Henry VIII Revealed: Holbein's Portrait and Its Legcy

The portly figure of Henry VIII depicted by Holbein may be very familiar, but this book reveals much more about the portrait, the sitter, the artist, and his workshop. It gathers together and analyzes the several copies and variants of Holbein’s Whitehall cartoon of Henry VIII, more than one of which is by the only significant painter immediately after Holbein in England, Hans Eworth.

The book reveals for the first time the results of extensive technical analysis and historical research undertaken on surviving versions of the portrait in the Walker Art Gallery, Chatsworth, Petworth, Trinity College, Cambridge, and elsewhere. It throws light not only on Henry VIII but on the Tudor court and on courtiers who, for their own purposes, wished to keep his memory alive after his death. The book explores how and when the portraits were painted and the motivation behind their production and also traces how they affected subsequent portrayals of the monarch, down to film and television.

The book accompanies an important exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, where Xanthe Brooke is curator and David Crombie painting conservator.