Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references are outdated.

What questions does the portrait raise in your mind?

What messages does the artist intend to convey?

How does the artist convey those messages to the intended audience? What might have been the circumstances under which the painting was created?

How does the picture relate to the cultural, social, political and religious contexts of Tudor England which influenced its creation?

What is the value of the picture as a source of historical evidence?

And, as historical evidence, what clues does it contain to answer the questions that you raised?