The Age of Renaissance 1420-1600
Henry VIII ,c.1540s Private Collection.
The Ambassadors (1533) National Gallery London
Born at Augsburg, Germany, the son of Hans Holbein the Younger, Holbein studied under his father and then went to Basle with his brother Ambrosius as apprentice to Hans Herbst. Subsequently he worked also in Zurich and Lucerne. He returned to Basel in 1519, married and settled there. To his Swiss period belong his mostly religious works. In 1524 he went to France and thence to England in 1526, where he finally took up residence six years later. There being no demand for religious painting s in England at that time, he concentrated on portraiture, producing outstanding portraits of Sir Thomas More and Henry VIII, whose service he entered officially in1537. From then until his death he produced numerous sensitive and lively studies of the king and his wives, his courtiers and high officials of state. He also designed stained-glass windows and executed woodcuts.
Hans Holbein the Younger: Born 1497 Augsburg, Germany. Died 1543
