Portrait of the King's Painter

Holbein at the Tudor Court at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, explored the career of the Hans Holbein the artist and the lives of those who commissioned portraits from him, bringing us face-to-face with some of the most famous people of 16th-century England...

Hans Holbein was one of the most talented artists of the 16th century. From his arrival in England in search of work he rose to Royal favour, chosen to paint the portraits of King Henry VIII, his family and leading figures, among them Anne Boleyn and Sir Thomas More. By his death, Holbein's work was as admired by his contemporaries as it is today. His portraits inspired the next generation of artists in their depictions of King Edward VI, Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I.

Holbein was born in Augsburg, Germany, in around 1497. He was the son of an artist, also called Hans, and probably initially trained with his father. By 1515, he had travelled to Basel in Switzerland, where he found success as a painter and designer of book illustrations.

In 1526, Holbein travelled to London seeking work at the Tudor court. His first patrons in England were Sir Thomas More, a lawyer, government official and writer, and others from More's learned circle.

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. 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." Seven fine-related studies of More family members also survive.

Holbein did not work for the King during this visit, but he painted the portraits of courtiers such as Sir Henry Guildford and his wife Lady Mary, and of Anne Lovell, identified in 2003 or 2004 as the subject of 'Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling' Holbein was commissioned to make portraits for these patrons, as well as working with a team of painters on decorations at Greenwich Palace in London.