Artists of Northern Europe, Conferences and Symposia, Flemish primitives, Great Mistresses, Illuminated manuscripts, Illumination of legal documents, portrait miniature, Portraiture, Royal Portraits, Simon Bening, Tudor portraiture

Levina Teerlinc (?) Henry VIII’s court artist from 1546 – 1576

The author recounts their discovery of Levina Teerlinc, a significant 16th-century woman artist, while researching for their MA. They analyze a portrait by Nicholas Hilliard, suggesting it depicts Teerlinc as the Unknown Lady. Teerlinc's status as Elizabeth I's official painter raises her profile in the male-dominated art world of the period.

Artists of Northern Europe, Illuminated manuscripts, Illumination of legal documents, portrait miniature, Portraiture, Renaissance, Royal Portraits, Symbols and emblems, Tudor portraiture

The origins of the Tudor portrait miniature

For those not familiar with the genre of the portrait miniature, let us first consider why and when these portraits became popular in England, and the various artists creating these images for the Tudor court. The half millennium saw a marked change from the religious themes of the medieval period to secular subjects inspired by… Continue reading The origins of the Tudor portrait miniature

Artists of Northern Europe, Flemish primitives, Illuminated manuscripts, Illumination of legal documents, portrait miniature, Portraiture, Royal Portraits, short stories, Tudor portraiture

Another Execution! – MV Taylor

This is a work of fiction, but the images referred to all exist as did all the characters and the executions to which they refer. Like other writers of historical fiction, I have taken events as my skeleton and dressed it with the clothes of a possible event, placing imagined words into the mouths of… Continue reading Another Execution! – MV Taylor

Flemish primitives, Illuminated manuscripts, Illumination of legal documents, study days, Subjects for discussion, Symbols and emblems

Study Day – Hidden in Plain Sight. 7th December, 2019. West House, Pinner, London.

Some years ago my curiosity was piqued by an Indian ring-necked parakeet in an early 15th century Flemish altarpiece,  Detail of the Madonna and Canon van der Paele (1434): Jan van Eyck (c1390-1441): Groeninge Museum, Bruges and an Australian sulphur crested cockatoo in one of 1496 painted for the Dukes of Mantua in Italy.  This altarpiece was… Continue reading Study Day – Hidden in Plain Sight. 7th December, 2019. West House, Pinner, London.

Artists of Northern Europe, Illuminated manuscripts, Illumination of legal documents, Original Documents, portrait miniature, Portraiture, Royal Portraits

Thomas Cromwell (1495-1540): Creator of the “Tudor Brand”

Today we are used to seeing the English royals on TV, in photos on social media, and on the front of our newspapers. Back in the 16th century the royal family were rarely seen in public, therefore their faces were mostly unknown except by the social elite of the court. If I were to ask… Continue reading Thomas Cromwell (1495-1540): Creator of the “Tudor Brand”