Editing Hans Holbein the Younger (section)

== Biography ==

=== Early career ===
[[File:Ambrosius and Hans Holbein, by Hans Holbein the Elder.jpg|thumb|Hans (right) and [[Ambrosius Holbein]], by [[Hans Holbein the Elder]], 1511. [[Silverpoint]] on white-coated paper, [[Berlin State Museums]]]]
[[File:Wohnhaus 1528 und 1531 von Hans Holbein dem Jüngeren (1497-98–1543) St-Johanns-Vorstadt 22 in Basel.jpg|thumb|Hans Holbein's home during his time in [[Basel]], Switzerland]]

Holbein was born in the [[free imperial city]] of [[Augsburg]] during the winter of 1497–98.<ref>Ganz, 1; Wilson, 3. The date is deduced from the age noted by Holbein's father on the portrait of his sons.</ref> He was a son of the painter and draughtsman [[Hans Holbein the Elder]], whose trade he and his older brother, [[Ambrosius Holbein|Ambrosius]], followed. Holbein the Elder ran a large and busy workshop in Augsburg, sometimes assisted by his brother Sigmund, also a painter.<ref>Müller, ''et al.'', 6.</ref>

By 1515, Hans and Ambrosius had moved as journeymen painters to the city of [[Basel]], a centre of learning and the printing trade.<ref>Bätschmann & Griener, 104. Basel had allied itself in 1501 with the [[Old Swiss Confederacy|Swiss Confederates]], a group of [[Cantons of Switzerland|cantons]] that had broken free of imperial rule. Many Basel citizens, however, remained proud of their imperial connections: the Madonna that Holbein painted for Jakob Meyer, for example, wears the imperial crown.</ref> There they were apprenticed to Hans Herbster, Basel's leading painter.<ref>North, 13–14; Bätschmann and Griener, 11; Claussen, 47. Hans Holbein the Elder and his brother Sigmund also moved away from Augsburg at about this time, but the reasons for the Holbein family's disappointment in the city is not known.</ref> The brothers found work in Basel as designers of [[woodcut]]s and [[metalcut]]s for printers.<ref>Sander, 14.</ref> In 1515, the preacher and theologian [[Oswald Myconius]] invited them to add pen drawings to the margin of a copy of ''[[The Praise of Folly]]'' by the [[humanist]] scholar [[Desiderius Erasmus]] of [[Rotterdam]].<ref>Zwingenberger, 13; Wilson, 30, 37–42. For example: [[:File:A Scholar Treads on a Market Woman's Basket of Eggs, marginal drawing by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|''A Scholar Treads on a Basket of Eggs'']] and [[:File:Folly Steps Down from the Pulpit, marginal drawing by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|''Folly Steps Down from the Pulpit'']].</ref> The sketches provide early evidence of Holbein's wit and humanistic leaning. His other early works, including the double portrait of Basel's mayor [[Jakob Meyer zum Hasen]] and his wife [[:File:Dorothea Meyer, by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|Dorothea]], follow his father's style.<ref>Sander, 15. See: [[:File:Hans Holbein d. J. 009.jpg|''Portrait of Jakob Meyer'']] and [[:File:Hans Holbein d. J. 008.jpg|''Portrait of Dorothea Meyer'']].</ref> With Meyer zum Hasen, Holbein maintained a close working relationship until the latter was sacked in 1521.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Stein|first=Wilhelm|title=Holbein der Jüngere|publisher=Julius Bard Verlag|year=1920|location=Berlin|pages=29}}</ref> 

The young Holbein, alongside his brother and his father, is pictured in the left-hand panel of Holbein the Elder's 1504 altar piece [[triptych]] the ''Basilica of St. Paul'', which is displayed at the Staatsgalerie in Augsburg.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02h9c5v/p02h9bfz|title=BBC – Basilica of St Paul by Holbein the Elder – BBC Arts – Paintings featured in Holbein: Eye of the Tudors|website=BBC}}</ref>
[[File:Detail of Holbein the Elder's 1504 altar-piece triptych the Basilica of St. Paul.jpg|thumb|A detail of Hans Holbein the Elder's 1504 altar-piece triptych ''Basilica of St. Paul'', showing portraits of the artist and his two sons Hans (left) and Ambrosius (right)]]
[[File:HolbeinErasmusFollymarginalia.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Hans Holbein's marginal drawing of Folly (1515), in the first edition, a copy owned by Erasmus himself (Kupferstichkabinett, Basel)]]
In 1517, father and son began a project in [[Lucerne]] (Luzern), painting internal and external murals for the merchant Jakob von Hertenstein.<ref>See [[:File:Leaina Before the Judges, by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|'' Leaina Before the Judges'']], a design for a Hertenstein mural.</ref> While in Lucerne, Holbein also designed cartoons for [[stained glass]].<ref>Bätschmann and Griener, 11; North, 13. For example: [[:File:Design for a Stained Glass Window with the Coronation of the Virgin, by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|''Design for a Stained Glass Window with the Coronation of the Virgin'']].</ref> The city's records show that on 10 December 1517, he was fined five livres for fighting in the street with a goldsmith called Caspar, who was fined the same amount.<ref>Rowlands, 25; North, 13. On another occasion, Holbein was fined for his involvement in a knife fight.</ref> That winter, Holbein probably visited northern Italy, though no record of the trip survives. Many scholars believe he studied the work of Italian masters of [[fresco]], such as [[Andrea Mantegna]], before returning to Lucerne.<ref>Wilson, 53–60; Buck, 20; Bätschmann and Griener, 148; Claussen, 48, 50. Doubt has been cast on the tradition that Holbein visited Italy since artists' biographer [[Karel van Mander]] (1548–1606) stated that Holbein never went there. It has been argued by Peter Claussen, for example, that Italian motifs in Holbein's work might have derived from engravings, sculptures, and artworks seen in Augsburg. On the other hand, Bätschmann and Griener quote a document of 1538 in which the Basel authorities gave Holbein permission to sell his work in "France, England, Milan or in the Netherlands" as support for the view that he had travelled to Milan since he is known to have travelled to the other three places named.</ref> He filled two series of panels at Hertenstein's house with copies of works by [[Andrea Mantegna]], including ''[[The Triumphs of Caesar]]''.<ref>Bätschmann & Griener, 68. Holbein worked from prints, but Bätschmann & Griener argue that Hertenstein, who presumably requested these copies, might have sent the artist to Italy to view the originals himself.</ref>

