The life-size cartoon of Henry VIII and his father, belonging to the Duke of Devonshire, until recently at Hardwick Hall (Pl. 18),[212] is, though only a working drawing, a superb example of Holbein’s mastery of composition on a monumental scale. It is the original design for the left-hand part of the Whitehall fresco, and along its outlines the prickings are still visible by means of which the design was pounced on the wall. It provides evidence that Van Leemput’s copy was a faithful one, for, with one important exception, the two agree in all points. The exception is in the position of the King’s head. In the cartoon it is about three-quarters to the right, but in the copy it has been turned so that the monarch is looking directly at the spectator. Woltmann is, no doubt, right when he suggests that the change was made by the express wish of Henry himself while the wall-painting was in progress.[213] He desired to be shown full-fronted to the world, for he was proud of his appearance, more particularly of his calves, as more than one contemporary anecdote shows. In his younger days, at the beginning of his reign, he was the most commanding figure at the English court, praised by all for his good looks, and celebrated for his great bodily strength and for his proficiency in all manly sports and exercises. He is thus described by the Venetian ambassador Pasqualigo in 1515; “His Majesty is the handsomest potentate I ever set eyes on; above the usual height, with an extremely fine calf to his leg; his complexion very fair and bright, with auburn hair combed straight and short in the French fashion; and a round face so very beautiful, that it would become a pretty woman, his throat being rather long and thick.”[214] Footnote 212: Now (1913) at Chatsworth. Woltmann, 167. Reproduced by Davies, p. 168; Ganz _Holbein_, p. 180; _Burlington Fine Arts Club Exhibition_, 1909, _Catalogue_, Pl. i. Footnote 213: Woltmann, i. 421. Footnote 214: _C.L.P._, vol. ii. pt. i. 411.