Hans Holbein the Younger: 6 works

'The great German portrait painter Holbein spent much of his life in England, employed by private patrons and the Court. Among his chief commissions for Henry VIII was a mural in Whitehall Palace showing the King and his wife, Jane Seymour, accompanied by Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.'

'Probably painted during Holbein's first visit to England in 1526-8, it has been suggested, very plausibly, that the sitter is Anne Lovell.'

'This small double portrait was produced on Holbein's first journey to England.'

'Holbein became painter to the court of King Henry VIII of England in 1536. After the artist's death in 1543, numerous drawings of members of the court were found in his studio.'

'This likeness of the famous Tudor king is a magnificent example of Holbein's remarkable style, characterised by a monumental rendering of figures which are nonetheless endowed with considerable psychological depth. In this markedly linear portrait, Holbein uses the frontal pose of the regal model and the position of his hands to convey the sitter's powerful personality and majestic bearing.'

'After the Reformation had brought social and political upheaval to Germany, creating an unfavorable climate for artists, Holbein moved to England in 1526. He first painted for Sir Thomas More's circle of high servants of the crown and then became painter to the King himself, Henry VIII.'