[[File:Holbein-erasmus.jpg|thumb|upright|''Portrait of [[Desiderius Erasmus|Erasmus of Rotterdam]]'', 1523. Oil and [[tempera]] on wood, [[National Gallery, London]], on loan from [[Longford Castle]]]]

In 1519, Holbein moved back to Basel. His brother fades from the record at about this time, and it is usually presumed that he died.<ref>Müller, ''et al.'', 11, 47; Wilson, 69–70. Wilson cautions against too readily accepting that Ambrosius died, since other explanations for his disappearance from the record are possible. However, only Hans Holbein claimed their father's estate when he died in 1524.</ref> Holbein re-established himself rapidly in the city, running a busy workshop. He joined the [[painters' guild]] and took out Basel citizenship.<ref>Müller, Christian (2006), pp.194–195</ref> He married Elsbeth Binsenstock-Schmid 1519,<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Die Malerfamilie in Basel|year=1960|location=Basel|pages=210|language=de}}</ref> a widow a few years older than he was, who had an infant son, Franz, and was running her late husband's [[Tanning (leather)|tanning]] business. She bore Holbein a son of his own, Philipp, in their first year of marriage<ref>Wilson, 70.</ref> a girl called Katharina in 1526 and two more children, Jacob and Küngold in later years.<ref name=":2" /> 

Holbein was prolific during this period in Basel, which coincided with the arrival of [[Lutheran]]ism in the city.<ref>North, 17. Lutheran Protestantism was introduced in Basel in 1522. After 1529, the ideas of [[Huldrych Zwingli]] (1484–1531) became widely accepted there, through the preaching of [[Johannes Oecolampadius]] (1482–1531).</ref> He undertook a number of major projects, such as external murals for ''The House of the Dance'' and internal murals for the Council Chamber of the [[Basel Town Hall|Town Hall]]. The former are known from preparatory drawings.<ref>For example: [[:File:Design for façade paintings for the House of the Dance, by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|''Design for façade painting for the House of the Dance'']]</ref> The Council Chamber murals survive in a few poorly preserved fragments.<ref>Rowlands, 53–54; Bätschmann & Griener, 64. See: [[:File:Samuel Cursing Saul, by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|''Samuel Cursing Saul'']], and [[:File:The Humiliation of Emperor Valerian by Shapur, King of Persia, by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|''The Humiliation of Emperor Valentinian by Shapur, King of Persia'']] (designs for the Council Chamber murals), and [[:File:Rehoboam. Fragment of Wall Painting from Basel Town Hall Council Chamber, by Hans Holbein the Younger..jpg|''Rehoboam'', a fragment of the Council Chamber murals]].</ref> Holbein also produced a series of religious paintings and designed cartoons for [[stained glass]] windows.<ref>For example: [[:File:Stained Glass Window Designs for the Passion of Christ, by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|''Stained Glass Window Designs for the Passion of Christ'']].</ref>

In a period of a revolution in book design, he illustrated for the publisher [[Johann Froben]]. His [[woodcut]] designs included those for the ''Dance of Death'',<ref>[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Danse_Macabre_(Holbein) ''Dance of Death'' woodcuts].</ref> cut by the [[formschneider]] [[Hans Lützelburger]]<ref name=":1">Stein, Wilhelm (1920), p.108</ref> the ''Icones'' (illustrations of the [[Old Testament]]),<ref>[[:File:Icones, Old Testament Illustrations, by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|Six of the ''Icones'' woodcuts.]]</ref> and the title page of [[Martin Luther]]'s [[Luther Bible|bible]].<ref>Strong,3; Wilson, 114–15; Müller, ''et al'', 442–45. [[:File:Luther bible, by HH.jpg|''Title Sheet of Adam Petri's Reprint of Luther's Translation of the New Testament.'']]</ref> Additionally he designed twelve [[alphabet]]s, of those a [[Greek alphabet|Greek]] and [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] for Froben.<ref name=":1" /> The letters were ornamented with depictions of [[List of Greek deities|Greek]] and [[List of Roman deities|Roman]] gods, heads of [[Caesar (title)|Caesars]], poets and philosophers.<ref>tein, Wilhelm (1920), pp.108–110</ref> Through the woodcut medium, Holbein refined his grasp of expressive and spatial effects.<ref>Bätschmann & Griener, 63.</ref> 

