What a catch! Henry VIII reportedly kissed this likeness of Christina, but their marriage was not to be.
Hans Holbein the Younger, Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan, 1538, oil on oak, 179.1 x 82.6 cm (The National Gallery, London)
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Dr. Steven Zucker: [0:06] Historically, paintings were often made for specific purposes in the world.
Dr. Beth Harris: [0:10] Very specific. In this case, we’re looking at Holbein’s “Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan” from 1538, and this was commissioned by King Henry VIII.
Dr. Zucker: [0:21] Think about Henry’s world for a moment, a world long before photography, when images were still fairly rare. He wanted to know what this young woman looked like, but she lived in Brussels, he lived in London, and he didn’t want to go.
Dr. Harris: [0:33] He wanted to know what she looked like because he was considering marrying her. His third wife had just died, Jane Seymour, and he was on the lookout for a new wife among the nobility of Europe.
Dr. Zucker: [0:44] She would have been an especially good catch. She was the niece of the Holy Roman Emperor, and that would have benefited him by creating an alliance.
Dr. Harris: [0:52] That’s right, and of course all marriages for people of that status in society had political purposes.
Dr. Zucker: [0:59] Nevertheless, Henry still wanted to know what she looked like. So, he sent his court painter, Holbein, to Brussels to paint her. Apparently, she sat for him for three hours.
Dr. Harris: [1:10] During that time, he did drawings.
Dr. Zucker: [1:11] The painting was made back in London when he returned.
Dr. Harris: [1:14] The story is, he came back with the drawings and showed them to the king. The king thought she looked beautiful, and apparently kissed the drawings.
Dr. Zucker: [1:21] Importantly, he kept the painting even though the marriage was never actually arranged.
Dr. Harris: [1:25] The marriage fell through for political reasons.
Dr. Zucker: [1:28] She’s only 16. Interestingly, she wears the gown of a woman in mourning. In fact, she had already been married. She was married at age 11, although she never lived with her husband. He was the duke of Milan.
Dr. Harris: [1:40] That accounts for her black dress and the spareness of the image. She stands in front of this turquoise-green background, and she casts a shadow behind her.
Dr. Zucker: [1:49] She does cut a very elegant silhouette.
Dr. Harris: [1:52] She’s elongated, but she’s a little bit off center, just a little bit to the left of the image. You can see more of her flowing black mourning dress and robe just to the right on the floor below her.
Dr. Zucker: [2:03] But it doesn’t feel off center because of the shadow line on the right. It’s thought that perhaps she’s standing because Henry may have wanted to know how tall she was. The length of her body is emphasized by the linear quality, especially the fur lining of her coat.
Dr. Harris: [2:18] And the emphasis on contour and line around her face. The line around her eyebrows and down to her nose, and the contours of her lips.
Dr. Zucker: [2:27] I’m actually really taken by the hands, which are beautiful and elegant. There’s simplification of the elegance of those hands, perhaps because of the gloves that she wears, and the sleeve that she wears with that very fine ruffle.
Dr. Harris: [2:38] When our eye moves down, we have her mouth pursed together, and then we move down her body and we see the bow that’s tied. Then below that, her hands which come together, her lips which come together, the bow that comes together, and then her hands and gloves that come together down the center of the painting.
Dr. Zucker: [2:55] It is really beautiful, and elegant, and full of promise. And seems absolutely perfect for a representation perhaps of a future bride.
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