Biography

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Not much is known about Hans Holbeins life. He was born in 1497 or 1498 in Augsburg, Germany. His father was Hans Holbein the Elder, a famous painter. Together with his brother Ambrosius, he practiced the profession of painting in his father’s studio. In 1514 the two brothers were sent to Basel, under protection of Hans Herbster. In Basel, Hans met the most famous humanists of his time, like Desiderius Erasmus (picture). In 1517 and again in 1519, Hans travelled to Luzern, where he decorated the house of the magistrate. Around 1518 he travelled trough Italy, where I was influenced by the work of famous artists like Leonardo da Vinci.

In 1519 has Holbein became a member of the painters’ guild and even became master. Around the same period he married Elsbeth Binsenstock (picture), the widow of a tanner, who had already one son. With her he had two sons, who both became goldsmiths, and two daughters. He probably had a mistress as well. Her name was Magdalena Offenburg and she modelled for his portrait of Laïs of Corinth and probably even for the Damstadt Madonna. Around 1526, the Reformation made an end to the well fair of Basel and Holbein had to search for another place and other important commissions.

Holbein went to England, with two letters written by Erasmus, one addressed to Sir Thomas More, the other one to Bisshop William Warham. More became in those days Lord Chancellor and through this, Holbein stood in the middle of the political and cultural life of England. During this period he was occupied with The More Family Group, that later was destroyed by a fire and we now know only by Holbeins studies and by several copies made of the paintings, all of a much lower quality as that of Holbein would have been.

In 1528 Holbein, returned to Basel, where he bought two houses. But the Reformation made it impossible for a painter to stay there. Erasmus already had to flee and all religious paintings were destroyed. Holbein decided to go back to London. After Thomas More had renounced his Chancellorship after a dispute with the king, that would lead to More’s execution in 1535, Holbein had to search for another patron. He found commissions at the German merchants in Steelyard. In this period he painted the merchants portraits, like Georg Gisze and the portrait called “The Ambassadors” (picture).

Holbein wanted to draw the attention of the Tudor court. Soon the prestige of his patrons would climb and in 1534 he made a portrait of Thomas Cromwell, the king’s secretary. In 1536 Holbein was appointed as the king’s official painter. He was praised for his beautiful portraits. One of the biggest tasks under the king’s protection, was the making of a wall painting in Whitehall (picture). On the fresco, the king, Henry VIII, was portrayed with his third wife, Jane Seymour, and his father and mother, Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Unfortunately, the painting was destroyed, together with the rest of Whitehall, in 1698.

After this was finished, Holbein was sent through Europe, to portrait a new bide for the king, after Jane Seymour had died in 1537. He portrayed Christina of Denmark in Brussels. Christina was the Emperor Chalres V’s niece and was at that time a widow of the Duke of Milan, at the age of sixteen. The king was flattered by Christina’s beauty, but because of political negotiations, the marriage never took place. Holbein was also sent to Cleves, to paint the portrait of the Dukes youngest daughters, Amalia an Anna (picture). He portrait of Amalia is now lost, but the king was more interested in her sister Anna. He married her in 1540, but divorced that same year, since he was not happy by her looks. Holbein apparently had made her more beautiful then she was in real life and the king was offended.

In later years, Holbein didn’t paint as much for the king as before. But nothing shows that he was out of the king’s favour. Holbein died in 1543 of the plague. In his testament was noted that he had lived in the neighbourhood of St.-Andrews Underschaft, in the City of London, and that he left two bastard children. He left no possessions and even had debts. But his work was of great influence on the English art in the next years and even the following centuries.