2-693-921 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Anne of Cleves', 1539, (1909). Henry VIII married Anne (1515-1557), a German Protestant princess, in 1540 for political reasons at the urging of his Chancellor, Thomas Cromwell. Hans Holbein painted this portrait of Anne for Henry who, finding her appearance on canvas to his liking, agreed to the marriage. In the flesh however, he found her considerably less attractive, and the marriage was annulled after only six months. Painting in the Louvre Museum, Paris. From Holbein - Masterpieces in Colour, by S. L. Bensusan. [T. C. & E. C. Jack, Frederick A. Stokes Co., London & New York, 1909]