Blogging My Museum Visit in HUM 310

My Selected Work of Art

Portrait of Henry VIII of England
by Holbein, c. 1534–1536
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid

In this blog, the work of art I would like to discuss is the Portrait of Henry VIII of England painted by Hans Hobein the Younger. Here is the description of this portrait, “In this markedly linear portrait, Holbein uses the frontal pose of the regal model and the position of his hands to convey the sitter’s powerful personality and majestic bearing.”(Portrait of Henry VIII) The possible reason that artist made this work of art might be the time it was an era in which portraits are becoming famous, especially for the royalties. This can also be found in the description, “Portraiture was the most popular genre in sixteenth-century England.”(Portrait of Henry VIII)

The person that this artwork was made for is obviously Henry VIII of England himself, we could see that every ruler of the Tudor dynasty has portraits depicting their power, and Henry VIII who is a powerful ruler, is certainly no exception. So yes, this portrait is from England, made by German painter Hans Hobein the Younger, and painted during the Tudor dynasty, in the reign of Henry VIII.

My Research

Napoleon Crossing the Alps
by Jacques-Louis David, 1801
Château de Malmaison, Rueil-Malmaison

The JSTOR article I based my research on is the "Henry VIII and His Court Painter, Hans Holbein" by Paul Ganz. I do think this is great article to explain both Henry VIII and his painter Hans Holbein, because he painted not only this one, but a lot other painting for Henry VIII. The way that this work of art represent the era is how Hans Holbein chose to depict Henry VII with majestic style, especially Henry's eyes, "Henry VIII was forty-six years old when Holbein created this magnificent type of ceremonial portrait, which surpasses even the portrait of King Francis I of France by Jeanet Clouet, now in Louvre."(Henry VIII and His Court Painter, pg.3) I think this exactly expressed the idea of Tudor dynasty's political focus.

The way that this work of art could deviate from would be the presence of war, which is another form of powerful depiction. As we know, Tudor dynasty had political focus, but it did also faced war in some degree and not fully peaceful. By depicting the presence of war, you are able to feel an aura of valor which formed around the ruler, Napoleon Crossing the Alps is a good example of this. In addition, it also embodies the element of Neo-classicim.

My Experience

The legacy of this artwork means a lot, for it not only continued the Hans Holbein's contribution to Henry VIII, "Holbein had to study the King from life very carefully in order to reproduce his Royal appearence to the best advantage."(Henry VIII and His Court Painter, pg.7) It also had opened the path for the next few rulers of Tudor dynasty to follow with their own elegant portraits.

My Experience in virtual museum tour is still new. Rotating a lot in 3D and checking out the artworks had caused me a little headache, but it was worth a while, as I can feel the presence as if I'm acutually inside museum. I can imagine that it would be truly amazing to check out the museum in person.

Works Cited

Ganz, Paul. “Henry VIII and His Court Painter, Hans Holbein.” The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, vol. 63, no. 367, 1933, pp. 146–144. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/865525. Accessed 16 May 2021.

“Portrait of Henry VIII of England.” Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, www.museothyssen.org/en/collection/artists/holbein-hans-joven/portrait-henry-viii-england. Accessed 16 May 2021.

Wikipedia Contributors. “Napoleon Crossing the Alps.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Dec. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_Crossing_the_Alps. Accessed 16 May 2021.