Holbein also painted the occasional portrait in Basel, among them the [[Double Portrait of Jakob Meyer zum Hasen and Dorothea Kannengießer|double portrait of Jakob and Dorothea Meyer]], and, in 1519, that of the young academic [[Bonifacius Amerbach]]. According to art historian Paul Ganz, the [[Portrait of Bonifacius Amerbach|portrait of Amerbach]] marks an advance in his style, notably in the use of unbroken colours.<ref>Ganz, 9.</ref> For Meyer, he painted an altarpiece of the Madonna which included [[donor portrait|portraits of the donor]], his wife, and his daughter.<ref>Ganz, 9. He later added the portrait of Meyer's first wife, after he returned from his first visit to London, by which time the demand for devotional art had largely dried up.</ref> In 1523, Holbein painted his first portraits of the great Renaissance scholar Erasmus, who required likenesses to send to his friends and admirers throughout Europe.<ref>Strong, 3; Rowlands, 56–59. Many copies of Holbein's portraits of Erasmus exist, but it is not always certain whether they were produced by the artist or by his studio.</ref> These paintings made Holbein an international artist. Holbein visited France in 1524, probably to seek work at the court of [[Francis I of France|Francis I]].<ref>Bätschmann and Griener, 11; Müller, ''et al.'', 12, 16, 48–49, 66.</ref> When Holbein decided to seek employment in England in 1526, Erasmus recommended him to his friend the statesman and scholar [[Thomas More]].<ref>"For a generation or more popular and establishment piety had led to the adornment and embellishment of churches, chapels, and cathedrals. Now there were different religious priorities and the overswelled ranks of the artists' guilds were feeling the pinch." Wilson, 116.</ref> "The arts are freezing in this part of the world," he wrote, "and he is on the way to England to pick up some angels".<ref>Letter to [[Pieter Gillis]] (Petrus Aegidius), August 1526. Quoted by Wilson, 120. An [[Angel (coin)|angel]] was an English coin.</ref>

=== England, 1526–1528 ===
[[File:Hans Holbein, the Younger - Sir Thomas More - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright|left|''[[Portrait of Sir Thomas More]]'', 1527. Oil and tempera on oak, [[Frick Collection]], New York City]]
Holbein broke his journey towards [[Antwerp]], where he delivered a recommendation from Erasmus to [[Pieter Gillis]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|title=Holbein, Zeichnungen vom Hofe Heinrichs VIII|publisher=Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers|year=1988|isbn=0-384-23843-2|pages=9}}</ref> In Antwerp, he also bought some oak panels and may have met the painter [[Quentin Matsys]].<ref>Bätschmann & Griener, 158.</ref> Gillis then seemed to have sent Holbein to the Court of England,<ref name=":02" /> where Sir [[Thomas More]] welcomed him to and found him a series of commissions. "Your painter, my dearest Erasmus," he wrote, "is a wonderful artist".<ref>Bätschmann & Griener, 160. Letter of 18 December 1526.</ref><ref name=":02" /> Holbein painted the famous ''[[Portrait of Sir Thomas More]]'' and another of More with his family. The group portrait, original in conception, is known only from a preparatory sketch and copies by other hands.<ref>Strong, 4; Wilson, 157–58. Strong suggests, with others, that More sent the sketch, which is now in Basel, to Erasmus as a gift; Wilson casts doubt on this, deducing from remarks by Erasmus that the gift was a finished version of the group portrait, since lost.</ref> According to art historian Andreas Beyer, it "offered a prelude of a genre that would only truly gain acceptance in Dutch painting of the seventeenth century".<ref>Beyer, 68.</ref> Seven fine-related studies of More family members also survive.<ref>For example: [[:File:John More, son of Sir Thomas More, by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|''Portrait Study of John More'']] and [[:File:Elizabeth Dauncey, by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|''Portrait Study of Elizabeth Dauncey'']]. "This group of drawings ranks among the supreme masterpieces of portraiture and surpasses in quality the more schematic and rapidly executed drawings of Holbein's later years." Waterhouse, 18.</ref>

