The Arrest of Anne Boleyn. 1872. Oil on canvas; 37 3/8 x 59 1/2 inches (95 x 151 cm). Collection of the Royal Armouries Museum, London, accession no. 1.1606. Photo credit: Royal Armouries at the Tower of London. Image reproduced from Art UK for the purpose of non-commercial research. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
The Arrest of Anne Boleyn, another of Wynfield's historical genre pictures, was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1872, no. 497. It was accompanied by the following quotation in the catalogue: "During dinner her ladies, who knew what was coming, durst hardly speak to her. Scarcely had the 'surnap' been removed when the Duke of Norfolk, and one or two Lords of the Council, entered her presence, accompanied by Sir William Kingston, the Constable of the Tower. At the sight of the latter, the Queen started up in terror."
In the painting Anne Boleyn can be seen standing up abruptly at the entrance of the Lords of the Council. Her ladies in waiting also look on in trepidation at their entrance. The distinguished elderly gentleman in black standing to the left of the doorway is the Duke of Norfolk, while Sir William Kingston is presumably the man in armour. The Duke of Norfolk’s features are based on a portrait of him by Hans Holbein in the Royal Collection. In the foreground of the hall in which Boleyn was dining two young male servants are folding up a white tablecloth next to a splendid silver bowl and dish. Three magnificent stained-glass windows are seen in the background.
The picture surprisingly was not extensively reviewed when it was shown at the Royal Academy. The critic for The Art Journal felt this was a work of refinement that removed it from the commonplace:
The arrest of Anne Boleyn (497), D. W. Wynfield, seems to have been studied very carefully, with a view of rescuing the composition from the charge of common place – and with much success; for there is a refinement in the dispositions which separates it from the mass of pictures containing only a throng of characters. The arrest took place while the Queen and her ladies were yet at table, having just concluded their dinner. Scarcely had the cloth been removed, when the Duke of Norfolk and one or two Lords of the Council entered the room, accompanied by Sir W. Kingston, Constable of the Tower. At the sight of the last, the Queen started up in terror, and this is precisely the instant which the artist has chosen. The alarm of the Queen, the mute terror of her attendants, and the ceremonious entry of the Commissioners, with the Constable in armour, are sufficiently intelligible; but the importance of these circumstances is entirely superseded by the removal of the table-cloth by the pages, to which the rest is only susidiary. The feeling that has led to this arrangement is the prevalent reverence for the unschooled simplicities of early Art, and hence Mr. Wynfield achieved the individuality he desires; and if we are surprised that so little use should be made here of gradations and shade, much more so are we in another picture. [182]
Bibliography
"The Royal Academy." The Art Journal New Series XI (July 1, 1872): 181-86.
The Arrest of Anne Boleyn at Greenwich. Art UK. Web. 12 December 2023.
Created 12 December 2023