Levina Teerlinc facts for kids
Levina Teerlinc (born in the 1510s – died June 23, 1576) was a talented Flemish artist from the Renaissance period. She was famous for painting very small portraits, called miniatures. Levina worked as a painter for the English royal court, serving four different rulers: Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I.
She was the most important miniature painter at the English court between two other famous artists, Hans Holbein the Younger and Nicholas Hilliard. Her father, Simon Bening, was also a well-known artist who created beautiful illuminated manuscripts (decorated books). He probably taught her how to paint tiny pictures. Levina might have worked in her father's art studio before she got married.
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Levina Teerlinc's Life Story
Levina Teerlinc was born in Bruges, a city in Flanders (which is now part of Belgium), sometime in the 1510s. She was one of five daughters of the famous miniature painter, Simon Bening.
In 1545, she married George Teerlinc and moved to England. By 1546, she was working as a court painter for the Tudor royal family. She painted for King Henry VIII, King Edward VI, Queen Mary I, and Queen Elizabeth I. From 1546 until she died in 1576, she received an annual salary of £40. This was a very good salary, even more than what the famous artist Hans Holbein the Younger received!
Levina Teerlinc was the only female painter officially working for King Henry VIII's court. Queen Mary I once gave her a special gift of a silver salt container. In return, Levina gave the Queen a small painting of the Trinity. In 1559, Levina was asked to teach painting to the King's daughter at the Spanish Court. Levina and her husband had one son named Marcus. She passed away in Stepney, London on June 23, 1576.
Levina Teerlinc's Artworks
It's tricky to say for sure which artworks were painted by Levina Teerlinc because she didn't always sign her paintings. However, she was one of the most important artists at court who specialized in miniature painting. She created many portraits of Queen Elizabeth I between 1559 and 1576. She also painted for Queen Mary I.
Levina Teerlinc is very important because of her role in making miniature portraits popular. She might have even taught Nicholas Hilliard, who was originally a goldsmith, how to paint these tiny portraits.
Some experts believe that many of her miniature paintings were lost in a big fire at the Palace of Whitehall. However, there are a few existing paintings that people believe are hers. This is because she was the main miniature painter in the English court between Hans Holbein the Younger (who died in 1543) and Nicholas Hilliard (who became famous in the 1570s).
In 1983, an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum brought together a group of miniature paintings that were thought to be by Levina Teerlinc. This helped experts agree on which works might be hers. The group included five miniatures and two illuminated manuscript pages. Among them was a miniature of Lady Katherine Grey. Experts described her style as having "thin and transparent" paint with "loose" brushstrokes.
Levina Teerlinc also likely designed the Great Seal of England for Queen Mary I and the first one used by Queen Elizabeth I.
Known and Suspected Works
Here are some of the artworks that are believed to be by Levina Teerlinc:
- At the Victoria and Albert Museum:
- Portrait of Lady Katherine Grey, painted around 1555–60.
- Portrait of a Young Woman, painted in 1566.
- Portrait of Mary Dudley, Lady Sidney, painted around 1575.
- Other collections:
- Portrait of Queen Mary I, possibly by Teerlinc, in the Duke of Buccleuch's collection.
- Portrait of a Young Woman, possibly by Teerlinc, in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle.
- Portrait of Elizabeth I in State Robes, possibly by Teerlinc, in the Welbeck Abbey collection.
Images for kids
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Katherine Grey, Countess of Hertford by Levina Teerlinc, c. 1555-1560. The Victoria and Albert Museum, P.10&A-1979
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Portrait of Elizabeth I attributed to Levina Teerlinc, c. 1565. The Royal Collection
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Mary Dudley, Lady Sidney by Levina Teerlinc, c. 1575. The Victoria and Albert Museum, E.1170-1988
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Edward VI by Levina Teerlinc. After William Scrots's portrait of the young King of c. 1550
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Amy Robsart – The Beaufort Miniature by Levina Teerlinc, c.1559. Private Collection
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Katherine Grey, Countess of Hertford by Levina Teerlinc. The Victoria and Albert Museum, P.21-1954. Heavily overpainted. The date of '1549' is a later addition and the costume is typical of Mary’s reign which would accord with the age of the sitter, about fifteen to twenty, circa 1555-60
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Elizabeth I when a Princess by Levina Teerlinc, c. 1551. The Paine Miniature. In October 1551 Levina Teerlinc was sent with her husband to the Princess Elizabeth 'to drawe out her picture'
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The Coronation Miniature – Portrait of Elizabeth I in State Robes. Welbeck Abbey Collection, formerly in the collection of the Duke of Portland.
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Mary Neville, Lady Dacre by Levina Teerlinc
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Portrait of a man, possibly Sir George Carew. Bought in 1970 together with the Yale Miniature from the collection of Miss Dorothy Hutton. At the time it was thought to have been painted by the same hand as the Yale Miniature
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Mary I "healing" scrofula by touch. A 16th-century illustration by the Queen's miniaturist Levina Teerlinc from Queen Mary's manual for blessing cramp rings and touching for Evil. Before 1558
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Henry VIII. A recent technical analysis has shown that this miniature was painted by the same hand as the Yale Miniature
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Katherine Parr by Levina Teerlinc. The Sudeley Miniature
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Katherine Brydges, Lady Dudley by Levina Teerlinc, c. 1560. A courtier to both Mary I and Elizabeth I. The daughter of John Brydges, 1st Baron Chandos and the wife of Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley
