Hans Holbein the Younger painted a portrait of Jane Seymour, 3rd wife of King Henry VIII of England, around 1536. In this portrait, her cuffs have a decorative blackwork embroidery pattern on them. Which pattern interpretation do you believe is the embroidery pattern found on Jane's cuffs?
Jane's primary talent was embroidery. Although none of her embroidery survives today, it is quite possible that the embroidery pattern featured on her cuffs in Holbein's portrait of her was of her own making. In Tudor England, it was common for women of her status to embroider their own shifts, as well as their husband's shirts.
Hans Holbein the Younger was a 16th century European painter, just like his older brother Ambrosius and his father, Hans the Elder. If you hear the term 'Holbein stitch', it is in reference to Hans the Younger. From his friendship with Erasmus, he had a letter of introduction and found himself in England to eventually become a court painter in the court of King Henry VIII of England. Compared to other artists at the time, Holbein painted numerous portraits with blackwork embroidery in them.
Works Cited:
- Behrens, Lorraine. "Jane Seymour's Blackworked Cuff." http://www.elizabethancostume.net/blackwork/seymour.html
- Fairchild, Lynne. "Holbein Stitch: Step by Step of a Pattern from Jane Seymour's Cuffs from 1536." https://tudorblackwork.blogspot.com/2023/11/holbein-stitch-step-by-step-of-pattern.html
- Holbein d. J., Hans. "Jane Seymour." KunstHistorisches Museum. https://www.khm.at/en/objectdb/detail/966/
- Leed, Drea. "Elizabethan Costume Page." http://www.elizabethancostume.net/
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