String of failed marriages and a religious revolution
Imagery and reputation
1533 Henry VIII anxious about the Tudor dynasty – no son to succeed him so ditched key advisors, split from Rome, divorced his wife and married Anne Boleyn
Powerful and controlling monarch, successful dynasty
Tapestry, art and palaces designed but plundered religious houses
New image had to be forged quickly as his future depended on it
Wrath of the pope and catholic European nations and English people – Rome refused to sanction divorce so Henry left it behind
Supreme Head of the Church of England
Henry vulnerable so built sea forts and the basis of the royal navy
Army of painters, builders and designers through palaces and paintings
Henry VIII interested in art by story – everything he commissioned told the story of his own self importance
Learn things about Henry from the art he commissioned
Hans Holbein = lured to London 1526, Renaissance man designing architecture, painting, etc
Anne Boleyn admired him 1533 “the ambassadors”
First image of Henry would tackle the break with Rome
English kings had their own direct line to god, no need for saints or cardinals or popes
Henry’s own word became the word of god
Henry was still essentially catholic, but other reformers wanted more – the bible was the font of protestant religion
Allegorical tableau with Henry as King Soloman painted on velum
Known for justice, wealth, power, etc
Receiving the Queen of Sheba, representing the church, submitting to Henry
“To be king by the lord thy god”
No formal campaign strategy, but a new image was being created
Thomas More and Cardinal Wolsey had fallen from favour over the divorce – early 1530s Cromwell was on the rise
Son of a Putney blacksmith and had travelled in Italy before working for Wolsey
Cromwell a supporter of the reformation – publication of a bible in English
People should be able to read the word of god for themselves, without the need for a priest
1535 first bible in English, Miles Coverdale and Henry VIII appears on the front page – first real image of Henry VIII as the head of state and church designed by Hans Holbein
Still an elite project – in the know and sympathetic to the reformation
1520s Germany had a vernacular bible
Cromwell and Coverdale were trying to persuade Henry to put English language bibles into English – successful, self-fulfilling prophecy
Is Henry manipulating art or art manipulating Henry?
Didn’t have to be in a pulpit to make a point
Court at the centre of Henry’s life – entertainment alongside politics and prayer
Drama = early reign based on morality and religion, later reign became more political
John Hayward – Catholic playwright “A Play of the Weather” – Henry VIII represented by Jupiter the god, what kind of weather is needed to live?
Omnipotence
Lots to say about the split from Rome and break from papacy
Jupiter = godly, omnipotent, power, kingship
Renaissance monarch – should be able to laugh at yourself, no boring art or plays, allows comedy and jokes within limits
Not everyone bought into Henry’s new ideas
Rebellion was fermenting and France and Spain were preparing to attack
Henry needed a new army and navy = monasteries had vast amounts of money – 1535 Cromwell was commissioned to find out how much they were worth
Lucas Horenbout valor ecclesiasticus
Monastic wealth equalled or surpassed that of the crown
If the monks had agreed with Henry over the reformation, they would have survived in some way
Henry also destroyed the architectural legacy of the 200 monasteries which had formed the focus of medieval life
Response to an emergency?
