Anne Boleyn's eyes
It is difficult to try and picture Anne Boleyn without conjuring up images of her beautiful black eyes that are so often referred to in contemporary descriptions.
“According to the French poet, Lancelot de Carles, her most attractive feature was ‘her eyes, which she well knew how to use. In truth such was their power that many a man paid his allegiance.’ She used her eyes, he tells us, to invite conversation, and to convey the promise of hidden passion.” (Weir, Pg. 151)
The Venetian diplomat, Francesco Sanuto, described Anne as: ‘Not one of the handsomest women in the world; she is of middling stature, swarthy complexion, long neck, wide mouth, a bosom not much raised and eyes which are black and beautiful.’ (Ives, p. 40)
Anne learned many lessons whilst in France: singing, dancing, playing the lute and other instruments but as Starkey states ‘the instrument on which she became most adept was herself’ (Pg. 263). She was later remembered as beautiful, with an elegant figure and ‘eyes that were even more attractive’.
David Starkey states that “her eyes were large and black and she deployed them with practiced skill: ‘Sometimes keeping them in repose; on other occasions, sending them forth as messengers, to carry the secret witness of the heart.’ Such was their power, that many men were hers to command.” (Pg. 263)
It is clear that Anne was not a conventional beauty but her intelligence, wit, style, grace and determination made her incredibly alluring. Her large, expressive black eyes obviously captivated those that beheld them and added to her magnetism.
But was there something more to Anne’s eyes apart from their obvious beauty?
Well, in a recent discussion about the lure of Anne Boleyn on our Facebook page, one of our readers, Mike, shared with us the following fascinating information:
“I came across an interesting argument/ fact in my audio lectures from Prof. Dale Hoak. He was talking about Anne’s magnetism and touched upon her dark eyes. He pointed out that Anne might have had “backlit” eyes. This is a somewhat rare trait caused by pigmentation that causes the eyes to be more vibrant. An unfortunate parallel in history is that Adolf Hitler also had backlit eyes. Sources are abound of how captivating he was during conversations. Perhaps this feature, along with her flowing black hair added to the mystique of this renaissance woman.”
As you can imagine, this immediately caught my attention. After a little investigating I discovered that Dr Dale Hoak has very impressive credentials:
Emeritus of History at The College of William and Mary in Virginia. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the College of Wooster, his master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and his doctorate from Clare College, University of Cambridge.
Dr. Hoak received the prestigious Outstanding Faculty Award from the Commonwealth of Virginia, awarded by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia for 1997.
In addition to teaching at William and Mary, Professor Hoak is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and an Associate Fellow of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge. He held fellowships and grants from the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Philosophical Society, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
A nationally recognized authority on Tudor England, Professor Hoak published a variety of articles, papers, and reviews and is the author and editor of four books, including Tudor Political Culture (1995).
I emailed Dr Hoak who promptly responded confirming that the ‘backlighting’ theory is his own. He also mentioned that Elizabeth Taylor is said to have such eyes but is weary of the fact that contact lenses could be used to achieve such an effect in our modern world.
I have responded by asking for some more clarification, as I am not clear on the ‘backlighting’ trait apart from the idea that pigmentation causes the eyes to appear more vibrant. I have not been able to find any other information on the Internet and so am eagerly awaiting Dr Hoak’s response.
If you have ever heard of this trait then please enlighten me!
In the meantime, I will be sure to update you once I receive a response.
There is always something interesting to investigate and discuss when it comes to Anne Boleyn and the Tudors!
Update 16.2.11
Dr Hoak has very kindly responded to my email confirming that ‘backlighting’, so to speak, is not a medical condition, “It is only a physical aspect of the actual pigmentation — the effect makes it look (to the viewer) as if there is a light in one’s eyes — a kind of irredescent look, a brightness.”
References Ives, E. The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn, 2004. Starkey, D. Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII, 2003. Weir, A. The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 2007.
Oh, this is quite amazing! I know Elizabeth I was near-sighted and her pupils enlarged because of it, giving her eyes a dark look that was attractive–of course, when in love, the pupils widen when looking at the beloved–as humans, we must like that look–but the other, I had never heard. Thank you so much!
