Category: portrait miniature

Artists of Northern Europe, portrait miniature, Portraiture, Royal Portraits, Tudor portraiture

A Portrait of Anna, Duchess of Cleves : The King’s Beloved Sister

Melanie V Taylor

Anna, Duchess of Cleves (?) Hans Holbein the Younger (1497 - 1543) (?). Rosenbach Museum, Philadelphia, USA. Accession Number 1954.1923. When Heather Darsie’s consideration of Anna’s life and marriage was published in April 2019, the cover portrait (above) presented us with a completely different aspect of the duchess from the Holbein portrait that now hangs… Continue reading A Portrait of Anna, Duchess of Cleves : The King’s Beloved Sister

Artists of Northern Europe, Books, portrait miniature, Portraiture, Renaissance, Tudor portraiture

The Cromwell Enigma – A Review

Melanie V Taylor

The Cromwell Enigma by Derek Wilson, published by MaryleboneHouse. When it comes to Thomas Cromwell (1485 – 1540), what more of an enigma can there be than the paucity of detail for the years he spent abroad prior to becoming the indispensable secretary to Cardinal Wolsey and then the man who administered the affairs of… Continue reading The Cromwell Enigma – A Review

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

Melanie V Taylor

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

Melanie V 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

Artists of Northern Europe, Flemish primitives, Illuminated manuscripts, portrait miniature, Symbols and emblems

Easter Day and Mary Magdalene Sees the Risen Lord

Melanie V Taylor

Mary Magdalene, grieving at Jesus' tomb, encounters two angels and later sees Jesus, initially mistaking Him for a gardener. After recognizing Him, He instructs her to share His resurrection with others. The author also discusses significant illuminated manuscripts linked to the Poncher family and their artistic contributions to devotional literature.