Spain and France made peace to side against England, a heretic country
Question over material things – Protestants call them a distraction, Catholics say they are themselves imbued with holiness
Every monastery was destroyed – no survivors, Henry at his most ruthless
Cromwell promised to make Henry the richest man in England – lands and treasures became Henry’s property, trinkets, paintings and tapestries given to others to buy their loyalty
Medieval people lived in filth in general – lost lots of colour when the monasteries were destroyed “paradise upon earth”
Anne Boleyn sympathetic to reformers, but hated the destruction of the monasteries
January 1536 Henry injured in a jousting accident, 5 days later Anne miscarried a son
Dropping a handkerchief seen as a symbol of infidelity
Anne accused of treason, including adultery, incest and plotting to overthrow Henry – fell from grace and was executed
Next day Henry betrothed to Jane Seymour
Seymour family replaced the Boleyn family
England riddled with religious divide and destruction continued
Canterbury Thomas Becket’s shrine dismantled – turned a huge ruby from it into a thumb ring
Local people had saved things from abbeys to prevent them being destroyed – Henry and Cromwell became very unpopular
Uprising led by Robert Aske 9000 men stormed York
July 1537 many executed or imprisoned as a result – Pilgrimage of Grace, across the north of England people of all classes joined together to ask for restoration of monasteries
At their height the pilgrims numbered 40000 – single biggest challenge to Henry’s rule
Coastal defences
Improved England’s navy with cannons
No heir or future for the dynasty – Holbein’s painting, most memorable portrait of Henry to date
Whitehall mural – 1698 destroyed by fire but a copy remains in the royal collection
Privy chamber at Whitehall palace = relatively small audience
Henry VIII a powerful and important king – Henry VII brought peace and established the dynasty, Henry VIII even greater because he separated from the Pope
Proclaim wealth and status, latest and most expensive fashions, power
1536 Henry VIII lost both previous wives, rebellion breaks out
1537 Henry trying to re-establish his position – but no heir still, trying to establish promise and hope without a future
Only seen by a small group of people, most important and ambassadors, the actual mural, but plenty of copies made and circulated to the people
No evidence of Henry trying to control his image as Elizabeth did
People wanted a picture of the king
Still how we see Henry today – strong image made to cover his weaknesses
Prepared in sections before being moved to its final location
Original sketch has Henry looking side on, but final image has Henry looking full front
15th century portraits tended to be head and shoulders, closer, but Henry VIII is painted full length, full of confidence
Jane Seymour pregnant October 1537 Prince Edward (Edward VI)
Holbein painted the prince age 2 to be given to Henry as a new year’s gift
No religious images in the portrait but Edward is the future Head of the Church in England
Groomed to be king in a proud upright position
Text under the image claimed that Edward could never surpass his father
Son and heir changed everything for Henry = house of Tudor now had a future, confidence that problems could be overcome now he had someone to pass it on to
Great Hall at Hampton Court – Abraham tapestries
Total length of 88 yards and height of 15 feet, around 3 years to produce
Story of Abraham, biblical characters = first of the great patriarchs
Circumcision of Isaac – Prince Edward a parallel to Isaac and Henry to Abraham, new biblical authority for Henry
Experiment to restore tapestries by projecting actual colour onto the faded ones
Tudor propaganda
Edward baptised 3 days after his birth, Jane Seymour receives 300 guests, but she soon falls ill and dies when Edward is just 12 days old
Fragility of life
King needed another son, so began to search for another wife “heir and a spare”
Holbein sent to do portraits of prospective brides – only after Henry wanted to meet the girls at Calais and pick one that way
Shop for a wife the way he would for a horse
Holbein did preliminary sketches and then had to paint from notes and memory
Christina of Denmark painting survives – creating dazzling effects with black paint, textures of clothing, etc
Christina was 16 and widowed, woman of wealth, youthful clear skin
Anne of Cleves = persuaded by a Holbein portrait and pressure from Cromwell over Lutheran connections
More than a hint of beauty in her demure portrait
Made a full size painting and a portrait miniature – Henry could have it with him
Something about her that Henry didn’t like and couldn’t consummate the marriage which was quickly annulled
Cromwell beheaded 1540
Katherine Howard – Anne Boleyn’s cousin – colourful past with a music master and family friend, married on the day of Cromwell’s execution
Past made public, and linked to Thomas Culpeper during her marriage to Henry
Beheaded February 1542
Publicly cried for two weeks over Katherine’s infidelity
Engraving Cornelius Metsis (Dutch engraver) – corpulent and beady eyed, never recovered from his jousting accident
Royal coffers were all but empty
Continued to project an image of strength and courage in public
Nonsuch Palace = fantasy sketches, home like no other – invested in architecture more than any other
Had 13 properties when he came to the throne, but had 60 when he died
April 1538 levelled the church to make way for Nonsuch
Private building = no great hall for receiving guests, only his closest family and friends would be permitted
“Very pearl of the realm”
Nothing left apart from markers showing where it began and ended
Mouldings of classical emperors and gods – ambition was poignant, began at Edward’s birth, possibly a folly?
1543 Henry married Katherine Parr, not for lust
She nursed him for the last 4 years of his life
Completion of Nonsuch coincided with Henry’s own demise 28 January 1547
Henry VIII’s reign changed the face of England
Buried at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, buried next to Jane Seymour who provided his son and heir, Edward VI
Complex figure full of contradictions – endlessly fascinating
Use of art not art for art’s sake = used art to show himself in the best light and push his agenda at particular points in time
Loved pomp and opulence but buried now beneath a black slab from the 19th century
Had planned an opulent tomb, but there were neither the funds or the will to finish it.
Tudor Blogger 