Hampton Court ... Illustrated with forty-three drawings by Herbert ...

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HAMPTON COURT
himself is small, and of the nature of illumination
work, though it is eminently a portrait and a characteristic
one.
More interesting and powerful portraits of the King
are in other rooms. In the King's Gallery, made
originally for the Raffaelle cartoons, is a remarkably
fine picture.1 This was obtained by Charles I.from
Lord Arundel, and is one of the best portraits of the
King. His beard is still small and thin, his hair is
cropped short, his eyes dark and penetrating, his expression
coarse and sinister. It seems to be certain
that Holbein had no hand init, nor does it seem probable
from the style that it is by Janet. A much
smaller picture of the King as an older man is in the
same room, and is almost equally interesting.
There are many other pictures of Henry VIII.'s
period, nearly all worth examination. There is the
Francis I. and his wife Eleanor of Spain, painted
apparently by "Maistre Ambroise " at the time of
their wedding. There are various contemporary battle
scenes, such as the Pavia (No. 605), which belonged
to Henry VIII. It is an interesting composition as
an historical sketch of the scene, in which Francis I.
is prominent. The extremely fine portrait of Thomas
Howard, Earl of Surrey,2 is worth a careful examination.
It is clear, impressive, telling, and the red
dress is very effective, relieved only by the white at
the sleeves and breast, and by the gold chain and
gold on the shoes and the scabbard. There is a
1 No. 563.
2 No. 606.