During this first stay in England, Holbein worked largely for a humanist circle with ties to Erasmus. Among his commissions was the portrait of [[William Warham]], [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], who owned a Holbein portrait of Erasmus.<ref>[[:File:William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|''Portrait of William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury''.]]</ref> Holbein also painted the [[Bavaria]]n astronomer and mathematician [[Nicholas Kratzer]], a tutor of the More family whose notes appear on Holbein's sketch for their group portrait.<ref>Strong, 4. [[:File:Hans Holbein d. J. 037.jpg|''Portrait of Nicholas Kratzer'']].</ref> Although Holbein did not work for the king during this visit, he painted the portraits of courtiers such as Sir [[Henry Guildford]] and his wife Lady Mary,<ref>[[:File:Hans Holbein d. J. 057.jpg|''Portrait of Sir Henry Guildford'']] and [[:File:Hans Holbein the Younger - Mary, Lady Guildford.jpg|''Portrait of Mary, Lady Guildford'']].</ref> and of Anne Lovell, identified in 2003 or 2004<ref>"Who was Holbein's Lady with a squirrel and a starling?"[https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Who+was+Holbein%27s+Lady+with+a+squirrel+and+a+starling%3F+Ever+since+it...-a0116733377]"Gothic: art for England, 1400–1547, Victoria & Albert Museum"[https://www.theartnewspaper.com/archive/what-s-on-london-museums-and-galleries-gothic-art-for-england-1400-1547-victoria-and-albert-museum]</ref> as the subject of ''[[A Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling|Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling]]''.<ref>Wilson, 140; Foister, 30; King, 43–49. Anne Lovell's husband was Sir Francis Lovell, an [[esquire of the body]] to [[Henry VIII]].</ref> In May 1527, "Master Hans" also painted a panorama of the siege of [[Thérouanne]] for the visit of French ambassadors. With Kratzer, he devised a ceiling covered in planetary signs, under which the visitors dined.<ref>Strong, 4; Claussen, 50.</ref> The chronicler [[Edward Hall]] described the spectacle as showing "the whole Earth, environed with the sea, like a very map or cart".<ref>North, 21.</ref>

=== Basel, 1528–1532 ===
In August 1528, Holbein bought a house in Basel in St.Johanns-Vorstadt and became the neighbor of [[Hieronymus Froben]].<ref name=":03">{{Cite book|last=Stein|first=Wilhelm|title=Holbein der Jüngere|publisher=Julius Bard Verlag|year=1929|location=Berlin|pages=166|language=de}}</ref> For this house he paid a third in advance.<ref name=":03" /> He presumably returned home to preserve his citizenship, since he had been granted only a two-year leave of absence.<ref>Strong, 4.</ref> Enriched by his success in England, Holbein bought a second neighboring house in 1531<ref>''Holbein, Zeichnungen vom Hofe Heinrichs VIII''. p.11</ref> for which he initially advanced only a seventh of the price and was to pay a yearly rate during the following six years.<ref name=":03" /> 

During this period in Basel, he painted ''[[Portrait of the Artist's Family (Holbein)|The Artist's Family]]'', showing Elsbeth with the couple's two eldest children, Philipp and Katherina, evoking images of the Virgin and Child with [[St John the Baptist]].<ref>Bätschmann & Griener, 177.</ref> Art historian John Rowlands sees this work as "one of the most moving portraits in art, from an artist, too, who always characterized his sitters with a guarded restraint".<ref name="Rowlands, 76">Rowlands, 76.</ref>
[[File:Retrato de la esposa del artista con sus dos hijos, por Hans Holbein el Joven.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''[[Portrait of the Artist's Family (Holbein)|Portrait of the Artist's Family]]'', {{circa|1528}}. Oil and tempera on paper, cut out and mounted on wood. [[Kunstmuseum Basel]].]]

Basel had become a turbulent city in Holbein's absence. Reformers, swayed by the ideas of [[Zwingli]], carried out acts of [[Beeldenstorm|iconoclasm]] and banned imagery in churches. In April 1529, the free-thinking Erasmus felt obliged to leave his former haven for [[Freiburg im Breisgau]].<ref>Wilson, 156–57.</ref> The iconoclasts probably destroyed some of Holbein's religious artwork,<ref>Buck, 38–41; Bätschmann & Griener, 105–107; North, 25. The only known damage to a Holbein work was to [[:File:The Last Supper, by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|''The Last Supper'']], part of an altarpiece. The outer boards were lost during iconoclastic riots and the surviving section, on which only nine of the apostles can be seen, was later clumsily repaired.</ref> though the paintings on the organ doors of the [[Basel Minster]] were saved.<ref name=":03" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Die Orgeln und Organisten im Basler Münster|url=http://basler-muensterkonzerte.ch/die-orgeln-und-organisten-im-basler-muenster/index.html|access-date=2022-01-14|website=basler-muensterkonzerte.ch}}</ref> Evidence for Holbein's religious views is fragmentary and inconclusive. "The religious side of his paintings had always been ambiguous," suggests art historian John North, "and so it remained".<ref name="North, 24">North, 24.</ref> According to a register compiled to ensure that all major citizens subscribed to the new doctrines: "Master Hans Holbein, the painter, says that we must be better informed about the [holy] table before approaching it".<ref>Doctrinal issues concerning the communion were at the heart of Reformation theological controversy.</ref> In 1530, the authorities called Holbein to account for failing to attend the reformed communion.<ref>Buck, 134.</ref> Shortly afterwards, however, he was listed among those "who have no serious objections and wish to go along with other Christians".<ref>Wilson, 163; North, 23.</ref>

