Portrait of Henry VIII (1491-1547)

English School 18th Century

Oil on panel

30 x 30 inches; 78 x 78 cm

Provenance:

Italian Private Collection

This impressive, larger than life-size portrait of Henry VIII derives from Hans Holbein’s full-length portrayal of Henry in Whitehall Palace. The Whitehall mural, as it was known, was destroyed by fire in the seventeenth century, but such was the success of Holbein’s imposing image that it continues to form history’s conception of Henry VIII as an intimidating and dominant figure. This example was probably painted in the eighteenth century.