WINDSOR CASTLE Historical Interpretations: Evaluating Sources at Windsor Castle, Teachers' Notes These notes are designed to complement our A level session in the beautiful State Apartments at Windsor Castle. You will find details of the portraits and objects referred to in the session that are on display. All details are extracted from collections online and can be easily found using the RCIN number as a search tool: www.royalcollection.org.uk Edward IV (1442-83) Oil on panel | RCIN 403435 This is one of the five earliest paintings surviving in the Royal Collection. The others depict Henry V, Henry VI, Richard III and Elizabeth Woodville. Recent dendrochronological (tree-ring) analysis indicates that this panel was painted between 1524 and 1556, which is later than the Henry V, Henry VI and Richard III panels. It was possibly made in order to join this set of royal portraits and is listed with them in the 1542 inventory of the contents of Whitehall Palace. This is slightly different in format from RCIN 403442, 403443 and 403435. Painted on a wider panel, it has a striped background which probably indicates that it was made in a different artist’s workshop. The Yorkist king is shown in head and shoulders view wearing a black cap and a richly brocaded gown. He holds a ring in his hands, which probably has royal significance. The artist is unidentified but would probably have been either British or Flemish, working at the Tudor court. Originally the painting would have been in a gilded, engaged frame which has been dismantled at some point in the painting’s history. It is now displayed in a Twentieth-century reproduction Tudor frame. Henry V (1387-1422) Oil on panel | RCIN 403443 This is one of the five earliest paintings surviving in the Royal Collection. The others are Henry VI, Edward IV, Richard III and Elizabeth Woodville. Recent dendrochronological (tree-ring) analysis indicates that this panel was painted between1504-1520. It would have been part of a set of heads of kings and queens either commissioned by Henry VII or Henry VIII. The portrait shows the king in side profile, possibly indicating that it derives from a medal, the portrait effigy of the king from Westminster Abbey (stolen in 1546) or from a donor portrait of Henry V perhaps as part of a religious altarpiece. This image, with the profile head set against a patterned background, became the standard format for later sixteenth-century versions. The artist is unidentified but would probably have been either British or Flemish, working for the royal court. Originally the painting would have been in a gilded, engaged frame which has been dismantled at some point in the painting’s history. It is now displayed in a Twentieth-century reproduction Tudor frame. First recorded in the 1542 and 1547 inventories of Henry VIII and Edward VI. Henry VI (1421-71) Oil on panel | RCIN 403442 This is one of the five earliest paintings surviving in the Royal Collection. The others are Henry V, Edward IV, Richard III and Elizabeth Woodville. Recent dendrochronological (tree- ring) analysis indicates that this panel was painted between 1504-1520. It would have been part of a set of heads of kings and queens either commissioned by Henry VII or Henry VIII. Henry VI is shown in a head-and-shoulders view against a patterned background. He wears the collar of the Lancastrian order of SS from which hangs a jewelled pendant. The rings on his hands probably have royal significance. Originally the hat was taller and narrower, but was lowered, probably at the time of painting, to conform to a more typical 16th-century style. This may indicate that the early sixteenth-century artist was following an existing pattern, possibly in the form of a drawing which may have been taken from life. Other later versions, such as that in the National Portrait Gallery, follow this lower form of the hat. The flesh on the face is heavily overpainted, but traces of the original underdrawing can be discerned by the naked eye. The artist is unidentified but would probably have been either British or Flemish, working for the royal court. The painted spandrels at the corners of the painting contain the arms of France and England. Originally the painting would have been in a gilded, engaged frame which has been dismantled at some point in the painting’s history. It is now displayed in a Twentieth- century reproduction Tudor frame. First recorded in the 1542 and 1547 inventories of Henry VIII and Edward VI. Richard III (1452-85) Oil on panel | RCIN 403436 This was part of a set of early portraits recorded in Henry VIII’s collection (including Henry V, Henry VI and Edward IV). Recent dendrochronological (tree-ring) analysis