Episode description

Marrying someone based on a portrait was part of life in Renaissance Europe. An exhibition in Bath explores the politics of wedlock and painting - New Generation Thinker Christina Faraday has been to visit. Eleanor Chan has been studying the history of depicting musical notes on the page, whilst Sew What podcast host Isabella Rosner looks at needlework skills in Tudor England. John Gallagher hosts the conversation.

Producer: Nick Holmes

BBC Radio 3 is marking the anniversary of the Tudor composer William Byrd with episodes of Composer of the Week, concerts including one during the Proms season at Londonderry and other discussions - all available on BBC Sounds.

You can also find Eleanor Chan's Essay about another Tudor composer - The discordant tale of Thomas Weelkes .

Painted Love: Renaissance Marriage Portraits runs at the Holburne Museum in Bath until October 1st 2023.

Christina Faraday's book Tudor Liveliness: Vivid Art in Post-Reformation England is out now from Yale University Press.

You might also be interested in other Free Thinking conversations about Tudor history, including:

The Tudor Mind with guests including Helen Hackett https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0017dsp

Tudor Families with guests including Joanne Paul and Emma Whipday https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0017dvc

What do you call a stranger with guests including Nandini Das and John Gallagher https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b89ssp

A collection of discussions about Shakespeare collected on the Free Thinking programme website