Скачать или смотреть National Portrait Gallery | Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens

The National Portrait Gallery reopens with a compelling exhibition, the first dedicated to historic portraiture since its closure. Titled "Six Lives," this display features Tudor-era paintings by Hans Holbein the Younger alongside contemporary photographs by Hiroshi Sugimoto. Such distinctive pairing sheds light on the lives and legacies of King Henry VIII's 6 wives, and is on view from June 20 to September 8, 2024.

While the gallery generally has free entry, I visited with the specific purpose of seeing Sugimoto's works in this ticketed exhibition. His photographic interpretations of royal portraits felt like a journey back in time, demonstrating his exceptional talent of breathing life into his subjects.

One question I had was why only the 6 wives were depicted, without King Henry VIII. Sugimoto’s works always include 7 portraits, not 6, which should remain consistent with the artist’s rule.