Real face of Anne Boleyn may finally be revealed after 'hiding in plain sight' for centuries

The real face of Anne Boleyn may have finally been revealed after her identity was questioned earlier this year. A team of computer scientists, led by the University of Bradford, used facial recognition technology on a collection of Tudor portraits to uncover a previously-unknown sketch of Henry VIII's second wife. This discovery, described as 'exciting,' involves analyzing drawings in the Holbein collection to identify a sketch of Boleyn that has been mistakenly labeled as an 'unidentified woman' for centuries. Anne Boleyn married Henry VIII in 1533 but reigned for only three years before her execution on charges of adultery, incest, and treason. Every painted portrait of her was created after her death, leaving her true appearance a mystery. The research team, led by Karen Davies, believes the algorithm identified a sketch of Boleyn that has been hiding in plain sight. Dr. Charlotte Bolland, a senior curator at the National Portrait Gallery, notes that Boleyn's brief reign hindered the creation of a definitive visual record of her appearance. The team compared digital copies of drawings in the Holbein collection, examining key facial features across each sketch. They used a machine-learned algorithm to compare these sketches to Boleyn’s first cousins and daughter, Elizabeth I, to identify any family resemblances. The algorithm rates facial similarity through 'percentage clustering,' helping to build a visual family tree based on shared facial features. Despite rigorous peer review, art historian Dr. Bendor Grosvenor has criticized the findings, arguing that the Holbein sketch is likely genuine and questioning the validity of analyzing artworks like modern photographs. Dr. Grosvenor points out that the identified sketch’s features—such as blonde hair and informal dress—may be misinterpretations. The emotional significance of Boleyn’s story remains a subject of debate, with some researchers emphasizing the importance of the findings while others remain skeptical.