Apollo and the Muses on Parnassus

What it is

This pen and wash drawing by Hans Holbein the Younger shows a design for a decorated street structure, depicting the god Apollo on Mount Parnassus surrounded by the nine Muses. It is held at the Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Holbein was commissioned by Hanseatic merchants to design this pageant for Anne Boleyn's coronation eve procession in 1533.

Why it matters

Henry VIII, having secretly married Anne, demanded elaborate public displays of loyalty for her coronation. This design was built as a real structure along the procession route, with a working fountain running with wine, and each muse offering praise to the new queen. It shows how classical imagery and lavish spectacle were used to publicly legitimise Anne's controversial new status as queen.

Look closer

• Why might the merchants of the Steelyard have wanted to pay for such an elaborate display for Anne?
• What does the choice of classical gods and muses suggest about the message the pageant's organisers wanted to send?
• What might this staged celebration hide about public feeling toward Anne at the time?