Sibylle of Cleves
1526
This striking portrait features Sibylle of Cleves, painted by the German Renaissance master Lucas Cranach the Elder in 1526. She's decked out in a fabulous red gown with those trendy slashed sleeves that were all the rage among the nobility, topped off with a delicate, vine-like headdress that frames her long, flowing red hair. While she might not be as famous as her daughter Anna of Cleves—who briefly became Henry VIII's fourth wife—Sibylle was a major political player in her own right. Cranach captures her with that signature cool, almost detached gaze he was famous for, making her look both elegant and formidable.
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