Holbein evidently retained favour under the new order. The reformist council paid him a retaining fee of 50 florins and commissioned him to resume work on the Council Chamber frescoes. They now chose themes from the [[Old Testament]] instead of the previous stories from classical history and allegory. Holbein's frescoes of [[Rehoboam]] and of the meeting between [[Saul]] and [[Samuel]] were more simply designed than their predecessors.<ref>Ganz, 7. See: [[:File:Rehoboam. Fragment of Wall Painting from Basel Town Hall Council Chamber, by Hans Holbein the Younger..jpg|''Rehoboam'', a fragment from a Council Chamber mural]], and [[:File:Samuel Cursing Saul, by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|''Samuel Cursing Saul'', a design for a Council Chamber mural]].</ref> Holbein worked for traditional clients at the same time. His old patron Jakob Meyer paid him to add figures and details to the family altarpiece he had painted in 1526. Holbein's last commission in this period was the decoration of two clock faces on the city gate in 1531.<ref name="Rowlands, 76" /> The reduced levels of [[patronage]] in Basel may have prompted his decision to return to England early in 1532.<ref>Strong, 4; Buck, 6. According to a letter written by the Basel student Rudolf Gwalther to the Swiss reformer [[Heinrich Bullinger]] in 1538, Holbein "considered conditions in that realm to be happy".</ref>

=== England, 1532–1540 ===

[[File:Hans Holbein the Younger - The Ambassadors - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|250px|''[[The Ambassadors (Holbein)|Double Portrait of Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve ("The Ambassadors")]]'', 1533; oil and tempera on oak, [[National Gallery, London]]]]

Holbein returned to England, where the political and religious environment was changing radically.<ref>Rowlands, 81. Holbein was in England by September 1532, the date of a letter from the Basel authorities asking him to return.</ref> In 1532, Henry VIII was preparing to repudiate [[Catherine of Aragon]] and marry [[Anne Boleyn]], in defiance of the pope.<ref>North, 26.</ref> Among those who opposed Henry's actions was Holbein's former host and patron Sir Thomas More, who resigned as [[Lord Chancellor]] in May 1532. Around this time, Holbein is supposed to have decorated the [[mortuary roll]] of [[John Islip]], [[abbot of Westminster]], one of the last mortuary rolls created.<ref>Block Friedman & Mossler Figg, 417.</ref> Holbein seems to have distanced himself from More's humanist milieu on this visit, and "he deceived those to whom he was recommended", according to Erasmus.<ref>Letter to Boniface Amerbach, quoted by Wilson, 178–79; Strong, 4.</ref> The artist found favour instead within the radical new power circles of the Boleyn family and [[Thomas Cromwell]]. Cromwell became the king's secretary in 1534, controlling all aspects of government, including artistic propaganda.<ref>Wilson, 213.</ref> More was executed in 1535 along with [[John Fisher]], whose portrait Holbein had also drawn.<ref>Wilson, 224–25; Foister, 120.</ref>

Holbein's commissions in the early stages of his second English period included portraits of Lutheran merchants of the [[Hanseatic League]]. The merchants lived and plied their trade at the [[Steelyard]], a complex of warehouses, offices, and dwellings on the north bank of the Thames. Holbein rented a house in Maiden Lane nearby, and he portrayed his clients in a range of styles. His portrait of [[Georg Giese]] of [[Gdańsk]] shows the merchant surrounded by exquisitely painted symbols of his trade. His portrait of Derich Berck of Cologne, on the other hand, is classically simple and possibly influenced by [[Titian]].<ref>Wilson, 184.</ref> For the guildhall of the Steelyard, Holbein painted the monumental allegories ''The Triumph of Wealth'' and ''The Triumph of Poverty'', both now lost. The merchants also commissioned a street tableau of [[Mount Parnassus]] for Anne Boleyn's coronation eve procession of 31 May 1533.<ref>Wilson, 183–86; Starkey, 496. According to historian David Starkey: "If the pageant as executed followed Holbein's surviving preparatory drawing at all faithfully, it was the most sophisticated piece of Renaissance theatrical design that London would see till the spectacular masque settings of Inigo Jones almost a century later".</ref>

[[File:Henry VIII of England, by Hans Holbein.jpg|thumb|upright|left|''[[Portrait of Henry VIII]]'', {{Circa|1536}}. Oil and tempera on oak, [[Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum]], Madrid.]]
Holbein also portrayed various courtiers, landowners, and visitors during this time, and his most famous painting of the period was ''[[The Ambassadors (Holbein)|The Ambassadors]]''. This life-sized panel portrays [[Jean de Dinteville]], an ambassador of [[Francis I of France]] in 1533, and [[Georges de Selve]], Bishop of [[Lavaur, Tarn|Lavaur]] who visited London the same year.<ref>Buck, 98; North, 7. North suggests that the identification of the figure on the right as Dinteville's brother, the Bishop of Auxerre, was a mistake in an inventory of 1589; the bulk of scholarship follows M. F. S. Hervey (1900), who first identified the bishop as de Selve. See also Foister ''et al.'', 21–29.</ref> The work incorporates symbols and paradoxes, including an anamorphic (distorted) skull. According to scholars, these are enigmatic references to learning, religion, mortality, and illusion in the tradition of the [[Northern Renaissance]].<ref>Buck, 103–104; Wilson, 193–97; Roskill, "Introduction", Roskill & Hand, 11–12. For a detailed online analysis of the painting's symbolism and iconography, see Mark Calderwood, [https://web.archive.org/web/20060423155438/http://www.newcastle.edu.au/school/fine-art/arttheoryessaywritingguide/analysisofhansholbeinstheambassadors.html "The Holbein Codes"]. Retrieved 29 November 2008.</ref> Art historians Oskar Bätschmann and Pascal Griener suggest that in ''The Ambassadors'', "Sciences and arts, objects of luxury and glory, are measured against the grandeur of Death".<ref>Bätschmann & Griener, 184.</ref>

