John Henry Fuseli/ Johann Heinrich Füssli, Queen Katherine's Dream

Fylde Borough Council

Date: exhibited 1781
Technique: Oil on canvas, 1800 x 2400 x 120 mm

In a scene from Shakespeare’s King Henry VIII (1613), Queen Katherine dreams of eternal happiness while on her deathbed. As the ‘spirits of peace’ depart from her, she raises her arms in joy. Katherine of Aragon (1485-1536) was the wife of Henry VIII from 1501 until their divorce in 1533, causing the break from Rome and allowing Henry to marry Ann Boleyn.

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