Image: Mary Zouch by Hans Holbein the Younger
Description: Portrait of M. Zouch. Black and coloured chalks, pen and ink on pink-primed paper, 29.6 × 21.2 cm, Royal Collection, Windsor Castle. Scholars are not sure whether "M. Souch" refers to Mary Zouch, a maid-of-honour to Jane Seymour, or, in abbreviation, to "Mistress Zouch", which could be either Jane Rogers, wife of Richard Zouch, heir of John, Lord Zouch of Haringworth, or Anne Gainsford, a lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn and wife of George Zouch of Codnor. The chalk seems to have been reinforced by later hands around the bodice and in other places, but the penwork and the flower apppear all Holbein. In the view of art historian Susan Foister, "This well-preserved drawing is exceptional for the salmon-and-yellow-coloured chalks used to represent both the sitter's colouring and in her headdress and dress". She holds a rose or carnation, perhaps signifying betrothal. Her brooch may show fortune sailing on dolphins or blind fortune seated on a weather-vane. References Susan Foister, Holbein in England, London: Tate, 2006, ISBN 1854376454, p. 148. K. T. Parker, The Drawings of Hans Holbein at Windsor Castle, Oxford: Phaidon, 1945, OCLC 822974, p. 56.
Title: Mary Zouch by Hans Holbein the Younger
Credit: Royal Collection
Author: Hans Holbein the Younger
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No
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