Henry FitzRoy, by Lucas Horenbout

Miniature portrait of Henry FitzRoy, by Lucas Horenbout ( c. 1490-1544) Miniature portrait of Henry FitzRoy, by Lucas Horenbout ( c. 1490-1544) Royal Collection Trust / Copyright Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, acc. no. RCIN 420019.

Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset (1519-1536), was the illegitimate son of Henry VIII by Elizabeth Blount ('Bessie Blount'), a lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon. The miniature was painted by the Flemish artist, Lucas Horenbout (c. 1490-1544). The water colour image was worked in c. 1533-1534.

This is one of the earliest informal portraits within the genre of court portraits. It shows Henry Fitzroy in a white chemise and a white nightcap. The cap is decorated with a simple trellis work design worked in blackwork embroidery. The sitter died shortly afterwards of tuberculosis and the informal nature of the miniature may reflect the fact that he was seriously ill.

The miniature is now in the Royal Collection, London (RCIN 420019).

 

Royal Collection online catalogue (retrieved 14 August 2016).

 

GVE

 

 

Design of the blackwork nightcap worn by Henry FitzRoy in the miniature by Lucas Horenbout.

  

Design of the blackwork nightcap worn by Henry FitzRoy in the miniature by Lucas Horenbout.

Last modified on Sunday, 14 August 2016 18:25
Published in 16th century
More in this category: « Charlemagne, by Albrecht Dürer Queen Elizabeth I of England, by Nicholas Hilliard »
back to top