[[File:Remigius van Leemput - Whitehall Mural.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Copy in oils of the 1536–1537 Whitehall mural, this copy was commissioned by [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] in 1667;, Left to right Henry VIII; Henry VII; Elizabeth of York; Jane Seymour]] 
[[File:Hans Holbein the Younger - Edward VI as a Child - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''Portrait of [[Edward VI]] as a Child'', {{circa|1538}}. Oil and tempera on oak, [[National Gallery of Art]], Washington D. C.]]
No certain painted portraits survive of Anne Boleyn by Holbein, perhaps because her memory was purged following her execution for treason, incest, and adultery in 1536,<ref>Parker, 53–54; Wilson, 209–10; Ives, 43. A drawing at Windsor inscribed "Anna Bollein Queen" has been discounted as incorrectly labelled by K. T. Parker and other scholars, citing heraldic sketches on the reverse. Anne's biographer Eric Ives believes that there is "little to reinstate" that drawing or another at the British Museum inscribed "Anne Bullen Regina Angliæ … decollata fuit Londini 19 May 1536", though he speculates that a 17th-century copy by [[John Hoskins (painter)|John Hoskins]] "from an ancient original" may be based on a lost Holbein portrait of Anne. Derek Wilson, however, follows the recent scholarship of Starkey/Rowlands in arguing that the Windsor drawing ''is'' of Anne. He doubts that [[John Cheke]] was mistaken, who made the attribution in 1542 since Cheke knew many who had seen Anne.</ref> although there is a drawing, as made from life by Holbein preparatory to painting a portrait.<ref>{{cite news| last=Jones | first=Jonathan | title='Some of the most startling portraits in existence': Hans Holbein's mini masterpieces | newspaper=The Guardian | date=25 October 2023 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/oct/25/hans-holbein-drawings-tudor-court-queens-gallery-london}}</ref> It is clear, however, that Holbein worked directly for Anne and her circle.<ref>Rowlands, 88, 91.</ref> He designed a cup engraved with her device of a falcon standing on roses, as well as jewellery and books connected to her. He also sketched several women attached to her entourage, including her sister-in-law Jane Parker.<ref>Wilson, 208–209.</ref> At the same time, Holbein worked for Thomas Cromwell as he masterminded Henry VIII's reformation. Cromwell commissioned Holbein to produce reformist and royalist images, including anti-clerical woodcuts and the title page to [[Myles Coverdale]]'s English translation of the Bible. Henry VIII had embarked on a grandiose programme of artistic patronage. His efforts to glorify his new status as Supreme Head of the Church culminated in the building of [[Nonsuch Palace]], which started in 1538.<ref>Strong, 5.</ref>
By 1536, Holbein was employed as the King's Painter on an annual salary of 30 pounds—though he was never the highest-paid artist on the royal payroll.<ref>Müller, ''et al.'', 13, 52; Buck, 112. The precise date is unknown of Holbein's appointment, but he was referred to in 1536 as the "king's painter" in a letter from French poet Nicholas Bourbon whom Holbein painted in 1535.</ref> Royal "pictor maker" [[Lucas Horenbout]] earned more, and other continental artists also worked for the king.<ref>Strong, 6; Rowlands, 96; Bätschmann & Griener, 189.</ref> In 1537, Holbein painted his most famous image: Henry VIII standing in a heroic pose with his feet planted apart.<ref>Strong, 5. Strong calls it "arguably the most famous royal portrait of all time, encapsulating in this gargantuan image all the pretensions of a man who cast himself as 'the only Supreme Head in earth of the Church of England'."</ref> The left section has survived of Holbein's cartoon for a life-sized wall painting at [[Whitehall Palace]] showing the king in this pose with his father behind him. The mural also depicted [[Jane Seymour]] and [[Elizabeth of York]]. It was destroyed by fire in 1698, but is known from engravings and from a 1667 copy by [[Remigius van Leemput]].<ref>Buck, 115.</ref> An earlier half-length portrait shows Henry in a similar pose,<ref>Buck, 119; Strong, 6. This is the small portrait now in the [[Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum]], Madrid.</ref> but all the full-length portraits of him are copies based on the Whitehall pattern.<ref>Rowlands, 118, 224–26.</ref> The figure of Jane Seymour in the mural is related to Holbein's sketch and painting of her.<ref>Buck, 117.</ref>

Jane died in October 1537, shortly after bearing Henry's only legitimate son [[Edward VI]]. Holbein painted a portrait of the infant prince about two years later, clutching a sceptre-like gold rattle.<ref>Buck, 120; Bätschmann & Griener, 189.</ref> Holbein's final portrait of Henry dates from 1543 and was perhaps completed by others, depicting the king with a group of barber surgeons.<ref>Buck, 128–29; Wilson, 273–74; Rowlands, 118; Foister, 117. A preparatory drawing for this composition also survives, painted in by a later hand.</ref>

