In 1538, Han Holbein the Younger painted what would become his most controversial work, a portrait of Anna of Cleves. Anna was the sister of William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, a Protestant Duke of Germany whom Henry VIII of England (himself a fairly recent convert to the Protestant cause) saw as a potential ally against the Catholic realms of Europe. Anna was under consideration Henry were already betrothed when Henry commissioned Holbein to paint his soon to be wife – and Henry stressed that he wanted a truthful depiction.
When the painting arrived, Henry was pleased with what he saw, and the two were married in 1540. However, the reality of Anna disappointed Henry, and the marriage was annulled a few months later, with the portrait being claimed by Henry to have misled him.
