Hans Holbein the Younger (1497 or 1498 - 29.11.1543) virtually celebrated the beauty of the world and the fascination of knowledge. At the same time, Holbein, the court painter of King Henry VIII at the time, recalled the transience of the earthly.
Nuremberg was his home town and the equally determined and highly talented painter already had a wider view beyond his own nose at the beginning of the 16th century: after his father Hans Holbein the Elder had given him the tools of the trade, Hans Holbein the Younger first went to Basel. There he acquired civil rights and freedoms and soon became a protagonist of the Swiss art scene. Holbein took lessons in writing and Latin - but mainly he painted everything there was to paint.
His repertoire consisted of portraits, wall decorations and religious paintings, book illustrations and designs for jewellery and stained glass windows. However, he busily robbed himself of many commission options - and in Basel the world became too small for him.
Holbein portrayed Erasmus of Rotterdam several times, and Erasmus belonged to Holbein's closer circle of friends. Armed with a letter of reference from the humanist addressed to Lord Chancellor Thomas More, Holbein travelled via Antwerp to London in 1526. Thomas More received Holbein in a friendly manner and commissioned him to paint a large-format family portrait. Erasmus of Rotterdam was assured by More that he would do his utmost to promote the young painter in England. Thus Holbein the Younger soon painted opulent decorative pictures for the opulent festive architecture of Henry VIII, thus demonstrating his great mastery time and again. Henry Tudor was enthusiastic. It is said that he discovered that seven peasants could easily be made into seven counts, but none of the counts into a single Holbein - and Holbein painted portrait after portrait of the members of the royal court.
Emotionally, Holbein was still connected with Basel at this time. But in 1539, after a stay in Basel, he broke all bridges, went back to the court of Heinrich and was appointed court painter by return of post.
Whether Catherine of Aragon, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves or Catherine Howard: Hans Holbein the Younger portrayed the squad of the king's wives and of course Heinrich as well.
Nevertheless, the monumental painting "The Envoys" was to become the master's most important work. The friendship painting portrays the French diplomats Georges de Selve and Jean de Dinteville, both of them fine spirits with a penchant for the liberal arts. One component of the painting is a cleverly concealed skull, which is synonymous with the ambiguity in Holbein's work: on the one hand, his art celebrates the grandiose beauty of the world, and on the other hand it reminds us of the transience of the things around us. Thus the realistic effect changes towards a surface of almost cryptic allusions. This is one aspect that continues to make Holbein's work so interesting today.
In 1543, the year of his death, Hans Holbein painted the portrait of the clergyman and royal personal physician John Chambers. This painting reflects determination and spirituality in a particularly subtle way. Hans Holbein the Younger died in London on 29 November 1543.
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.jpg "The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "An Allegory of the Old and New Testaments by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-91273).jpg "Portrait of Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "The Merchant Georg Gisze by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "A Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling (Anne Lovell) by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-45256).jpg "The Dead Christ by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-141677).jpg "Anne Boleyn, Queen of England by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Young Woman Catherine Howard by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Portrait of King Henry VIII of England by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Portrait of King Henry VIII of England, c.1540 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Jane Seymour by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Ship with Revelling Sailors, Lansquenets and a Sutleress by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Unknown Lady Anne Boleyn by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_1539_-_(MeisterDrucke-50489).jpg "Portrait of Anne of Cleves (1515-57) 1539 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Christ as the True Light by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Nobleman with a Hawk, 1542 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Portrait of the Artist’s Wife with the Two Elder Children, 1528-29 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Thomas More, English statesman, scholar and saint, c. 1527 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Venus and Amor by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Portrait of Robert Cheseman by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-136023).jpg "Sir Brian Tuke by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Portrait of Thomas Cromwell by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "King Henry VIII by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-127064).jpg "Portrait of a Man, traditionally identified as Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_Duchess_of_Milan_probably_1538_-_(MeisterDrucke-137999).jpg "Christina of Denmark (1522-90) Duchess of Milan, probably 1538 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-11618).jpg "Charles de Solier, Sieur de Morette (1534-1535) by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Death and the Bishop, from")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-124829).jpg "Jane Meutas by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Henry VIII handing over a charter to Thomas Vicary, commemorating the joining of the Barbers and Surgeons Guilds, 1541 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-133162).jpg "Edward, Prince of Wales by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam, c.1530 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-94727).jpg "Henry VIII in His Privy Chamber by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Erasmus, c.1532 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_from_The_Complete_Wo_-_(MeisterDrucke-382411).jpg "Come hither nurse. What is yond gentleman? (Romeo and Juliet) by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_from_Lodges_British_Portraits_1823_-_(MeisterDrucke-47196).jpg "Portrait of King Henry VIII (1491-1547) from")
