1553 Woman, formerly called Mary Tudor but possibly Jane Grey by Hans Eworth (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge University - Cambridge Cambridgeshire UK)

Previous

Art Historian J, Stephan Edwards assessed this portrait in 2005 and concluded, "Though often posthumously depicted, painted, and portrayed, Lady Jane Grey has actually been invisible to a modern viewing audience through lack of any authentic life portrait. Unknown Lady by Hans Eworth, however, contains a number of clues that reasonably suggest identifying the young woman depicted as Lady Jane Grey. The portrait, when read through a sixteenth-century lens, appears to be a pre-marital portrait of a wealthy and noble young woman who dressed demurely, was pious without being prudish, and whose family may have borne a name or title beginning with the letter ‘D’. The young woman’s unusual thinness and other physical features serve, in the context of Eworthian portraiture, to shorten any list of potential identities. When examined in the context of sixteenth-century material culture and identity construction, it is reasonable to suggest that Unknown Lady is a reappearing lost portrait of Lady Jane Grey painted in April or May of 1553 in association with evolving plans to exploit Jane as an instrument for altering the royal succession."

1553 Woman, formerly called Mary Tudor but possibly Jane Grey by Hans Eworth (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge University - Cambridge Cambridgeshire UK)

Her ruff and possibly cuffs are trimmed with blackwork. Her sleeves are adorned with puffed cloth ornament using an elaborately decorated cloth, much more than the plain white or mono-colored material used for puffed cloth ornaments or underlying material in slashed sleeves.

Keywords:  1553, Eworth, Jane Grey, Grey family, Dudley family, Queen, English, straight coiffure, vee neckline, French hood, jeweled headdress, neck ruff, necklace, brooch, jeweled pendant chain, jeweled pendant, aglets, rings, over-skirt, kirtle, low puffed sleeves, false sleeves, puffed cloth ornaments, farthingale, blackwork


This site is for educational and information use. It is open for downloading and use without charge. I only ask that these images not be used for profit! I can be contacted at:  contactme@gogmsite.net.