblance between this drawing and the "prettier" sketch in the gable hood.
The ring Elizabeth wore contains a likeness with the same basic characteristics as the medal and both drawings by Holbein. I think we have the closest idea of her actual looks from the drawings. A tiny carving in a tiny ring could not possibly be so accurate. That image also has reddish gold hair, which could have initially been darker but worn off with time or maybe her hair had a reddish tinge rather than black. All we know is that she was brunette.
I think both Holbein drawings show an attractive woman in repose, and in an unflattering pose for one, where Anne's best characteristics could not be shown. Drawing someone from life can be a tedious task for the sitter. She was not known to be a beauty but had to have been magnetic in other ways and I can imagine her image coming to life with a smile and eyes flashing with the personality and allure to capture a king.
Hi Laurel, thank you for such a detailed response to the video. As you say, we'll agree to disagree, but I appreciate you taking the time to lay out your thoughts on the drawing so well. I don't know if you've had a chance to see my video on the Chequer's Ring, but if not you might find that interesting too. Have a fantastic weekend, HC.
@@HistoryCalling I will definitely watch, thanks!
I've seen a very nice article, where this portrait was compared to another scatch of Holbein of a woman in an english hood and it was obviously the same person. I don't understand why the lack of reseblence to the "B" portraits is even used as an argument, because those portraits are made in such awful technique that they don't look like a real person at all (to me at least). One feature though looks similar in all the portraits (and it explains the second chin too). I think she had overbite which results in a very small chin. I have this problem and even at 49 kg of weight I always had double chin at certain angles. So when she held her head upright, with chin directed slightly up, there would be no second chin visible. But if she would look a little bit down - the second chin would come up. The scatch discussed in the video (I think) almost certainly was not made for preparation of a big portrait. It looks just like a scatch of the moment. I like to think it was made on the day of her execution, after she put on cap on her head (this is my fantasies, of course).
Why can't it be Anne Boleyn? The painted portraits of her were all done after her death and were all copies of each other. The angle of the face is the same, the expression is the same and so is her clothing. This would explain why Hans' sketch doesn't match the image we all have of Anne.
As for the light hair in the holbein depiction, that could be explained by ageing and fading
Hmm, I see a lot of people trying to claim that the picture has faded, but there's no evidence for that. The drawing was kept in a book, rather than hung on a wall and exposed to sunlight and the rest of the drawing shows no signs of the kind of severe fading this would take. I've also never come across an instance where dark brown has 'faded' to bright gold. I've seen lots of letters written in black and brown ink for instance and you can tell that they have faded over the years because some bits of the document are damaged while others are not (letters protected within a fold fade less for instance), but it becomes a lot paler and doesn't completely change colour like this. There are many portraits in the world too which have actually been hung and exposed to light and yet widespread fading like this (from dark brown to gold) is not something I've ever heard discussed by art historians as a recognised phenomenon. I'd need to see hard evidence that this is possible.
Yes none of his other drawings show brown hair faded to yellow. And if that were so why are the irises still brown?
I agree. I know that in Thomas Wyatt’s poem about her, he describes her as brunette, but brunette was then a description of skin colour.
The drawing looks nothing like other queen Ann pictures HC, but I do wonder if we want her to look as we would like her to have looked like as some pictures look better than some of Queen Ann, thank you as always HC. 👑😊
Yes, I definitely think there's a tendency to pretty her up in our minds' eyes. The actresses who play her are often too young and good looking for instance. Anne was said to have a face of character rather than great beauty.
@@HistoryCalling yes totaly agree, Thank you HC
I think the other Holbein sketch is Anne 😊
No I don't think this is Anne, but saying that there is not a definitive picture available that identifies her, so it could be her? But I would only consider it would be her if it was painted by a different painter, as Holbein was a very good painter with likeness as true to life as possible. And this painting is nothing like his other likenesses of Anne. So on this assumption I think it is a painting of another Tudor Lady who we will most probably never find out who it actually is.
I have always been skeptical that this is Anne myself simply because the sitter has blond hair but I have always known this to be the only contemporary photo of her supposedly. I feel we can get an idea by looking at Elizabeth because she definitely did not look like her father, besides the red hair. And when I see photos of Anne( tho I know they weren’t drawn from life) they resemble Elizabeth so much.
Yes, I like to look at Elizabeth and wonder which bits of Anne we're seeing.
@@HistoryCalling I think it’s her whole bit, I don’t see Henry anywhere IMO.
I really don't like the replica coloured version. The artist was clearly much less talented than Holbein!
I've never thought this portrait was Anne. It just never fit with anything relating to her. She was known for her dark hair and eyes, being thin and fashionable. This portrait is none of those things. At one point, I thought it might be a pre-execution drawing made just before her death. We don't know how her body reacted to all that stress. She lost a baby, her daughter, her husband, and her life within 5 months. I'm sure she didn't look her best at the end.
