The life of Hans Holbein the Younger

Hans Holbein the Younger was a German painter, draughtsman and designer. He was born in Augsburg in the winter of 1497/98 and learned his trade in the workshop of his father, Hans Holbein the Elder. As a young man he worked in Basel, painting altarpieces, murals and portraits and designing woodcuts for the city’s printers. His portraits of the scholar Erasmus first made his name outside the city.

From 1532 he worked mainly in London, and by 1536 he was King’s Painter to Henry VIII. His portraits of the king, the court, foreign envoys and the German merchants of the Steelyard shape how we picture Tudor England. He also painted miniatures and designed jewellery, metalwork and book decoration. He died in London in 1543.

  1. 1497/98

    Born in Augsburg, the son of the painter Hans Holbein the Elder, in whose workshop he and his elder brother Ambrosius trained.

    Sources: nationalgallery.org.uk, hls-dhs-dss.ch

  2. 1515

    Working in Basel, probably as a journeyman with the painter Hans Herbster. With Ambrosius he draws in the margins of a copy of Erasmus’s Praise of Folly for the schoolmaster Oswald Myconius.

    Sources: en.wikipedia.org, hls-dhs-dss.ch

    • Page of a printed Latin book with a coloured initial and, in the margin, a pen drawing of Folly in a jester's cap speaking from a lectern.
    • Small panel of the head of a young female saint with long wavy auburn hair, a gold crown and a gilded halo, in a red bodice with a jewelled clasp against a pale blue ground.
    • Small panel of the head of a young male saint with thick curly brown hair and a gilded halo, turned slightly left, in an ochre robe and red cloak against a pale blue ground.
    • Half-length portrait of Dorothea Kannengiesser turned to the left, in a gold-striped white cap and red dress with a black and gold embroidered bodice, under a coffered arch with blue sky.
    • Half-length portrait of Jacob Meyer zum Hasen in a red hat and black gown over a white shirt, arms folded and holding a gold coin, before a carved Renaissance arch and blue sky.
    • Painted signboard with lines of black Gothic lettering above a scene of a schoolmaster at a table teaching two grown men in a panelled room with leaded windows.

    12 works dated 1515 to 1516

  3. 1517–19

    In Lucerne, probably with his father, painting murals for the house of the merchant Jakob von Hertenstein. He probably visits northern Italy during this stay.

    Sources: hls-dhs-dss.ch, en.wikipedia.org

    • Half-length portrait of the bearded Bonifacius Amerbach in a black hat and gown with a grey-green collar, turned to the left towards a Latin inscription tablet on a tree, against blue sky and mountains.
    • Half-length painting of a pale, fair-haired Eve holding a bitten apple, with curly-haired, bearded Adam leaning in behind her shoulder, against a dark ground.
    • Half-length portrait of Benedikt von Hertenstein in a red hat and black doublet with a pink cloak and gold chain, hand on a sword hilt, before a grey frieze of a battle.
    • Two grisaille panels in stone colours: Christ, crowned with thorns and nearly naked, sits on a step under a draped colonnade, and the Virgin kneels in prayer in a vaulted Renaissance hall.
    • Grey ink and wash design for a heraldic window: two armoured soldiers in plumed hats flank a shield of arms beneath an arch, with two saints on pedestals above.
    • Pen, grey wash and watercolour design for a ground floor with a marbled arched portal and an arcade opening onto a staircase, under a frieze of putti.

    28 works dated 1517 to 1519

  4. 1519

    Back in Basel, he joins the painters’ guild Zum Himmel. Around this time he marries Elsbeth Binsenstock, a tanner’s widow; they have four children.

    Sources: hls-dhs-dss.ch, deutsche-biographie.de, en.wikipedia.org

    • Half-length portrait of the bearded Bonifacius Amerbach in a black hat and gown with a grey-green collar, turned to the left towards a Latin inscription tablet on a tree, against blue sky and mountains.
    • Chiaroscuro drawing on brown paper of Christ, naked but for a loincloth and crowned with thorns, seated on the cross with his head in his hand; the date 1519 in white at upper right.
    • Eight small black-and-white metalcuts arranged in a grid, showing biblical scenes and single saints in arched interiors and landscapes, made for a prayer book.
    • Hand-coloured woodcut of Luther as Hercules in a brown monk's habit, raising a club over a heap of slain churchmen under a tree hung with a sign reading HERCULES GERMANICUS.
    • Chiaroscuro drawing on grey-blue paper of the Virgin seated on a stone bench, her long hair blowing, holding the hands of the naked Christ Child as he steps forward; white highlights.
    • Pen and grey wash stained-glass design of St Andrew with his saltire cross and a book, standing under an arched portico beside a blank shield.

