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Secondary sourcePainting1547

Portrait of Henry VIII of England

1547

A hand-coloured woodcut portrait of Henry VIII, dated 1547, the year of his death, likely copied from a lost original.

A European printed portrait of Henry VIII made in the year of his death, showing how his image circulated abroad.

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Hand-coloured woodcut print of a bearded man in a black hat with white feather plume, wearing a fur-trimmed black and gold robe over a pink doublet, holding a gold-hilted dagger. A crowned coat of arms with a Latin motto and a Dutch-language inscription at top are visible against a green backdrop.
Portrait of Henry VIII of England, 1547. Rijksmuseum, Netherlands.

About this source

What it is

This hand-coloured woodcut print shows Henry VIII of England in royal dress, holding a dagger, with a crowned coat of arms and a Dutch inscription above. It is dated 1547, the year Henry died, and is held by the Rijksmuseum. It was likely made as a companion piece to a portrait of Edward VI, and is probably a copy after a lost original.

Why it matters

Portraits like this spread images of English monarchs across Europe, shaping how people far from England pictured Henry VIII. The pairing with his son Edward VI suggests it was meant to show the succession of Tudor kings.

Look closer

  • What details in the clothing and objects suggest royal power and wealth?
  • Why might this portrait have been made as a pair with one of Edward VI?
  • What does the Dutch-language inscription suggest about who this image was made for?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Henry VIII on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Henry VIII Presiding at the Barber-Surgeons Act of Union

Hans Holbein (style of) · 1540 (depicted event); painting later

Stipple engraving of a group of five people in Tudor-style dress standing or seated behind a table draped with a curtain. On the left, a heavyset man in a fur-trimmed robe and jeweled cap holds a staff. Behind him, a man peers from the shadows. Three young people sit at the table: a boy in a dark cap and two young women in lace collars and hoods. Signed Hans Holbein Del. and F. Bartolozzi R.A. Sculpt.Painting

Secondary source

Henry VIII and His Three Children with Will Summers

F. Bartolozzi after Hans Holbein the Younger · c. 1800

Scanned black-and-white page of an early printed book in dense black-letter type, headed 'SERENISSIMO INVICTISSIMOQUE ANGLIAE' with a small woodcut decorative initial at left. The text is a Latin dedication, and a handwritten marginal note appears at the bottom left.Document

Primary source

Dedication to Henry VIII in Compendiosa Anatomiae

Thomas Geminus · 1545

Engraved astrological birth chart in an oval frame. Central oval portrait of a man in a feathered cap and high collar, labeled HENRY VIII King of England, Born June 28.10 H.40 m.A.M. 1491. Zodiac signs and planetary symbols with numbers surround the portrait.Artifact

Primary source

Astrological Birth Chart for Henry VIII

Two facing pages of a handwritten 16th-century manuscript draft, with the heading '1539. ββ Articles' at top left. Lines of cursive text contain strikethroughs and interlineal corrections, with marginal notes on the right page.Document

Primary source

The Act of Six Articles

1539

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