Portrait of Henry VIII, King of England 1535

This portrait of Henry VIII, King of England, was painted by Hans Holbein the Younger using oil on wood panel. The nature of oil paint, applied in layers, allows for a richness of texture and detail that is perfectly suited to capturing the opulence of Henry's attire. Consider the velvet, fur, jewels, and gold in the portrait. Each of these materials required skilled laborers to produce: miners, weavers, goldsmiths. The details are not merely decorative. They speak volumes about the power and wealth concentrated in the hands of the King. The very pigment of the paint would have been precious. Look at the ultramarine blue background, derived from the stone lapis lazuli. Its use here reflects the social and economic structures of the 16th century. It’s easy to look at the painting and focus on the subject, but the materials and processes used to create it also tell a story of labor, trade, and the vast resources commanded by a monarch.