Portrait miniature possibly of Anne Boleyn
Maker: Lucas Horenbout (Flemish, c.1490/95-1544, active in England 1524-1544)
Medium:Opaque watercolour on vellum laid down on card, set in a tortoiseshell frame
Geography: Possibly London or Richmond, England
Date: c.1525-1527
Period: Tudor, English Renaissance
Object number: 978.357
DescriptionThis portrait miniature is the earliest in the ROM’s collection. It was initially attributed to Hans Holbein (German, 1497/98–1543), and was thought to be a portrait of Jane Seymour – a lady-in-waiting to both Katharine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. After a reassessment the miniature is now attributed to the Flemish painter, Lucas Horenbout, one of the earliest miniature painters in England. In 1524 Horenbout began to work at the court of Henry VII, and by 1531 he was appointed “King’s Painter,” a position officially granted for life in 1534. Although the sitter’s identity is still somewhat elusive, it seems more probable that it is a representation of Anne Boleyn.
