Queen Mary I

© National Portrait Gallery, London

5 Likes voting
is closed

Thanks for Liking

Please Like other favourites!
If they inspire you please support our work.

Buy a print Buy a greetings card Make a donation

Queen Mary I

attributed to Lucas Horenbout (or Hornebolte)
watercolour on vellum, circa 1525
1 3/8 in. (35 mm) sight diameter
Purchased, 1999
Primary Collection
NPG 6453

Images

Shadows around the features were created with…
Shadows around the features were created with…
The red and black borders of the headdress ha…
The red and black borders of the headdress ha…
The artist has decorated the inscription (mea…

Sitterback to top

  • Queen Mary I (1516-1558), Reigned 1553-58; daughter of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. Sitter associated with 50 portraits.

Artistback to top

This portraitback to top

Showing Mary as princess, this may be the earliest surviving English portrait miniature. The inscription painted on her bodice, meaning 'The Emperor', probably refers to Mary's engagement to the Emperor Charles V between 1521 and 1525.

Linked publicationsback to top

  • Bolland, Charlotte, Tudor & Jacobean Portraits, 2018, p. 142 Read entry

    As a princess, Mary was a pawn in the dynastic alliances that bound European dynasties together. At the age of five, she was betrothed to her much older cousin Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor. Prospective brides were often presented with jewels by their future husbands, and in this portrait Mary wears a brooch bordered with pearls, with the inscription The Empour ('The Emperor'). Charles broke off the engagement in 1525 in order to marry Isabella of Portugal, and in 1527 Mary was betrothed to the son of the king of France. The annulment of her parent's marriage made Mary illegitimate, blocking her marriage prospects until she became queen in her own right. This may be the earliest-surviving English portrait miniature. It is attributed to Lucas Horenbout, who is first recorded in the royal accounts in 1525. Horenbout was the son of the Ghent manuscript illuminator Gerard Horenbout and became the highest-paid artist at the court of Henry VIII. He was granted the office of King's Painter in 1534, became a denizen and was licensed to employ up to four foreign journeymen. Independent portrait miniatures derived from the techniques used in illumination and appear to have arisen almost simultaneously in England and France, as gifts were exchanged between the courts.

  • Bolland, Charlotte; Cooper, Tarnya, The Real Tudors: Kings and Queens Rediscovered, 2014 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 12th September 2014 to 1st March 2015), p. 106
  • MacLeod, Catharine; Rab, MacGibbon; Button, Victoria; Coombs, Katherine; Derbyshire, Alan, Elizabethan Treasures: Miniatures from Hilliard and Oliver, 2019 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 21 February - 19 May 2019), p. 9
  • Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 416
  • Various contributors, National Portrait Gallery: A Portrait of Britain, 2014, p. 72

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

Portrait setback to top

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1525back to top

Current affairs

The Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey gives Hampton Court Palace, completed in 1516, as a gift to Henry VIII.

Art and science

The New Testament is translated into English by William Tyndale.

International

The Battle of Pavia - Francis I of France is defeated and captured by the forces of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. He is imprisoned and forced to sign the humiliating Treaty of Madrid.
The Peasants' War in German ends with the lords defeat of the rebel peasants at the Battle of Frankenhausen and the execution of the revolutionary preacher Thomas Müntzer.

Tell us more back to top

Can you tell us more about this portrait? Spotted an error, information that is missing (a sitter’s life dates, occupation or family relationships, or a date of portrait for example) or do you know anything that we don't know? If you have information to share please complete the form below.

If you require information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service. You can buy a print of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at £6 for unframed prints, £25 for framed prints. If you wish to license this image, please use our Rights and Images service.

Please note that we cannot provide valuations.

We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.

What can you tell us?close

There are occasions when we are unsure of the identity of a sitter or artist, their life dates, occupation or have not recorded their family relationships. Sometimes we have not recorded the date of a portrait. Do you have specialist knowledge or a particular interest about any aspect of the portrait or sitter or artist that you can share with us? We would welcome any information that adds to and enhances our information and understanding about a particular portrait, sitter or artist.

Citationclose

How do you know this? Please could you let us know your source of information.

* Permission to publish (Privacy information)
Privacy Informationclose

The National Portrait Gallery will NOT use your information to contact you or store for any other purpose than to investigate or display your contribution. By ticking permission to publish you are indicating your agreement for your contribution to be shown on this collection item page. Please note your email address will not be displayed on the page nor will it be used for any marketing material or promotion of any kind.

Please ensure your comments are relevant and appropriate. Your contributions must be polite and with no intention of causing trouble. All contributions are moderated.

Your Emailclose

Contributions are moderated. We'll need your email address so that we can follow up on the information provided and contact you to let you know when your contribution has been published.