I imagined John Blanke as a talented career musician and a popular personality. He was a confident man, a traveller and a dedicated practitioner.

I imagine Blanke’s life would have been a very interesting tale of his origins and his life experiences which led to a period of life in England as trumpeter who rose in the ranks of his orchestra to be a mainstay at King Henry VIII’s court.

No doubt Blanke was very much a curiosity but that he was equally as curious about the natives and felt accepted and settled, probably some charm and wit to complement the novelty of being an exotic foreigner.

​My picture shows him feeling casual after he has performed and dismounted, party to his own thoughts as the Tudor world he inhabits marvel at John Blanke.

Mengistu Etim
Freelance Caricaturist and Illustrator.​