Holbein painted Henry VIII so convincingly that his image of the king has replaced the actual person in the public imagination. The Whitehall mural, destroyed by fire in 1698, showed Henry standing with his legs apart, hands on hips, filling the frame with physical authority. Everyone who has ever pictured Henry VIII has pictured Holbein's version.
Key facts
- Lived
- 1497–1543, Holy Roman Empire
- Movement
- Works held in
- 10 museums[1]
Biography
He was born in Augsburg, Germany, the son of a painter also called Hans Holbein. He studied under his father and was working independently by his late teens. He moved to Basel, where he painted portraits and religious works and illustrated Erasmus's In Praise of Folly with marginal drawings. Erasmus recommended him to Thomas More in England, writing that 'the arts are freezing' in Basel and Holbein should try his luck elsewhere.
He arrived in London in 1526 and painted More's family portrait, the first group portrait of a domestic scene in Northern European art. He returned to Basel, found the Reformation had destroyed the market for religious art, and went back to England permanently in 1532.
His portraits of the Tudor court are the visual record of the period: Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Anne Boleyn (probably), Jane Seymour, and the succession of courtiers and merchants who populated Henry's orbit. The technique is almost supernaturally precise. The textures of fur, velvet, jewellery, and skin are rendered with a fidelity that makes other portraitists look approximate.
He was sent to paint prospective brides for Henry, including Anne of Cleves, whose portrait Henry found more attractive than the person. Holbein was not blamed. He died during a plague outbreak in London in 1543, at forty-five.
Timeline
- 1497Born in Augsburg to the painter Hans Holbein the Elder, whose workshop provided his earliest training alongside his brother Ambrosius.
- 1515At 18, arrived in Basel with his brother and found work designing woodcuts for printers, including marginal illustrations for Erasmus's The Praise of Folly.
- 1519At 22, joined the Basel painters' guild, married a tanner's widow named Elsbeth Binzenstock, and became a citizen of the city.
- 1523At 26, painted his portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam in Basel, one of several sittings that cemented his reputation across northern Europe.
- 1526At 29, travelled to England with a letter of recommendation from Erasmus to Sir Thomas More, beginning a two-year stay in London.
- 1533At 36, painted The Ambassadors in London, a double portrait famed for its anamorphic skull and meticulously rendered scientific instruments.
- 1536At 39, appointed court painter to Henry VIII in London, producing the iconic full-length portrait that defined the king's image for centuries.
- 1543Died aged 45 in London, likely of plague. He left behind no recorded pupils, but his portraits remain the definitive record of Tudor court life.
Notable Works
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Hans Holbein the Younger prints
Hand-finished archival prints from Hans Holbein the Younger's body of work.
Title-border: Mucius Scaevola and Lars Porsena - Hans Holbein the Younger
From £28.00
Portrait of Sir Thomas More - Hans Holbein the Younger
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Lady Rich (Elizabeth Jenks) - Hans Holbein the Younger
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Margaret Roper - Hans Holbein the Younger
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Portrait of a Man, Said to Be Arnold Franz - Hans Holbein the Younger
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The Young Child (From The Dance of Death) - Hans Holbein the Younger
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Where to See Hans Holbein the Younger
8 museums worldwide.
- 8 works
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York City, United States
Related Artists
Take Hans Holbein the Younger home.
See all Hans Holbein the Younger prints →Frequently Asked Questions
Did hans holbein paint anne boleyn?
Hans Holbein probably painted Anne Boleyn, as well as other members of the Tudor court.Is hans holbein renaissance?
Hans Holbein the Younger was a German 16th-century painter.Was hans holbein the younger religious?
The Reformation directly affected Hans Holbein the Younger, which led to the decline of altarpiece painting.What is hans holbein the younger known for?
Hans Holbein the Younger is known as one of the finest portraitists in the history of art.When did hans holbein paint henry viii?
Hans Holbein painted Henry VIII so convincingly that his image has replaced the actual person in the public imagination.When did hans holbein the younger die?
Hans Holbein the Younger died in 1543 at the age of 46.Where can i see hans holbein paintings?
Hans Holbein the Younger's works can be seen at National Gallery of Art, Rosenwald Collection, Prints in the National Gallery of Art, and 2 other museums worldwide.Where did hans holbein the younger live?
Hans Holbein the Younger was born in Augsburg, Germany, and he also lived in Basel and London.Where was hans holbein the younger born?
Hans Holbein the Younger was born in 1497 in Holy Roman Empire. Hans Holbein the Younger died in 1543, aged 46.Why did hans holbein paint the skull?
The strange grey shape in Hans Holbein the Younger's painting *The Ambassadors* is a complex anamorphosis, an intentionally distorted image.Why is hans holbein known as the younger?
Hans Holbein the Younger is known as 'the Younger' because his father was also a painter named Hans Holbein.
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Hans Holbein the Younger.
- [1] museum Toledo Museum of Art Used for: museum holdings.
- [2] museum Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts Used for: museum holdings.
- [3] museum Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [4] museum Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp Used for: museum holdings.
- [5] museum Städel Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [6] museum Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [7] book Howard Simon, 500 Years of Illustration Used for: biography.
- [8] book Foister, Susan, 1954-, Holbein in England Used for: biography.
- [9] book Charles D. Cuttler, Northern Painting From Pucelle to Bruegel Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth Centuries Used for: biography.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-06-18. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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