    14 works dated 1519

  5. 1520

    Becomes a citizen of Basel.

    Sources: deutsche-biographie.de, hls-dhs-dss.ch

    • Tall arched altarpiece wing showing the three kings presenting gifts to the Virgin and Child amid ruined buildings beneath a large star in a cloudy blue sky, with kneeling donors and a coat of arms below.
    • Tall arched altarpiece wing showing the Nativity at night in a ruined classical hall, with angels around the Christ Child, Mary, Joseph and shepherds, and kneeling donors below.
    • Long, narrow painting of Christ's emaciated body stretched out on a white sheet in a stone tomb, eyes and mouth open, wounds on the hand, side and feet.
    • Altarpiece of the Virgin enthroned with the Christ Child on her lap, between a bishop saint and a knight in armour holding a red and white banner, under an arch.
    • Bust-length portrait of a young man turned to the right, with curly auburn hair under a slashed red beret, a pleated white shirt with a gold-trimmed neckline and a pink striped gown, on a mottled green ground.
    • Trompe-l'oeil painting in browns of two skulls and a bone on the sill of a wooden window niche, with a cross-barred arched window and a pale blue-green sky behind.

    48 works dated 1520 to 1522

  6. 1523

    Paints his first portraits of Erasmus. The scholar sends them to friends abroad, and they make Holbein’s name outside Basel.

    Sources: nationalgallery.org.uk, en.wikipedia.org

    • Half-length portrait of Erasmus in profile to the left, in a black cap and dark fur-lined gown, writing in a book against a green patterned hanging.
    • Half-length portrait of Erasmus in a black cap and fur-trimmed gown, hands resting on a red book, beside a carved pilaster, a green curtain and a shelf of books.
    • Half-length portrait of Erasmus in profile to the left, in a black cap and grey-blue gown, writing in a book with a reed pen against a plain green ground.
    • Painted sign showing a caduceus with two crowned serpents and a dove, held by two hands emerging from clouds, inside an arch with red columns and the words IOAN FROB.
    • Woodcut of Adam, dressed in skins, labouring at the ground while a skeleton pulls alongside him, as Eve sits nursing a baby beneath bare trees behind them.
    • Pen and grey wash costume study of a Basel woman seen from behind, turning to the left, in a white cap, fitted bodice and long trailing skirt with a long knife sheath hanging from her belt.

    114 works dated 1523

  7. c. 1523–26

    Designs the Dance of Death woodcuts. Hans Lützelburger cuts 41 of them before his death in 1526; they are first published as a book in Lyon in 1538.

    Sources: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org

    • Woodcut of an abbess dragged from her convent by a skeleton with feathers in its hair, while a nun in the doorway behind raises her hands in alarm.
    • Half-length portrait of Erasmus in a black cap and fur-trimmed gown, hands resting on a red book, beside a carved pilaster, a green curtain and a shelf of books.
    • Half-length portrait of Erasmus in profile to the left, in a black cap and grey-blue gown, writing in a book with a reed pen against a plain green ground.
    • Half-length portrait of Erasmus in profile to the left, in a black cap and dark fur-lined gown, writing in a book against a green patterned hanging.
    • Altarpiece of four arched panels in a dark frame, each with two stacked scenes of Christ's Passion, from the Agony in the Garden to the Crucifixion and Entombment.
    • Altarpiece of the crowned Virgin and Child in a shell niche, sheltering the kneeling family of Jacob Meyer: the mayor and two boys at left, his wives and daughter at right, on a carpet.

    147 works dated 1523 to 1526

  8. 1526–28

    First stay in England, with a recommendation from Erasmus. Thomas More takes him up; he paints More’s portrait in 1527 and a group portrait of his family, now known only from a drawing and copies.

    Sources: collections.frick.org, en.wikipedia.org

    • Half-length portrait of Sir Thomas More in a black cap and fur-collared gown with red velvet sleeves and a gold chain of SS links, holding a paper before a green curtain.
    • Altarpiece of the crowned Virgin and Child in a shell niche, sheltering the kneeling family of Jacob Meyer: the mayor and two boys at left, his wives and daughter at right, on a carpet.
    • Half-length painting of a young woman as Laïs in a slashed red and gold dress, hand outstretched over gold coins on a ledge inscribed LAIS CORINTHIACA 1526, before a green curtain.
    • Painting of the risen Christ in a red cloak turning away from Mary Magdalene, who reaches towards him holding a jar, in a garden with trees and a lit tomb at right.
    • Half-length portrait of a woman in a white fur cap and white shawl, holding a red squirrel on a chain, with a starling on a branch beside her against a blue-green ground.
    • Half-length portrait of Sir Brian Tuke in a black cap and fur-collared gown with a gold chain and cross, his hands clasping gloves beside a folded letter, against a brown background with gold inscriptions.

