Armour against the Field of the Cloth of Gold
The Field of Cloth of Gold, c1544
Unknown artists
Oil on canvas
Armour garniture of Henry VIII for the field and tilt, c1540
Erasmus Kyrkenar
Steel, gold, leather
In 1511, Henry VIII established a royal armour workshop, which from the 1520s was based in Greenwich. Here specialists from across Europe made armour using the latest technologies. The royal workshop became famous for the quality of its output.
Among the masterpieces produced Greenwich is this 'garniture', an armour with additional components to allow it to be used for different purposes. The armour can be used in battles ('the field') or for jousting ('the tilt'). The tilt pieces are displayed to the right of the armour. The garniture is decorated with etched bands of ornament along the edges. Although this decoration has sometimes been attributed to Holbein, there is very little to support this suggestion.
The armour was made for Henry VIII under the supervision of Erasmus Kyrkenar, a German armourer, Kyrkenar worked in England from at least 1519, when he was appointed armourer for the king's body. He had become head of the Greenwich workshop by 1535.
As well as being adaptable according to the occasion, the armour was adjusted to accommodate Henry VIII's increasing waistline, with adjustable waist hasps (a stud and catch with three settings). The current visor of the helmet was added much later and is taken from a second armour garniture made for Henry in 1540.*
From the exhibition
Holbein at the Tudor Court
(November 2023 – April 2024)
Hans Holbein was one of the most talented artists of the 16th century. From his arrival in England in search of work he rose to royal favour, chosen to paint the portraits of Henry VIII, his family and leading figures, among them Anne Boleyn and Sir Thomas More. By his death, Holbein’s work was as admired by his contemporaries as it is today. His portraits inspired the next generation of artists in their depictions of Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I.
This exhibition showcases one of the most important surviving collections of his work, and includes drawings, paintings, miniatures and book illustrations. Celebrating Holbein’s artistic skill, it explores the career of the artist and the lives of those who commissioned portraits from him, bringing us face-to-face with some of the most famous people of 16th-century England.
Hans Holbein (1497/8-1543) travelled to England from the Swiss city of Basel in 1526. He was seeking work at the English court, where Henry VIII employed artists from across Europe to celebrate the power and glory of the Tudor dynasty.
Over the next 17 years, Holbein would become one of the most successful artists working in England. His clients included senior courtiers, leading nobles and members of the Tudor royal family.
Holbein's success in England was due to his skill at portraiture. He came from a family of artists from Augsburg in Germany and learned to draw and paint at an early age. Contemporaries praised him as an 'incomparable painter' and a 'wonderful artist'. His portrait paintings and miniatures depicted sitters who, as the inscription on one painting proclaimed, only needed a voice to appear alive.
Holbein's portraits started with drawings of his sitters, taken from the life. Although made as working studies, these drawings are beautiful works of art in their own right. Their detail reveals much about Holbein's working practice as he developed and refined his composition, a process which continued as he began to paint.
[*King's Gallery]
Unless otherwise stated, the item is by Holbein
Taken in King's Gallery
Armour against the Field of the Cloth of Gold
The Field of Cloth of Gold, c1544
Unknown artists
Oil on canvas
Armour garniture of Henry VIII for the field and tilt, c1540
Erasmus Kyrkenar
Steel, gold, leather
In 1511, Henry VIII established a royal armour workshop, which from the 1520s was based in Greenwich. Here specialists from across Europe made armour using the latest technologies. The royal workshop became famous for the quality of its output.
Among the masterpieces produced Greenwich is this 'garniture', an armour with additional components to allow it to be used for different purposes. The armour can be used in battles ('the field') or for jousting ('the tilt'). The tilt pieces are displayed to the right of the armour. The garniture is decorated with etched bands of ornament along the edges. Although this decoration has sometimes been attributed to Holbein, there is very little to support this suggestion.
The armour was made for Henry VIII under the supervision of Erasmus Kyrkenar, a German armourer, Kyrkenar worked in England from at least 1519, when he was appointed armourer for the king's body. He had become head of the Greenwich workshop by 1535.
As well as being adaptable according to the occasion, the armour was adjusted to accommodate Henry VIII's increasing waistline, with adjustable waist hasps (a stud and catch with three settings). The current visor of the helmet was added much later and is taken from a second armour garniture made for Henry in 1540.*
From the exhibition
Holbein at the Tudor Court
(November 2023 – April 2024)
Hans Holbein was one of the most talented artists of the 16th century. From his arrival in England in search of work he rose to royal favour, chosen to paint the portraits of Henry VIII, his family and leading figures, among them Anne Boleyn and Sir Thomas More. By his death, Holbein’s work was as admired by his contemporaries as it is today. His portraits inspired the next generation of artists in their depictions of Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I.
This exhibition showcases one of the most important surviving collections of his work, and includes drawings, paintings, miniatures and book illustrations. Celebrating Holbein’s artistic skill, it explores the career of the artist and the lives of those who commissioned portraits from him, bringing us face-to-face with some of the most famous people of 16th-century England.
Hans Holbein (1497/8-1543) travelled to England from the Swiss city of Basel in 1526. He was seeking work at the English court, where Henry VIII employed artists from across Europe to celebrate the power and glory of the Tudor dynasty.
Over the next 17 years, Holbein would become one of the most successful artists working in England. His clients included senior courtiers, leading nobles and members of the Tudor royal family.
Holbein's success in England was due to his skill at portraiture. He came from a family of artists from Augsburg in Germany and learned to draw and paint at an early age. Contemporaries praised him as an 'incomparable painter' and a 'wonderful artist'. His portrait paintings and miniatures depicted sitters who, as the inscription on one painting proclaimed, only needed a voice to appear alive.
Holbein's portraits started with drawings of his sitters, taken from the life. Although made as working studies, these drawings are beautiful works of art in their own right. Their detail reveals much about Holbein's working practice as he developed and refined his composition, a process which continued as he began to paint.
[*King's Gallery]
Unless otherwise stated, the item is by Holbein
Taken in King's Gallery