Sunday, February 24, 2013

Louis (or Louise) II of Hungary

Oh, and I also came across this painting of a red-haired royal.


It was painted by Bernhard Strigel and is supposedly of Louis II, King of Hungary, Bohemia and Croatia. This surprised me, as on first inspection I just assumed it to be a woman. Either way the person portrayed is undoubtedly red-haired.

More Red Hair in Portrait Paintings

Following my last post I've been looking at portrait paintings from the Tudor period for signs of red hair. These are the fruits.

Mary Tudor, Queen of France

Mary was the daughter of Henry VII and younger sister of Henry VIII. She married King Louis XII of France. A Venetian ambassador described her as "a paradise - tall, slender, grey-eyed, possessing an extreme pallor." According to Wikipedia she "wore her glorious silken red-gold hair flowing loose to her waist."


Joan of Austria

Joan was the first wife of Grand Duke Francesco de Medici. I couldn't find a mention of her hair colour, but in this painting she looks pretty ginger.


Monday, February 18, 2013

Joanna the Mad

Just discovered another royal ginger hoe - Joanna the Mad aka Joanna of Castile. She was married to Philip the Handsome and reigned over the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon. She was also the last monarch of the House of Trastamara. According to Wiki her hair was between reddish-blonde and auburn.