indicates that this panel was painted between1504-1520. It would have been part of a set of heads of kings and queens either commissioned by Henry VII or Henry VIII. The artist is unidentified but is most likely to have been either British or Flemish, working for the royal court. The portrait was not painted from life, but was probably created by an artist following an original drawing or painting. The King is shown in a head and shoulder view, set against a patterned background. He wears a jewelled gold chain and an elaborate jewelled brooch in his cap. He places a ring onto the little finger of his left hand; the rings probably have royal significance. Shortly after its creation, or perhaps during the creation process in order to ‘complete’ the image, the outline of the King’s right shoulder (the left shoulder as we look at the painting) was extended upwards in an arch from the elbow to the neck so that one shoulder was made to seem higher than the other, creating the impression of a hunched back. It has been suggested that the artist may have turned the corners of the sitter’s mouth downwards to make the facial expression seem severe and possibly altered the colour of the eyes from brown to steely grey (for more information on this see J. Scott 'The Royal Portrait: Image and Impact', London 2010). This depiction of Richard III served as the prototype for many later copies of the portrait which were popular from the later sixteenth-century onwards, when long galleries adorned with sets of royal portraits became fashionable in private houses. The gold painted spandrels in the upper corners contain monochrome profiles of a crowned man and of a woman. Originally the painting would have been in a gilded, engaged frame which has been dismantled at some point in the painting’s history. It is now displayed in a twentieth- century reproduction Tudor frame. First recorded in the 1542 and 1547 inventories of Henry VIII and Edward VI. Henry VIII (1491-1547) Oil on panel | RCIN 404438 This portrait is a very early derivation of Holbein’s original portrait of Henry VIII, painted in 1537 on the wall of the Privy Chamber at Whitehall. The wall painting provided the source for many portraits of the King. This portrait may have been painted during Henry VIII’s lifetime, and is still close in technique to Holbein. It is possible that the head is derived from a sitting later than that which formed the basis of the wall painting. The Royal Collection holds a copy after the lost Whitehall mural by Remigius van Leemput, painted in 1667 (RCIN 405750). First recorded at Kensington Palace in 1818 Mary I (1516-58) Oil on panel | RCIN 404442 Three-quarter-length portrait of Mary I (1516-58), facing slightly to the left, seated in a chair, holding a book in her left, and her gloves in her right, hand. On the edge of the hanging behind her are woven the initials MR. Painted soon after her marriage to Philip II of Spain in 1554, Mary is shown wearing a dark velvet gown and matching partlet concealing her shoulders and neck, in keeping with modest styles in Spain at this date. She also wears the diamond pendant from which hangs the 58.5 carat La Peregrina pearl, a betrothal gift from the Spanish king. According to one courtier, Mary I ‘seem to delight above all in arraying herself elegantly and magnificently’. The painter Anthonis Mor (1519-75) was born in Utrecht and worked in Antwerp, Italy, Spain and Portugal. In 1554 he was commissioned to paint a portrait of Mary I which was sent to Philip II of Spain as part of the marriage negotiations. The original portrait by Mor is in The Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. The popularity of the portrait meant that many versions of it were painted, of which this one. Possibly purchased by Queen Caroline (consort to George II). First securely recorded in the Royal Collection in 1851. Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley and his brother Charles Stewart, Earl of Lennox 1563 Oil on panel | RCIN 403432 Henry Stewart was 17 and Charles 6 when this portrait was painted, according to the inscription. Henry had only 4 more years to live. Through his grandmother, Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry VIII, Darnley had claims to the English throne and his mother was keen to arrange his marriage to the young Mary Queen of Scots (1542-87). In February 1565, 2 years after this painting was made, Darnley travelled to Edinburgh and attended the Scottish Queen, dancing a flirtatious galliard with her. Sir James Melville thought him ‘liker a woman than a man’ and ‘beardless and baby-faced’ but Mary described him as ‘the properest and best-proportioned long man that ever she had seen’.