Holbein's portrait style altered after he entered Henry's service. He focused more intensely on the sitter's face and clothing, largely omitting props and three-dimensional settings.<ref>Strong, 7; Waterhouse, 19.</ref> He applied this clean, craftsman-like technique to miniature portraits such as that of [[Jane Small]], and to grand portraits such as that of [[Christina of Denmark]]. He travelled with [[Philip Hoby]] to Brussels in 1538 and sketched Christina for the king, who was appraising the young widow as a prospective bride.<ref>Wilson, 251. The likeness met with Henry's approval, but Christina declined the offer of marriage: "If I had two heads," she said, "I would happily put one at the disposal of the King of England".</ref> John Hutton, the English ambassador in Brussels, reported that another artist's drawing of Christina was "sloberid" (slobbered) compared to Holbein's.<ref>Auerbach, 49; Wilson, 250.</ref> In Wilson's view, Holbein's subsequent oil portrait is "the loveliest painting of a woman that he ever executed, which is to say that it is one of the finest female portraits ever painted".<ref>Wilson, 250.</ref> 

The same year, Holbein and Hoby went to France to paint Louise of [[House of Guise|Guise]] and [[Anna of Lorraine]] for Henry VIII. Neither portrait of these cousins has survived.<ref>Wilson, 251–52.</ref> Holbein found time to visit Basel, where he was fêted by the authorities and granted a pension.<ref>Wilson, 252–53.</ref> On the way back to England, he apprenticed his son Philipp to Basel-born goldsmith Jacob David in Paris.<ref>Müller, ''et al.'', 13; Buck, 126.</ref>

[[File:Detail from Portrait Anna von Kleve by Hans Holbein d. J. (Louvre).jpg|thumb|Holbein's portrait of Anne of Cleves (detail)]]
Holbein painted [[Anne of Cleves]] at [[Burgau Castle]], posing her square-on and in elaborate finery. This was the woman whom Henry married at [[Düren]] at the encouragement of Thomas Cromwell in the summer of 1539.<ref>Wilson, 260.</ref> English envoy [[Nicholas Wotton]] reported that "Hans Holbein hath taken the effigies of my Lady Anne and the lady Amelia [Anne's sister] and hath expressed their images very lively".<ref>Starkey, 620.</ref> Henry was disillusioned with Anne in the flesh, however, and he divorced her after a brief, unconsummated marriage. There is a tradition that Holbein's portrait flattered Anne, derived from the testimony of [[Anthony Browne (died 1548)|Sir Anthony Browne]].

Henry said that he was dismayed by her appearance at Rochester, having seen her pictures and heard advertisements of her beauty—so much that his face fell.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=eyYwAAAAYAAJ Strype, John, ''Ecclesiastical Memorials'', vol 1 part 2, Oxford (1822)], 456–457, "altered his outward countenance, to see the Lady so far unlike."</ref> No one other than Henry ever described Anne as repugnant; French Ambassador [[Charles de Marillac]] thought her quite attractive, pleasant, and dignified, though dressed in unflattering, heavy German clothing, as were her attendants.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0QnXAwAAQBAJ&q=anne%20of%20cleves%20unattractive%20Anthony%20Browne%20Marillac&pg=PP55 | title=Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII's Discarded Bride| isbn=9781445606774| last1=Norton| first1=Elizabeth| date=15 October 2009| publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited}}</ref><ref>Schofield, 236–41; Scarisbrick, 484–85.</ref> Some of the blame for the king's disillusionment fell on Thomas Cromwell, who had been instrumental in arranging the marriage and had passed on some exaggerated claims of Anne's beauty.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oku_BAAAQBAJ&q=Henry%20VIII%20%20%20cromwell%20%20anne%20of%20cleves%20unattractive&pg=PT73 | title=Henry VIII and his Court| isbn=9781849891172| last1=Muhlbach| first1=Luise| date=14 May 2010| publisher=Andrews UK Limited}}</ref> This was one of the factors that led to Cromwell's downfall.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P1PrjR79wzgC&q=cromwell%20anne%20of%20cleves%20Duchess%20of%20Milan%20%22as%20the%20golden%20sun%20did%20the%20silver&pg=PA77 | title=The Marrying of Anne of Cleves: Royal Protocol in Early Modern England| isbn=9780521770378| last1=Warnicke| first1=Retha M| date=13 April 2000| publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref>

=== Last years and death, 1540–1543 ===

Holbein had deftly survived the downfall of his first two great patrons, Thomas More and [[Anne Boleyn]], but Cromwell's sudden arrest and execution on trumped-up charges of heresy and treason in 1540 undoubtedly damaged his career.<ref>Wilson, 265; Schofield, 260–64. Cromwell's reluctance to arrange a divorce for Henry lay naked behind his fall, though the matter was not mentioned in the bill of [[attainder]].</ref> Though Holbein retained his position as King's Painter, Cromwell's death left a gap no other patron could fill. It was, ironically, Holbein's portrait of [[Anne of Cleves]] which largely led to Cromwell's downfall: furious at being saddled with a wife he found entirely unattractive, the King directed all his anger at Cromwell. Granted, Cromwell had exaggerated her beauty,<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0C1LAwAAQBAJ&q=cromwell%20anne%20of%20cleves%20her%20charms&pg=PA118 | title=Thomas Cranmer and the English Reformation, 1489–1556| isbn=9781592448654| last1=Pollard| first1=Alfred W| date=14 September 2004| publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers}}</ref> but there is no evidence that Henry blamed Holbein for supposedly flattering Anne's looks.

