Nonsuch Palace from the South

The V&A Museum has acquired the earliest and most detailed representation of Henry VIII’s lost palace of Nonsuch palace.

Called Nonsuch, as no other palace could compare with it, this building was commissioned by Henry VIII in 1538. The watercolour was made in 1568 and signed and dated by the celebrated Flemish painter Joris Hoefnagel.

Joris Hoefnagel's painting of Nonsuch Palace
Joris Hoefnagel's painting of Nonsuch Palace
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Region
London
Grant awarded
£500,000
Year awarded
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Earliest watercolour of Henry VIII’s Nonsuch palace saved

Subject to a temporary export ban earlier this year, it has now been saved for the nation. Purchased with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) and the Art Fund, the watercolour – the most faithful of only six surviving depictions of the palace – joins the national collection of British miniatures and watercolours at the V&A. It will go on display in the Museum’s British Galleries from Saturday 10 December.