The portrait below of Henry, Lord Darnley with his brother Charles was painted by Rhoda Sullivan in 1894. It is a copy of an original Tudor painting by Hans Eworth from the late 1500s.
Some Tudor portraits in Temple Newsam are Victorian copies of older paintings. These were made because showing your Tudor heritage was very fashionable during the 19th Century.
What Clues Does this Portrait Contain?
- Lord Darnley is wearing dark clothing, to dye clothes in darker colours took a lot more time, effort and money than lighter fabrics. Servants and poorer people are often seen wearing white or very pale colours because they needed little or no dyeing.
- Henry is wearing breeches and a doublet jacket, which was then a fashionable for men.
- Henry holds gloves, a common accessory worn by richer Tudors to protect their hands.
- A sword hangs from Henry's side in the painting. Why do you think this might have been included?
- Henry's hand is placed protectively over his brother, Charles, to show that he is the eldest. At the time this was very important, as the eldest son in a family would inherit all his parents' property and wealth.
- Henry and Charles wear very plain clothing, but with little decoration. Look at the engraving below from the National Portrait Gallery, showing Henry after his marriage to Mary Queen of Scots. How has Henry's clothing changed? How might this change the way we see him?
Who was Lord Darnley?
Henry Lord Darnley was the great-grandchild of Henry VII. Darnley married Mary Queen of Scots in 1565. The couple were unhappy together, and soon after Henry was linked to the murder of his wife's friend David Rizzio, who was found dead at Kirk o' Field in Edinburgh. To this day historians are unsure who murdered him, making the story a real-life murder mystery!
Glossary
Accessory - an extra item of clothing worn because it is useful or fashionable
Breeches - trousers which end at the knee
Contain - to have or hold something
Doublet - a man's fitted jacket, popular in the 15th-17th Centuries
Inherit - to have something passed on from someone who died or left
Original - new or the first of something