The Tudors: Passion, Power & Politics ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Queen Elizabeth I by Unknown English artist, circa 1588 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Jan 28, 2022May 8, 2022

In our opening exhibition of 2022, The Tudors: Passion, Power and Politics, you will come face-to-face with the five Tudor monarchs – Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I – who, to this day, remain some of the most familiar figures in English history; not least because these instantly recognisable portraits have preserved their likenesses for five centuries.

The Times ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Telegraph ⭐⭐⭐⭐

You can book in advance here, or you can also just purchase tickets on arrival at the Museum.

This focused exhibition, developed in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery and National Museums Liverpool, includes some of the most iconic images in British painting, including the ‘Darnley’ and ‘Armada’ portraits of Elizabeth I. Several of the works have never been shown outside London, including a portrait of Jane Seymour after Hans Holbein the Younger and the highly unusual Sir Henry Unton (c.1558–1596) portrait, which was painted posthumously and charts key moments in his life and death.

Through the portraits, the exhibition explores this torrid period of religious conflict and political intrigue, the legacies of which continue to reverberate through contemporary British life. It features vivid likenesses of many of the most significant figures of the time, including Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh, Thomas Cranmer, Thomas More, William Cecil and Thomas Cromwell, whose fame has recently been revived by Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy.

Beginning with the oldest painting in the NPG’s collection, a 1505 portrait of the first Tudor king, Henry VII, the exhibition follows the family’s successive generations and their courtiers, including the Protestant spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham (c.1585) and Nicholas Hilliard’s dashing miniature portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh (c.1585).

Image credit: Queen Elizabeth I by Unknown artist, circa 1588 © National Portrait Gallery, London

This exhibition at the Holburne Museum is kindly supported by The Tudors: Passion, Power and Politics Exhibition Supporters Circle:

Dr and Mrs Martin Clarke
Eva and Van DuBose

With additional support from the Holburne Museum’s Director’s Circle, Patrons, and Friends.

Tickets & Booking 

Before you visit please read our Museum Charter and Q&A at our coronavirus page.
Your entry ticket Includes all of our Special exhibitions, temporary displays in addition to our permanent collection. Valid all day for the date you book and not timed (you can enter any time during our normal opening hours). There are no timed entry tickets.
You can book in advance here, or you can also just purchase tickets on arrival at the Museum.
Last Admissions to the Museum is 4.30pm.
Once you have booked online you will receive a confirmation email. Please show this on your mobile or smart device on entry or print it off at home and show on entry.

We look forward to seeing you.

Venue

The Holburne Museum
Holburne Museum
Bath, BA2 4DB United Kingdom
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