[[File:Astronomical clock, design by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|thumb|upright|''Design for [[Anthony Denny]]'s Clocksalt, 1543.'' Pen and black ink on paper with grey wash, and red wash on the compass, [[British Museum]], London.<ref>Foister, 76–77. A clock salt was a complex instrument, including a clock, hourglass, sundial and compass.</ref>]]
Apart from routine official duties, Holbein now occupied himself with private commissions, turning again to portraits of Steelyard merchants. He also painted some of his finest miniatures, including those of [[Henry Brandon, 2nd Duke of Suffolk|Henry Brandon]] and [[Charles Brandon, 3rd Duke of Suffolk|Charles Brandon]], sons of Henry VIII's friend [[Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk]] and his fourth wife, [[Catherine Willoughby]]. Holbein managed to secure commissions among those courtiers who now jockeyed for power, in particular from [[Anthony Denny]], one of the two chief gentlemen of the bedchamber. He became close enough to Denny to borrow money from him.<ref>Wilson, 273, 276; North, 31. Holbein asked in his will for "Mr Anthony, the king's servant of Greenwich", to be repaid; scholars have usually presumed this to be Denny.</ref> He painted Denny's portrait in 1541 and two years later designed a clock-salt<ref>A clock-salt was essentially a combined clock and [[salt-cellar]], sometimes with other functions.{{cite web | title=A Royal Treasure and its Role in the Renaissance Court: The Royal Clock Salt | website=Royal Historical Society | date=17 October 2018 | url=https://royalhistsoc.org/calendar/a-royal-treasure-and-its-role-in-the-renaissance-court-the-royal-clock-salt/}}</ref> for him. Denny was part of a circle that gained influence in 1542 after the failure of Henry's marriage to [[Catherine Howard]]. The king's marriage in July 1543 to the reformist [[Catherine Parr]], whose brother Holbein had painted in 1541, established Denny's party in power.

Holbein may have visited his wife and children in late 1540, when his leave of absence from Basel expired. None of his work dates from this period, and the Basel authorities paid him six months' salary in advance.<ref>Wilson, 267. Also, his uncle, the painter Sigmund Holbein, had died that autumn in [[Bern]], leaving him substantial money and effects.</ref> The state of Holbein's marriage has intrigued scholars, who base their speculations on fragmentary evidence. Apart from one brief visit, Holbein had lived apart from Elsbeth since 1532. His will reveals that he had two infant children in England, of whom nothing is known except that they were in the care of a nurse.<ref>Wilson, 245, 269; North, 31.</ref> 

Holbein's unfaithfulness to Elsbeth may not have been new. Some scholars believe that Magdalena Offenburg, the model for the ''Darmstadt Madonna'' and for two portraits painted in Basel, was for a time Holbein's mistress.<ref>North, 26; Wilson, 112–13.</ref> Others dismiss the idea.<ref>Claussen, 50. Claussen dismisses the theory as "pure nonsense".</ref> One of the portraits was of [[Lais of Corinth]], mistress of [[Apelles]], the famous artist of Greek antiquity after whom Holbein was named in humanist circles.<ref>Wilson, 112–13.</ref> Whatever the case, it is likely that Holbein always supported his wife and children.<ref>Müller, ''et al.'', 13; Wilson, 253, 268. Franz Schmid, Elsbeth's son by her first husband, travelled to Berne to take possession of Sigmund Holbein's estate in 1540. This implies that Hans Holbein's finances were still shared with his wife. Franz Schmid succeeded to the estate in Berne on 4 January 1541.</ref> When Elsbeth died in 1549, she was well off and still owned many of Holbein's fine clothes; on the other hand, she had sold his portrait of her before his death.<ref>Wilson, 253–54, 268, 278. Philipp and Jakob Holbein later became goldsmiths, the first moving to Augsburg, the second to London, where he died in 1552. The two daughters married merchants in Basel.</ref>

Hans Holbein died between 7 October and 29 November 1543 at the age of 45.<ref>Wilson, 277</ref> [[Karel van Mander]] stated in the early 17th century that he died of the plague. Wilson regards the story with caution since Holbein's friends attended his bedside; and Peter Claussen suggests that he died of an infection.<ref>Claussen, 53.</ref> Describing himself as "servant to the king's majesty", Holbein made his will on 7 October at his home in [[Aldgate]]. The goldsmith [[Hans of Antwerp|John of Antwerp]] and a few German neighbours signed as witnesses.<ref>Wilson, 276.</ref> 

Holbein may have been in a hurry, because the will was not witnessed by a lawyer. On 29 November, John of Antwerp, the subject of several of Holbein's portraits, legally undertook the administration of the artist's last wishes. He presumably settled Holbein's debts, arranged for the care of his two children, and sold and dispersed his effects, including many designs and preliminary drawings that have survived.<ref>Wilson, 278.</ref> The site of Holbein's grave is unknown and may never have been marked. The churches of [[St Katherine Cree]] or [[St Andrew Undershaft]] in London are possible locations, being located near his house.<ref>Wilson, 277; Foister, 168; Bätschmann and Griener, 10. From the location of his house, scholars deduce that Holbein was buried in either the church of St Katherine Cree or in that of St Andrew Undershaft.</ref>