This is very interesting! Couple of years ago an ophthalmologist told me that i have “pigmentation” in my eyes, which is apparently one of the risk factors of glaucoma. Last december another eye doctor verified this. The funny thing is, that people have always commented on my eyes being beautiful and special: that it looks as if there is lightning or fire in my eyes, that my eyes are glittering and sparkling, et cetera. Many have given me the nickname “starry eyed” 🙂
This is interesting! This is exactly what Professor Hoak believes Anne may have had. I have never met a person with this pigmentation, fascinating!
Interesting post. The more I think about, the more there is to say.
I’ve seen the starry, or sparkling, eyes that Lumi describes. They seem to have a dozen different bright colours in the iris. But Anne Barnhill comments on the black eyes caused by enlarged pupils, which is a different effect. The most amazing eyes I’ve seen in a woman were violet (mind you, I’m slightly colour blind so ironically that may be in the eye of the beholder) but sadly I didn’t get close enough to tell if it was the pupil or pigmentation effect.
The portrait of Boleyn is a copy, so it’s unlikely it carried over the artist’s observation of the sitter’s eyes. If the original were done by a great artist, like Holbein, then we might have had greater insight.
Despite English propaganda, it’s well established that Hitler had great charisma. I’ve read that women remarked in particular on the power of his blue eyes while in personal conversation, one claiming that it was like he was looking into her soul. He died only 75 years ago, and we have plenty of images, but none that conveys that quality. Maybe the women were just overwhelmed by the attentions of a famous and powerful man. If it was about the eyes and all the photos and film of Hitler fail to show that up, then trying to trace that quality in someone who lived hundreds of years ago must be impossible.
Anyway, I googled for Hoard’s notion of backlighting – no success. If it has merit, then I guess portrait artists would be familiar with it. Angle worth exploring.
Another interesting point to note is that the pigmentation that seems to cause this ‘sparkling’ is always moving and that is why it seems impossible to catch on camera. According to Lumi, on one occasion she was told that the pigmentation was worse in her left eye and then on another visit, she was told it was worse in her right eye. The point being that it is not something that remains the same, it is always changing.
I agree with you Stephen, Holbein might have captured the ‘sparkle’ in Anne’s eyes but it seems we will never know for sure. Unless of course an original Holbein portrait is uncovered in the depths of some great manor house or castle somewhere! We can always hope.
Elizabeth Taylor’s eyes are also said to have this quality. Her eyes are violet aren’t they?
I think the portrait artists is a great angle. Thank you for the suggestion!
Even though people are commenting on my “sparkly eyes”, i have myself never noticed any special sparkle in my eyes. Not really when i look in to the mirror, and not in any photos that are taken of me. That´s why i think the sparkling effect is something you can only notice when the person (with the sparkly eyes) is moving or making expressions. I mean, when you see the person live in front of you. That´s why, i believe, it´s something you can´t really capture in pictures. Hope you understand what i mean, english is not my own language.. 🙂
About the instability of the pigmentation: i´ve understood the changes happen very slowly, in months or years, and are of course something that only a docotor can see with a microscope. But if the sparking has to do with the pigmentation of the eyes, then it must mean that the persons eyes can be more or less sparkly from time to time too.
Lately i have not had so much comments on my “sparkly” eyes, but a few years ago i had a funny incident: i was talking with a friend of mine, we had a vivid discussion concerning some important issue. Suddenly he looked really scared, jumped back, stumbled in his own feet and fell down. He said “NOW i understand what it means when it´s said that somebody´s eyes are fiery!” 😀
This may sound odd but someone once told me I have ‘Anne Boleyn Eyes’, back before I was obsessed with her. My eyes are almost black, and, apparently, they sparkle. I’ve never really seen anything special in them but I just thought it may be worth mentioning.
william gerost from France I must admit that British history interests me more than our history and I particularly love England history from the Saxon arrival to the end of the Tudors; being quite fascinated by Anne Boleyn ; having recently learnt that there is a presumably x ray portrait of Anne under an old portrait of Elizabeth 1 we can see a reconstruction drawing of this x ray portrait in the article ” through the eyes of Anne Boleyn ” but to me Anne should have been more reddish brown hair than proper brown on the drawing and her eyes darker ; to me the drawer has probably been a bit mistaken by the fact that x rays always enlighten features and of course eyes What do you think of it?? thanks for a reply
I have a friend we jokingly call “vampire eyes” because her eyes glow. I’ve never heard of the term “backlit” but that describes it exactly. It’s not all the time but her normally brown eyes sometimes turn this eerie lumiscent color, and you can’t stop staring at them.. People ask her all the time if she’s wearing contacts!