English School
(16th/17th century)
Portrait of King Edward VI, half length wearing a black and gold embroidered doublet
oil on panel
inscribed in Latin with his titles, civil and ecclesiastical, with date 154(7)?
29 x 22 1/4in (73.7 x 56.5cm)
Provenance:
The Collection of Kimbolton Castle, Huntingdonshire.

Exhibited:
Exhibition of Art Treasures, Manchester, 1857.
National Portrait Exhibition, London, 1866.
Exhibition of Works of Art, Leeds, 1868.
The Tudor Exhibition, The New Gallery, London, 1890.

Footnote:
Edward VI (1537–1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his third wife, Jane Seymour. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine after the death of his father.

Edward was the first English monarch to be raised as a Protestant. During his reign, the realm was governed by a Regency council because Edward never reached maturity. The council was first led by his uncle Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (1547–1549), and then by John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1550–1553).

Edward took great interest in religious policy and though short, his reign is notable for the transformation of the Church of England into a recognizably Protestant body, for which he was praised by European protestants. It was a change which his sister Mary, who succeeded him as Queen of England, was unable to reverse.

As the male heir to the throne and the securer of the Tudor dynasty, a number of portraits of him exist both as Prince of Wales and as King. The earliest portrait type of the young prince was developed by Hans Holbein (1497/8-1543), who had painted celebrated portraits of both King Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, and who made a drawing of Edward VI in circa 1539-40, when Edward was two years old (The Royal Collection, Windsor Castle).

Framed 37.5 x 31 in. Panel cradled. Some yellowing to varnish. Fine pigment craquelure throughout. Under UV light, evidence of inpainting throughout the face and along two vertical splits in the panel, the largest just left of the face. Subtle shadowing along the right edge of the figure suggestive of earlier adjustments.