The King's Glass: A Story of Tudor Power and Secret Art

by Carola Hicks, illustrated (Illustrator)

Each year more than 250,000 people visit the Chapel of King's College, Cambridge, one of Europe's best-known buildings. This book tells the untold story of the Chapel's crowning glory, its stained glass windows, and of the people who created them - the triumphant culmination of a project completed despite wars, the death of kings and violent religious conflict. The glass symbolises the power of the Tudors, and is a mirror of their souls. Planned by Henry VII and continued by Henry VIII, the windows are dynastic propaganda, simultaneously blatant and subtle, boasting the ancient lineage of an upstart monarchy. Their unfolding scenes honoured the Catholic faith that Henry VIII was challenging in the 1530s, when he made himself head of the church to marry Anne Boleyn. The windows show how Henry commemorated his wives in art, then airbrushed them out when they fell from favour, and how he recruited leading artists to make this England's response to the Sistine Chapel.

The great 'King's Glass' also flaunts the skills of its makers, many of them innovative immigrants. It is a tale of guilds and artisans as well as of the court. It is, too, a history of England, reflecting change, conflict and modernity in the sixteenth century. Exploring the stories behind these luminous treasures, this fascinating book, as vivid as a novel, uncovers the power struggles behind the beauty of the past.

Genres: History, Art History

246 pages, Hardcover

First published March 30, 2010

About the author

Carola Hicks studied archaeology at Edinburgh University, and was an actress, journalist and House of Commons Researcher, before taking up an academic career. For several years she was curator of the Stained Glass Museum at Ely Cathedral, and then became a Fellow and Director of Studies in art history at Newnham College, Cambridge. Her books include Animals in Early Medieval Art, Improper Pursuits: The Scandalous Life of Lady Di Beauclerk, and two fine 'biographies' of works of art: The Bayeux Tapestry: The Life Story of a Masterpiece and Girl in a Green Gown: The History and Mystery of the Arnolfini Portrait.

Reviews

[Helene Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review - I actually enjoyed reading this book more than I thought I would. It cleverly intersperses history with architecture and art to explain how the Tudors used badges, banners and symbolism in their palaces, events and colleges. I thought the writing was a little dry in places, but the images certainly give you an idea of what the Tudors had in mind, and what they wanted to demonstrate to the people; an early form of propaganda.

General Subject/s? - History / Art / Architecture / Tudors / Buildings

Recommend? – Yes

Rating - 15/20

[Annette Hamm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as Hicks’s Girl in a Green Gown, which I really loved, but it did give me a greater appreciation of stained glass techniques in general and the Cambridge King’s College stained glass in particular. I think it would be more enjoyable to someone who is really familiar with this art; much of that part of the book kind of went over my head.