Hans Holbein the Younger (''c''. 1497–1543) was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a

Northern Renaissance The Northern Renaissance was the Renaissance that occurred in Europe north of the Alps. From the last years of the 15th century, its Renaissance spread around Europe. Called the Northern Renaissance because it occurred north of the Italian Renais ...

style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century.Zwingenberger, 9. He also made a significant contribution to the history of book design, and produced religious art, satire, and

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

propaganda. Born in

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...

, Holbein worked mainly in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

as a young artist, painting murals and religious works and drawing designs for stained glass and printed books. He produced the occasional portrait, and made his international mark with portraits of the famous humanist

Desiderius Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...

of Rotterdam. When the

reached Basel, Holbein produced works for reformist clients while continuing to serve traditional religious patrons. His late-Gothic style was influenced by artistic trends in Italy, France and the Netherlands, as well as by

Renaissance humanism Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista) referred to teache ...

, resulting in a combined aesthetic that was uniquely his own. Holbein travelled to England in 1526 in search of work, armed with a recommendation from Erasmus. He was welcomed into the humanist circle of

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

, where he soon built a high reputation. After returning to Basel for four years, in 1532 he resumed his career in England, where he worked for

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

and

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false char ...

, and was appointed King's Painter to Henry VIII. In this role, he produced designs for jewellery, plate, and other precious objects, as well as for festive decorations. His portraits of the king and his family and courtiers provide a vivid record of a brilliant court, during a momentous period when Henry was assuming power as the

Supreme Head The title of Supreme Head of the Church of England was created in 1531 for King Henry VIII when he first began to separate the Church of England from the authority of the Holy See and allegiance to the papacy, then represented by Pope Clement VI ...

of the English church.

Paintings

Copies and derivative works

References

*Bätschmann, Oskar, & Pascal Griener. ''Hans Holbein.'' London: Reaktion Books, 1997. . *Buck, Stephanie. ''Hans Holbein'', Cologne: Könemann, 1999, . * *Foister, Susan. ''Holbein in England.'' London: Tate: 2006. . *Franklin-Harkrider, Melissa. ''Women, Reform and Community in Early Modern England.'' Boydell Press, 2008
google books preview
*Ganz, Paul. ''The Paintings of Hans Holbein: First Complete Edition.'' London: Phaidon, 1956
OCLC 2105129.
*Hearn, Karen. ''Dynasties: Painting in Tudor and Jacobean England, 1530–1630.'' London: Tate Publishing, 1995. . *de Lisle, Leanda. ''The Sisters Who Would Be Queen.'' Random House Publishing Group, 2009
google books preview
*Müller, Christian; Stephan Kemperdick; Maryan W. Ainsworth; ''et al.''. ''Hans Holbein the Younger: The Basel Years, 1515–1532.'' Munich: Prestel, 2006. . *Parker, K. T. ''The Drawings of Hans Holbein at Windsor Castle.'' Oxford: Phaidon, 1945
OCLC 822974.
*Roskill, Mark, & John Oliver Hand (eds). ''Hans Holbein: Paintings, Prints, and Reception.'' Washington: National Gallery of Art, 2001. . *Rowlands, John. ''The Age of Dürer and Holbein''. London: British Museum, 1988. . *Rowlands, John. ''Holbein: The Paintings of Hans Holbein the Younger.'' Boston: David R. Godine, 1985. . * Strong, Roy. ''Holbein: The Complete Paintings.'' London: Granada, 1980. . *Strong, Roy. ''Tudor & Jacobean Portraits''. London: HMSO, 1969
OCLC 71370718.
*Zwingenberger, Jeanette. ''The Shadow of Death in the Work of Hans Holbein the Younger.'' London: Parkstone Press, 1999. .

External links

2006 exhibition ''Holbein in England'' at Tate Britain
{{Lists of paintings

Holbein Hans Holbein may refer to: * Hans Holbein the Elder Hans Holbein the Elder ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Ältere; – 1524) was a German painter. Life Holbein was born in free imperial city of Augsburg (Germany), and died in Issenheim, Alsa ...