Real Tudors: Kings & Queens Rediscovered

Interesting exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery looking at portraits painted of the Tudor monarchs in their own life times to try to strip down the layers of myth which built up around the images.

It was nice that commentary on each monarch included written descriptions of them from the time and that objects owned by them were included. It was also good to see the conservation work which had been done before this show and to see what had been learnt from it.

There were two portraits by Master John in the show. I knew the one of Mary but had not seen the Edward VI one before. He was a wonderful artist with a lovely clear view of the world. I also liked the head of Henry VII by Torrigiano which gave a sense of having the king in the same space as us and it was nice to be able to compare it to the classic portrait of him.

The last room looked at how the images had been reproduced after their deaths and snuck in a picture of Lady Jane Grey who had ruled so briefly before Mary although there is no image of her from her lifetime.

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