FACE OF ANNE OF CLEVES | Story behind the painting | Hans Holbein the younger. Six wives documentary

Did Hans Holbein the Younger TRICK HENRY VIII by making Anne of Cleves look more beautiful than she really was? That is the charge often levelled at the famed Tudor painter in light of the fact that Henry sent for Anne to become his fourth wife after viewing Holbein’s efforts, only to discover upon meeting the lady that he disliked her so much that he dumped her six months later and had the union annulled, causing a major Tudor scandal. Is it fair to blame Holbein for this marital disaster though and what do we know about how, when and why the portrait was created? In this six wives documentary from History Calling, I share the story behind the painting of this portrait of a Tudor Queen and look at how great of an impact it had on the King’s decision to marry Anne. We’ll also look at what happened to the painting after the marriage of Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves broke down and how this famous work of art ended up in the Louvre in Paris. We’ll consider too how likely it is that this is a true representation of the face of Anne of Cleves and at whether Henry was angry at Holbein for the painting, or if he blamed his dislike of Anne on factors other than her looks. It is rare for a painting to have such a prominent place in the history of Tudor England, but this image has achieved just that and it changed the course of the life of Anne of Cleves forever.

The podcast episode and documentary I discussed in this video were ‘Anne of Cleves’ (part of the Not Just the Tudors podcast series by Suzannah Lipscomb) and ‘Becoming Anne Boleyn’, also hosted by Suzannah Lipscomb. #ad

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OTHER VIDEOS YOU MIGHT LIKE:

WAS ANNE OF CLEVES HENRY VIII’S LUCKIEST WIFE?
COULD ANNE OF CLEVES HAVE REMARRIED?
THE FUNERAL OF ANNE OF CLEVES

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[HistoryCalling]

Do you think the portrait and the written evidence suggest Anne was good looking? Let me know below.

[scottobryant]

I think her failure was due to his shortcomings

[natalieelizabeth]

I think her portrait is quit beautiful and agree that it wasn’t her looks that brought about the end of the marriage. It was Henry’s inaccurate expectations of her character. But she was clearly intelligent and diplomatic (or just overall innocent) enough to navigate that eggshell of a court. If anything, she seems to have been the very best of all of Henry’s wives in both physical beauty and beauty of the soul.

[InexplicablyPurpleRose]

The fact that she totally won in every way afterward the money she didn't have coming into Britain, getting her own private palace, not having to bow down to anyone but the king (who she only had to see once in a while) and having great relationships with what used to be her stepchildren. #girlboss before #girlboss was even a thing haha.

[pheart]

Holbeins portraits are so meticulous I cant imagine it being inaccurate, or that he would risk his neck by attempting to decieve.

[artemismoon]

Not that Henry had room to call anyone ugly. Anne dodged a serious bullet.

[elisabethhopson]

I think your assessment of why the marriage failed was pretty accurate. I don't think Holbein would have risked his neck for this. She may have been plain and not to his taste, but she seems to have been a decent human being. I think Henry's rejection of her is more a reflection of his obnoxiousness. Bloated in body as well as ego. Quite frankly, I am dead pleased she survived him, got as much money out of him without too much trouble and enjoyed her life as best she could. She was extremely generous in her will, which rather sums her character up nicely. Anne of Cleeves 10, Henry 8th 0, says it all.

[amymahers]

I believe she was striking. She arrived not speaking English, prolly scared to death by Henry’s ridiculous surprise “welcome”, and replacing the dead mother of the heir that Henry had longed for. I read somewhere that Cromwell was quite insistent that the king must remarry. I think, that if possible, Henry loved Jane Seymour (if only because she gave him a son). It’s so sad that she, of all of them, might have been the best of queens. She certainly proved to be the best of “sisters”. A great video, thank you History Calling.

[SamanthaN]

Henry the VIII may have thought she was ugly, but I always thought that portrait of Anne made her look so beautiful ❤

[ThatMommaSimmer]

I think she was exactly what you said, a pleasant looking young woman who just didn't know that she was supposed to make the aging Henry feel like he was still 18 years old and gorgeous

[lisakilmer]

I have a theory about Anne's appearance, aside from wearing heavy Germanic clothing: First, that she was tall, unlike the other queens, which may have made her seem too bold since she could have almost looked Henry in the eye. Second, all the other queens had narrow noses and hers was larger, which would have been quite distinctive. Tudor courtiers tended to have disproportionally long and narrow noses. But of course, the main thing is that she didn't pander to Henry's ego - wise girl.

[christmasina]

So, she looks very much like my mothers people, Austrian/austrohungarian. The hooded eye, sultry look. Strong chin, fuller bottom lip, and a rounder softer shape of face. A bit of a more prominent nose, and even the shape of eyebrows. Very pale skin that is prone to a rosy natural blush. All my mothers people, from her fathers side, have the same look. Not exactly beautiful, but can be striking and not unpleasant to look at. Smiles light up their faces very much, but they can very definitely have a very sour resting face. The hands look very similar as well. The crazy thing is, the Germanic people are breeders! He stood a better chance of having more kids with her than he could have possibly thought. She didn’t fail, he did

[doomedmessenger]

I think his pride was hurt when she didn't immediately fawn over him and so he needed to find excuses to get rid of her.

[csh]

Given the fact Henry had begun his decline, I agree with your assessment that it would have been foolish for Holbein, or anyone else for that matter, to exaggerate Anne's appearance. It seems logical to me that Henry didn't like something about her personality (and confidence), not her looks. Given all the known facts, I believe her portrait was mostly accurate and I think she was lovely, if so. And Anne got the last laugh, however, did she not? 🙂This is such a fascinating story - thank you!

[curlyfryzzz]

A point that I think might also hold some weight is that Anne was very different from Henry’s previous wives in terms of build. She was tall and had a bigger chest. Catherine, Anne, and Jane were all either average or of shorter height for the time, in addition to being very slender. The second Katherine was also reported to be short and slender iirc. Henry definitely seems like he had a type there.

[traceyb]

This is my theory: Henry was used to English women who were petite. Anne may have had a more Germanic build ie larger bosom, larger thighs and perhaps not so quite a small waist without her dress. In addition she wasn't fluent in english and her customs were different. So I don't think she was ugly, just different from what Henry was used to.

[MazMedazzaland]

I think she was decently good looking, and I don't think Holbein would have lied to Henry. No-one seemed to think she was ugly once she was the King's sister.

[Calla-slgd]

Anne of Cleves is my second favorite of Henry's wives, after Anne Boleyn. I think she was a strong woman: she was rejected by Henry, yet she held her head high and kept on going. I don't think Anne was a Venus, but she isn't ugly either. She looks like she has a quiet, calm demeanor which she would have needed in Henry's court. Thanks for the video!

[gillianstapleton]

This was the only one of Henry's wives that he didn't know personally and was already attracted to. I think it's probably a simple case of Henry expecting too much, and when they met, the chemistry just wasn't there.

[libradragon]

Part of the problem was that Henry was still grieving for Jane Seymour and wasn't really interested in getting married again. It was his ministers, particularly Cromwell, who badgered him into the marriage. Anne was from a tiny Principality and had no idea about courtly conduct or behaviour and the poor girl was just packed off to this foreign country, to marry someone far older than her and barely able to even speak the language. She never really stood a chance with Henry, who really only would have been happy with a replica of Jane, small and delicate, an English rose type, if you will! At the end of the day, Anne had a lucky escape, having a good relationship with Henry and his children and becoming very wealthy and with a certain amount of clout.