Hans Holbein the Younger (c. 1498 — between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was
a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is
best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also
produced religious art, satire and Reformation propaganda, and made a
significant contribution to the history of book design. He is called "the
Younger" to distinguish him from his father, Hans Holbein the Elder, an
accomplished painter of the Late Gothic school.
Born in Augsburg, Holbein worked mainly in Basel as a young artist. At first he
painted murals and religious works and designed for stained glass windows and
printed books. He also painted the occasional portrait, making his international
mark with portraits of the humanist Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam. When the
Reformation reached Basel, Holbein worked for reformist clients while continuing
to serve traditional religious patrons. His Late Gothic style was enriched by
artistic trends in Italy, France, and the Netherlands, as well as by Renaissance
Humanism. The result was a combined aesthetic uniquely his own.
Holbein travelled to England in 1526 in search of work, with a recommendation
from Erasmus. He was welcomed into the humanist circle of Thomas More, where he
quickly built a high reputation. After returning to Basel for four years, he
resumed his career in England in 1532. This time he worked for the twin founts
of patronage, Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell. By 1535, he was King's Painter to
King Henry VIII. In this role, he produced not only portraits and festive
decorations but designs for jewellery, plate, and other precious objects. His
portraits of the royal family and nobles are a vivid record of a brilliant court
in the momentous years when Henry was asserting his supremacy over the English
church.
Holbein's art was prized from early in his career. The French poet and reformer
Nicholas Bourbon dubbed him "the Apelles of our time". Holbein has also been
described as a great "one-off" of art history, since he founded no school. After
his death, some of his work was lost, but much was collected, and by the 19th
century, Holbein was recognised among the great portrait masters. Recent
exhibitions have also highlighted his versatility. He turned his fluid line to
designs ranging from intricate jewellery to monumental frescoes. Holbein's art
has sometimes been called realist, since he drew and painted with a rare
precision. His portraits were renowned in their time for their likeness; and it
is through Holbein's eyes that many famous figures of his day, such as Erasmus
and More, are now "seen". Holbein was never content, however, with outward
appearance. He embedded layers of symbolism, allusion, and paradox in his art,
to the lasting fascination of scholars. In the view of art historian Ellis
Waterhouse, his portraiture "remains unsurpassed for sureness and economy of
statement, penetration into character, and a combined richness and purity of
style".
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