    53 works dated 1526 to 1528

  9. 1528

    Returns to Basel as his leave of absence ends, and buys a house there in August.

    Sources: en.wikipedia.org

    • Portrait of the artist's wife Elsbeth in a dark green dress, her son Philipp looking up at her and her small daughter Katharina in a pale dress on her lap, against a dark ground.
    • Half-length portrait of the astronomer Nicholas Kratzer in a black cap and gown at a table, holding a polyhedral sundial, with instruments on a shelf and wall behind him.
    • Half-length portrait of Sir Henry Wyatt, an elderly man in a black cap and fur-collared black gown with a gold chain, holding a folded paper against a blue-green background.
    • Double portrait of Thomas Godsalve in a black cap and fur-collared gown, writing at a table, with his son John beside him, against a green-grey ground with a dated label.
    • Pen and grey wash stained-glass design of the bound Christ led by soldiers before Annas, enthroned in a vaulted hall with ornate pillars.
    • Pen and grey wash stained-glass design of Christ bearing the cross among soldiers and the two bound thieves, framed by columns and a medallion.

    18 works dated 1528

  10. 1529

    Reformers strip the images from Basel’s churches. In 1530 he is called to account for missing the reformed communion.

    Sources: en.wikipedia.org, hls-dhs-dss.ch

    • Painting of a landscape divided by a tree: a naked man sits between Isaiah and John the Baptist, with the Fall, Moses and death on the left and the Crucifixion and Resurrection on the right.
    • Half-length portrait of Erasmus, turned to the left, in a black cap and a fur-lined black gown with brown cuffs, his hands resting on an open book, against a plain red ground.
    • Fragment of a wall painting in browns and ochres showing the crowned King Rehoboam in profile, holding up his little finger, against a stone wall.
    • Pen design for a long tapering dagger sheath decorated with a crowded triumphal procession of figures.
    • Pen design for a tapering dagger sheath with stacked scenes under arches, among them the Judgement of Paris, ending in a ram's head.
    • Pen and grey wash design for half of a window frame, with a column, flaming urns, a nude female figure carrying a burning basket, a lion mask and a hanging tassel.

    9 works dated 1529 to 1531

  11. 1532

    Settles in England. Early clients include the Hanseatic merchants of the Steelyard in London, among them Georg Giese.

    Sources: en.wikipedia.org, hls-dhs-dss.ch

    • Half-length portrait of Georg Gisze in a pink silk doublet and black cap, opening a letter at a carpet-covered table with a glass vase of carnations, among shelves of papers.
    • Half-length portrait of Hermann von Wedigh in a black cap and gown, hands folded on a green table with a book, against a blue ground inscribed with the year and his age.
    • Half-length portrait of Thomas Cromwell in profile to the left, in a black cap and fur-collared gown, holding a paper at a green-covered table against a blue patterned wall.
    • Half-length portrait of a bearded man in a black cap and fur-lined gown, opening a letter at a green table with papers, a pen and a seal, against a plain grey wall.
    • Diamond-shaped panel with a red and gold border framing a roundel in which a man in a flowing red cloak rides a galloping white horse above a scroll reading 'E cosi desio me mena'.
    • Half-length portrait of a middle-aged woman in a large white coif and white shawl, hands clasped at her waist, seated before a blue ground.

    66 works dated 1532

  12. 1533

    Paints The Ambassadors, a double portrait of the French envoy Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve.

    Sources: nationalgallery.org.uk

    • Double portrait of two men standing either side of a two-tiered table laden with globes, books, instruments and a lute, before a green damask curtain, with a distorted skull slanting across the floor.
    • Half-length portrait of Derich Born, a young man in a black cap and gown, his arm resting on a stone ledge, against a blue-green ground with leafy branches.
    • Three-quarter-length portrait of Charles de Solier, a grey-bearded man in a jewelled black cap and fur-lined gown with slashed sleeves, gripping a gold dagger before a green silk curtain.
    • Small circular portrait of a young man in a black cap and black gown over a red doublet, holding a pink carnation, against a blue background inscribed in gold.
    • Small roundel portrait of Derich Born in a black cap and gown, facing forward against a blue-green ground with a Latin inscription, in a dark round frame with a gold rim.
    • Half-length portrait of a bearded man in a black cap and gown, holding a pair of folded tan gloves, against a blue-green ground inscribed with the year and his age.

