Katherine of Aragon

Katherine of Aragon — the first wife of Henry VIII and Queen of England from 1509 to the annulment of 1533 — was one of the most significant political figures of the early sixteenth century, whose refusal to accept Henry's divorce triggered the English Reformation. This portrait miniature by Lucas Horenbout at the National Portrait Gallery was likely produced during the height of her queenship, a period before the crisis that would destroy her position. Horenbout's Flemish miniature technique gave Katherine's portrait an intimacy and precision suitable for circulation among royal and diplomatic circles. The work is a primary visual document of the Tudor court.

The queen is depicted in the standard frontal or three-quarter miniature format with her characteristic pearl-and-hood headdress of the Spanish fashion she maintained throughout her life in England. Horenbout's Flemish precision renders the face with careful individualization. The gold or blue ground and the contained scale project royal dignity in intimate format.