Sunday 24 February 2013

Sir Henry Guildford


Sir Henry Guildford 1489 - 1532

Over the last month or so I have been putting together a unit of Yeomen of the Guard ; being a key point of interest in the army it has taken me a while thus far but I'm more than half way. So as something of a WIP and also a moment to give some background to their Captain I present to you Sir Henry Guildford.


Guildford was appointed Captain of the YOTG in 1512 and held the post for a year - the crucial bit was nailing exactly when he passed his captaincy but eventually I learned that it was after the campaign so he was my man. Being a prominent and loyal courtier to Henry his promotion to Captain followed naturally from a combination of his connections, deeds and personal appeal - he was also a member of the King's Spears and was appointed as standard bearer to the king immediately prior to embarkation. He served in the middle
ward alongside the King.

 
I took some inspiration from the above Holbein portrait of Guildford which though dating from 1527 captures something of the grandeur and presence of the man. In place of the dark fur lined coat in the Holbein portrait (and typical of most Tudor nobles) I decided to paint a richly decorative coat of red damask and cloth of gold, the pattern for which is loosely based upon this renaissance portrait;


The accompanying Yeomen which Guildford will be based among are all wearing green and white livery so i'm hoping that this should also help him stand out a bit.

The figure is a Wargames Foundry Landsknecht command figure with the addition of a warhammer from the Perry men at arms boxed set.  


More on his unit soon.....when my eyes recover !

All the best

Stuart.

14 comments:

  1. Fantastic work on his coat...very luxurious. It's a shame we can't buy spare sets of eyes when the old ones get too frail!

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  2. Fabulous and beautiful. A great bit of history as well, thanks.

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  3. That coat is amazing! Not saying that *I* would wear it, but I wish I could paint that at 28mm!

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  4. Woooooown the paintjob is awesome (Andy is right, the coat is amazing) !
    J-B

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  5. Great work, with a fantastic, luxurious looking coat!
    Phil.

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  6. That is stupendous. I had to show my missus (disinterested I all things miniature) and even she was impressed!

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  7. Wow, great looking piece there. I can see why your eye's need to recover. The unit should look fantastic once all finished.

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  8. Greate looking minis, stunning paint work !

    Best regards Michael

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  9. Great painting and colours on the coat - looks really sumptuous - must nab the colours...is there a pattern painted on (tricky to see)?
    Wonderful...as ever.
    Simon.

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    1. Cheers Simon, the pattern is based upon a portrait of Eleanor of Toledo, i've updated the post to include it as it's quite a good reference.

      The colours are Foundry palettes of Scarlet, Black and Ochre with a few brown washes to add depth.

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  10. That coat is breathtaking, your flair for portraying luxurious fabrics at this scale is brilliant.

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  11. What can i say that hasnt been said already? The coat is magnificent. Thank you as always for sharing!!!

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