Mark Satchwill Art
"Anne Of Cleves"
ACEO, 2.5 x 3.5 inches, watercolor, gouache and gold ink, 2007
Anne of Cleves was the fourth wife of Henry VIII. The marriage was a political one. Henry agreed to the marriage only having seen a portrait of Anne and having heard glowing reports of her virtue and honesty. However, when Anne finally arrived in England and the two met, Henry was bitterly disappointed with her and was furious, feeling he had been lied to. Anne spoke no English and while she spoke and wrote German and was skilled at needlework, she was rather innocent and naive. One doubts if Anne was exactly thrilled at the sight of the enormously fat Henry either. However, the marriage went ahead as planned in 1540. The weding night was not a success - Henry was so repulsed by Anne he was unable to consummate the marriage - Anne was so sexually naive she was unaware of this and her ladies-in-waiting had to explain it all to her. Six months later the marriage was annulled, the minister who had arranged the whole debacle, Cromwell, had been executed and the King was making plans to marry Catherine Howard. As for Anne, wisely she agreed to the annullment and went along with all that was asked of her. She was given money and property and lived out the rest of her life quietly, dying in 1557.
"Catherine Howard"
ACEO, 2.5 x 3.5 inches, watercolor, gouache and gold ink, 2007
Catherine Howard was the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She had been a Lady-In-Waiting to his previous wife, Anne Of Cleves, and was a cousin of his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Henry was 50 and fat when she married him, she was in her late teens. She was rather young, foolish and indiscreet. She was beheaded two years later after being found guilty of adultery and treason.
"Katharine Parr"
ACEO, 2.5 x 3.5 inches, watercolor, gouache and gold ink, 2007
Katharine Parr was the last of Henry VIII six wives. She had been married and widowed twice before and was 31 when she married Henry. She had already begun a relationship with Thomas Seymour (brother of Jane) but once the King proposed she was unable to refuse him. Henry was in his 50's by this time, hugely fat, bad tempered and suffering from gout, a leg ulcer and possibly syphillis. They were married in 1543. Katharine was an intelligent and religious woman, though her views and ideas were more radical than Henry's. They often argued about theology and her enemies tried to use this against her and have her arrested - however, she managed to convince the king that her arguments were only to take his mind off his illnesses. She was on good terms with all the King's children and helped fix relations between the King and his two female children Mary and Elizabeth. She was widowed again when Henry died in 1547. She married her previous suitor, Thomas Seymour soon after. She died a year later, age 35, after giving birth to a daughter.
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