The Balbusso twins are Italian independent artists based in Milan. Artists at heart from a very young age, they have, since 1998, united their forces to work together in illustration. A prize-winning choice. They obtained the 2018 Award of Excellence in Communication Arts Annual Illustration © 2017-2018 Balbusso Twins, through their series Six Tudor Queens Portraits, Cover Arts. In this series, they realized the portraits of the Queens Catherine of Aragon, Jane Seymour and Anne Boleyn for the covers and frontispieces of Six Tudor Queens of Alice Weir.
A series of historical fiction that follows the wives of King Henry VIII. The structure of the cover is a portrait of one of the Queens in a circular frame, as laid on a tapestry decorated with heraldic emblems. The illustrations reflect the personality and charisma of each of these women. In their work, the importance of art history is paramount, and careful historical and iconographic research has been put in place.
” The English and Spanish portraits painting between 1500 and 1600 have been our inspiration. Hans Holbein’s portraits of the Tudor court have been our main reference, richly decorated with gold and precious jewels. Our portraits are not the copy of existing historical paintings but they are our free interpretation. We have chosen a regal posture and a central composition with an American plan, representing about three-quarters of the figure. The Queens faces, expression and overall look and feel want to be a little more contemporary”.
To discover more of their work: @balbusso_twins 