Yeah, I don't think it's her either and there's no evidence Holbein was sent to the Tower to draw her that May. It would have been a very unusual thing to do and I'm sure would have been remarked upon.
No matter what the topic is
.... 🎵🎵🎵 😃
that little tune (introduction) makes me smile because it means here comes the story!
tfsharing History Calling🌺
Glad you like it. It's meant to set the mood and get people into the mindset to sit and listen to the video so I'm glad it's working.
Whenever i look at the young Elizabeth portrait i feel like i can see Anne in her .Catherine Howard and her were cousins u might see Anne in her also
Hi HC !! Good video as always. I'm less concerned about the Wyatt information on the reverse of this drawing because I think the pink paper would not have been in abundant supply, so every scrap would have been used. In fact, the Wyatt information, along with the pink paper, helps to date the portrait. I could see this as Anne if: (1) she was dressing down for good reason, i.e., the sadness of the loss of a pregnancy; (2) this was drawn in early 1536 when Anne's time was waning; or (3) this was Anne simply striking a pose. In fact, if you get right down to it, the Wyatt information on one side of the paper could lead us to a Wyatt woman on the other side, except for that pesky notation. Idk about this portrait; what I do know is that I'm hungry and my chicken salad sandwich is calling my name. Thanks again for the video!
Haha, thank you for your comment and go enjoy your sandwich. It sounds yummy :-)
Since it did have Wyatt’s harolds on the back could it have been the image of his wife? We do know that he was indeed married and was why he couldn’t be with Anne in the first place so how come no one brings that up?
I really don’t think this is Anne Boleyn. It looks nothing like her image on the Moost Happi medal and the Chequers ring. If she had a double chin Henry wouldn’t move heaven and earth to have her. Eustace Chapuys would have mentioned it on his letters. This is just my opinion.
Thank you for the history lesson. I’m glad was well enough to see your video. I had blood clots in my lungs. It’s part of my long covid situation.
Have a lovely weekend.
I'm so sorry to hear about your long Covid and blood clots on the lungs sounds very scary. I hope you're getting all the medical help you need to get better very soon.
@@HistoryCalling
Thank you. I remain strong for my family.
This is a stretch, but could we compare portraits of her other family members, of her brother and sister, to perhaps draw some comparisons to features? I also read that the "blonde hair" was actually a gold fabric trim or lining under her cap - Is that possible?
Someone else mentioned the fabric theory elsewhere but I can only say that to me it looks like strands of hair and it never occurred to me that it could be fabric. There's a picture of her sister, but none of her brother, so perhaps you can see some resemblance in the Mary Boleyn portrait?
I think you should make a video on Elizabeth Taylor it fits well with your Hollywood content like Marilyn Monroe and links to the Tudors as well you could make a video on Mary Tudor jewellery that Elizabeth Taylor owned
I wouldn't mind that actually, but unfortunately it's very hard to get copyright free images from the 20th century. I was only able to do the Marilyn video because those images were taken by White House staff and so were in the public domain.
Why didn’t you show the original damaged medal ??????
My personal opinion: I don't believe it is Anne Boleyn...Could it perhaps resemble any of the portraits of Anne of Cleves?
Hmm, I mean nothing is impossible and AC did have blonde hair, but we'd still be left with the questions of why there is Wyatt heraldry on the back of it and why a Queen (especially one raised in the much more prudish court of Cleves) would allow herself to be drawn like this?
@@HistoryCalling Yes, I did not think of that, those are Good Points! 🌹 Thank you for the wonderful Video! 🌹
Fun fact: Did you know Napoleon almost fought for Catherine the great.
I did not. I don't know too much about Napoleon actually.
Based on what I've heard about both Katherine the Great and Napoleon, she would have been more interested in his horse.
@@perniciouspete4986 Um(...) Are we talking about his "horse " or his 🐎 ?
It's not golden hair, that's part of the cap
I think that is her hair,but I question whether the pigment might have faded due to time and the way the portrait was stored or hung.
I'm afraid there's not really any question that it's hair. In the original in particular you can see that it's strands of hair. As for potential fading; these drawings were kept in a book rather than being hung, so they were well protected from light. I've also never come across an instance where brown faded into bright gold while the rest of the drawing looks untouched. I think we're seeing what Holbein intended.
I saw Anne Boleyn on TV. She looked a lot like Margaery Tyrell.
Yeah, it was funny that wasn't it? 😂
@@HistoryCalling 😁
I believe this is not Anne Boleyn, but Anne of Cleves, done by Holbein the Younger.
There were death masks of all og Henry's wives.
Sorry, but that double chin rules Anne out for me.
13:55
This portrait of hers looks like Jenna Marbles to me
There’s certainly a likeness to Elizabeth I