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Hever Castle Painting
July 7, 2011
8:39 am
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Elliemarianna
Corsham, Wiltshire
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So I was watching David Starkey's – Henry VIII The mind of a tyrant – And they showed a painting from Hever Castle when talking about Jane Seymour. When I first saw it I recognised it as Anne… I thought Jane had blue eyes – the sitter has large brown eyes, the same nose as Anne and fuller lips than Jane appeared to have.

This is a printscreen of the painting from the show – I can't find another version of it online:

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It reminds me more of this painting of Anne:

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What do you think? Could it be Anne, not Jane?

"It is however but Justice, & my Duty to declre that this amiable Woman was entirely innocent of the Crimes with which she was accused, of which her Beauty, her Elegance, & her Sprightliness were sufficient proofs..." Jane Austen.

July 7, 2011
9:09 am
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Sophie1536
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I LOVE the picture, but I truly couldn't say for sure if it's Jane or Anne. Whoever it is, is very pretty and I'd love to see the pic in full.
Absolutely gorgeous picture!

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh144/nicksbabe28/Backstreet%20n%20Graffix/Image4-1.jpg

July 7, 2011
10:10 am
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MegC
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I don't know if the portrait in the documentary is Anne or Jane, but from the portraits that we know are Jane Seymour, she certainly seems to have dark eyes to me.

"We mustn't let our passions destroy our dreams…"

July 7, 2011
10:24 am
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MegC
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I found the exact same photo at this website:

http://www.flickriver.com/phot…..641565078/

Which doesn't mean a whole lot, although it does look a lot like the portrait of Anne.

The little blurb under the photo says it appears to be based on the Holbein portrait of Jane which I think I found here.  You can certainly see the similarities, especially in the detail work done on the hood.  Although I think the Hever portrait is probably more flattering than the Holbein portrait.

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"We mustn't let our passions destroy our dreams…"

July 7, 2011
11:04 am
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Sharon
Binghamton, NY
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I don't know. Jane was supposed to have had blond hair, blue eyes and very pale skin.  I am not seeing that at all.  The person who put it up, who I believe is Nasim, says, this was done posthumously and is copied from Holbien's painting of Jane painted in1536.  With a lot of changes in coloring to dress and face.     And wow is there ever a big difference:

 

Jane Seymour by HolbeinImage Enlarger

July 7, 2011
11:40 am
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Elliemarianna
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MegC said:

I don't know if the portrait in the documentary is Anne or Jane, but from the portraits that we know are Jane Seymour, she certainly seems to have dark eyes to me.


If you zoom in on the paintings her eyes are blue –

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"It is however but Justice, & my Duty to declre that this amiable Woman was entirely innocent of the Crimes with which she was accused, of which her Beauty, her Elegance, & her Sprightliness were sufficient proofs..." Jane Austen.

July 7, 2011
12:30 pm
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Sharon
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It is a lovely painting.  If I had not read the explanation, I would have thought it was Anne.

July 7, 2011
2:03 pm
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DuchessofBrittany
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The Hever portrait of Jane is probably a copy where the painter coloured her eyes brown instead of blue. I guess that's one of the problems with portraits: they are an artist's interpretation of the sitter and not always a true reflection of their appearance.

For instance, there is a portrait identified as Anne, yet she has blue eyes, despite the fact that all acknowledge portraits of Anne has brown eyes. Even contemporary reports claim her eyes were brown or black.

I am just making an observation here. I am not disputing anyone's points above.

You can see the Anne with blue eyes by Frans Probus the Younger at this link. I hope it works.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YJkb…..Boleyn.jpg

"By daily proof you shall find me to be to you both loving and kind" Anne Boleyn

July 7, 2011
2:46 pm
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Bella44
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To me it kind of looks more like Anne but in Janes' costume.  Perhaps the artist combined elements of both portraits, 'cos it kind of looks like Anne and Jane have been morphed together.  Whoever it is is very pretty though!

July 8, 2011
2:31 am
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Elliemarianna
Corsham, Wiltshire
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That's what I was thinking too! Perhaps it is a painting of Anne, changed to look like Jane so it didn't get destroyed? I find it a little insulting to Anne to have a painting of Jane in her childhood home.

"It is however but Justice, & my Duty to declre that this amiable Woman was entirely innocent of the Crimes with which she was accused, of which her Beauty, her Elegance, & her Sprightliness were sufficient proofs..." Jane Austen.

July 8, 2011
8:43 am
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Sharon
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Ellie,

There are many portraits at Hever.  All of the wives, Henry VII, Elizabeth of York, Prince Arthur, along with Henry VIII are all represented.  Check out the portrait of Henry. Maybe Holbien was paid to make him look larger than life and all the other portraits that didn't make the cut were a true image of him.

 

http://www.hevercastle.co.uk/t…..raits.aspx

July 8, 2011
9:24 am
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DuchessofBrittany
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Hever does have an amazing collection of Tudor portraits. I was not expecting that when I visted the castle a few years ago. For me, it adds a certain quality to the visit, and put faces to the history of the era. While the NPG has it's own Tudor gallery, Hever's is more intimate and up close.

Holbein's infamous portrait of Henry is so iconic and the standard image that most people recall when one thinks of H8. I wonder how much is accurate, and how much was embellishment?

"By daily proof you shall find me to be to you both loving and kind" Anne Boleyn

July 16, 2011
4:02 pm
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Boleynfan
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I visited Hever a few weeks ago and sadly did not see the Jane/Anne portrait. I definitely see elements of Anne in the portrait, but after looking long and hard, I honestly think it is Jane, with just badly drawn features. Still…who knows, right?!

"Grumble all you like, this is how it's going to be"

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