    49 works dated 1533 to 1535

  13. 1536

    By now employed as King’s Painter to Henry VIII, on a salary of £30 a year.

    Sources: en.wikipedia.org, collections.frick.org

    • Half-length portrait of Henry VIII in a black cap trimmed with white feathers and jewels, and a silver embroidered doublet hung with rubies and a gold chain, against a bright blue background.
    • Three-quarter-length portrait of Jane Seymour in a gabled hood and red velvet gown with wide embroidered sleeves and jewelled necklaces, her hands clasped, against a blue background.
    • Full-size ink cartoon in brown tones of Henry VIII standing with legs apart in a broad-shouldered jewelled coat and feathered cap, his father Henry VII behind him against carved panelling.
    • Half-length portrait of Derick Berck in a black cap and black satin coat, holding a letter at a red table, against a blue background with a green curtain and a red cord.
    • Half-length portrait of Sir Richard Southwell in a dark cap and black doublet over a white shirt, his hands folded, against a grey-green background with gold inscriptions.
    • Head-and-shoulders portrait of Sir Thomas Le Strange, a bearded man in a black cap and fur-collared black gown with a gold chain, against a dark olive background.

    21 works dated 1536 to 1537

  14. 1538

    Henry sends him to Brussels to portray Christina of Denmark, the 16-year-old widowed Duchess of Milan, as a possible fourth wife. She sits for him for three hours.

    Sources: nationalgallery.org.uk

    • Full-length portrait of Christina of Denmark standing in a black satin mourning gown lined with brown fur and a black cap, holding gloves, against a plain blue-green wall.
    • Half-length portrait of the infant Prince Edward in a red feathered hat and red and gold costume, raising one hand, behind a parapet bearing a Latin verse.
    • Half-length portrait of a red-bearded man in a black cap and dark fur-lined gown, a ring on one finger, against a green background with a faint gold inscription.
    • Woodcut of a crowned young man in a fur-trimmed coat striding past trees as a richly dressed woman beckons to him, another woman watching behind.
    • Woodcut of a young woman kneeling with hands raised before the aged King David, who sits wrapped in furs beside a curtained bed.
    • Woodcut of Abraham kneeling to grasp the hands of three robed visitors beside a tree, while Sarah looks on from the doorway of the house at right.

    96 works dated 1538

  15. 1539

    Portrays Anne of Cleves for the king. Henry marries her in January 1540 and has the marriage annulled that July.

    Sources: collections.louvre.fr, en.wikipedia.org

    • Frontal half-length portrait of Anne of Cleves in a jewelled gold cap and red velvet gown with gold bands, her hands clasped at her waist, against a blue background.
    • Half-length portrait of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, in an ermine-trimmed robe and the Garter collar, holding gold and white staffs of office, against a green background.
    • Half-length portrait of a woman in a white and gold French hood and dark brown gown with a gold pendant, her hands folded at her waist, against a near-black background.
    • Half-length portrait of a bearded man in a black cap and fur-lined gown, holding a pair of gloves and a folded letter, against a near-black background.
    • Half-length portrait of a young man with a reddish moustache and beard in a black cap and black coat over red sleeves, holding a grey glove, against a brown background.
    • Half-length portrait of Margaret, Lady Butts, an elderly woman in a white-edged gable hood and black gown with a fur collar and a gold flower brooch, against a dark green background.

    21 works dated 1539 to 1542

  16. 1543

    Makes his will at his home in Aldgate on 7 October and is dead by 29 November, probably of plague, though the cause is not certain.

    Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nationalgallery.org.uk

    • Half-length portrait of Antoine, Duke of Lorraine, a long-bearded man in a black cap with gold aglets and a black gown over pink silk sleeves, against a grey-blue background.
    • Group painting of Henry VIII enthroned in crown and robes, handing a charter to kneeling members of the Barber-Surgeons in black gowns, below an inscribed tablet.
    • Half-length portrait of Dr John Chambers, an elderly man turned to the right in a black cap and fur-collared black gown, holding gloves, against a dark green background.
    • Half-length profile portrait of Sir William Butts, a white-haired man in a black cap and dark gown with a heavy gold chain, against a blue background.
    • Pen and wash design for a tall table clock: a crowned dial held by two putti above sundials, an hourglass flanked by a satyr, a compass rose in red at left, with Latin notes.
    • Woodcut printer's device of boys knocking apples from a tree with sticks, framed by Greek and Latin mottoes on charity, with a library stamp above.

    6 works dated 1543