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.jpg "Death comes to the Doctor, engraved by Georg Scharffenberg, from")
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.jpg "Death and the Ploughman, from")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-81820).jpg "The Triumph of Riches, drawn by Jan de Bisschop, c.1650 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Portrait of Jane Seymour (by Holbein) by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Edward, Prince of Wales, later King Edward VI by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Portrait of Sir William Butts, 1543 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Altarpiece Oberried: The Adoration of Shepherds by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "The Bishop by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Jane Seymour, Queen of England by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-132145).jpg "Elsbeth, the Wife of Hans Holbein by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Death and the Knight, from")
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.jpg "Signs and Tokens Seen at Jerusalem, 2 Maccabees V, 2 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "The Body of the Dead Christ (detail) by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Portrait of Mrs Pemberton by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Death and the Rich Man, from")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-102428).jpg "The Wife of a Dignitary at the Court of King Henry VIII, 1534 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-181448).jpg "Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, pub. 1902 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Charles de Solier, Sieur de Morette, 1534-1535 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_from_The_Complete_Wor_-_(MeisterDrucke-382418).jpg "Hubert, Hubert, throw thine eye on the young boy (King John) by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Death comes for the Queen, engraved by Georg Scharffenberg, from")
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.jpg "Portrait of Jakob Meyer zum Hasen, mayor in Basel by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1094457).jpg "Portrait of Dr John Chambers, c.1543 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "The Creation by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Man-of-War which carried King Henry VIII to the Field of Cloth of Gold, c.1880 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Henry VIII Granting a Charter to the Barbers and Surgeons Guilds, 1541, 1902 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "The Counsellor by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_1532_(oil_and_gold_on_oak)_-_(MeisterDrucke-137759).jpg "Hermann von Wedigh III (died 1560), 1532 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
_1532_(oil_and_gold_on_oak)_-_(MeisterDrucke-137759).jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1108232).jpg "Design for a Glass Painting, c.1520 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Portrait of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, c.1540 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Death and the Barrister, from")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Woman in 16th Century Clothing by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "The More Family, from the Sketch by Holbein at Basle Museum, 1527 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_from_The_Complete_Works_of_Shakespeare_pub_-_(MeisterDrucke-382408).jpg "I, not I, never gave you aught (Hamlet) by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-139486).jpg "Edward Stanley, Earl of Derby by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-142075).jpg "Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Benedikt von Hertenstein by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_engraved_by_W_Holl_from_World_Religion_published_by_A_-_(MeisterDrucke-253316).jpg "Martin Luther, engraved by W. Holl, from")
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.jpg "Margaret, Lady Butts by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "King Henry the Eighth Giving the Charter to the Barber-Surgeons")
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.jpg "The Last Judgement, from")
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jpg - (MeisterDrucke-11721).jpg "Portrait of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Death and the Pedlar, from")
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.jpg "Erasmus of Rotterdam by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-241507).jpg "Anne of Cleves by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Death and the Lady, from")
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.jpg "Nothing my Lord by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "A Premonstratensian Canon by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-218316).jpg "A Young English Woman, 16th Century by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Cowards die many times before their deaths: The valiant never taste of death but once (Julius Caesar) by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "The Natural Sciences in the Presence of Philosophy, from the 1537 German edition of the")
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.jpg "Edward, Prince of Wales by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-11708).jpg "Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "The Body of the Dead Christ (detail) by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-118776).jpg "Queen Mary I of England and Ireland by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "The Ambassadors (detail), 1533 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Lady Lee, Margaret Wyatt by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Anne of Cleves by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "King Edward VI, c.1542 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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.jpg "Mary, Lady Monteagle, c1538-1540 by Hans Holbein der Jüngere")
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