"You see faces that are known only through Holbein's portraits − these amazing figures who we read so much about."īut we also learn about Holbein himself and his perfectionism, evident in the painstaking reworking of a jawline or the profile of a nose. The experience of being up close to these historic characters is "incredible", says Dr Kate Heard, curator of the Royal Collection's exhibition and author of the accompanying book, Holbein at the Tudor Court. This exhibition of more than 100 artifacts, including paintings and miniatures, is centred around 40 portrait sketches – some paired with the completed painting – made during Holbein’s time in England and rarely exhibited due to their fragile nature. Holbein and the Renaissance in the North at Frankfurt's Städel Museum explores Holbein's work – and that of his father, Holbein The Elder – in the context of the Northern Renaissance while in London’s Buckingham Palace, works from the Royal Collection are on show as part of Holbein at the Tudor Court. The public can learn more about Holbein's important place in art history at two recently opened exhibitions. Holbein's commissions included decorative work such as jewellery, weaponry, woodcuts and frescos, but it is the portraits of illustrious figures like Sir Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Jane Seymour and Henry VIII that have most shaped his legacy, ranking among the world's earliest and finest examples of portraiture. Without these realistic renderings, these key players in 16th-Century history might just be names. Preserved by Holbein in pastels, tempera and oil are the famous faces of the tumultuous Tudor court, many of whose lives would soon be cut short. The painting that challenged sexual norms How a 1574 portrait was made 'Insta-fabulous' The German-Swiss artist was the image-maker of his time, garnering acclaim for his lifelike portraits of Basel's elite, including the Dutch philosopher and theologian Desiderius Erasmus – who he painted exactly 500 years ago − before travelling to England to work in Tudor society's uppermost echelons, influencing the course of history by painting the profile pictures of eligible women the King might like to marry, such as Christina of Denmark, as part of a long-distance introduction service. Whisperings in corridors, prisoners in towers, courtiers and clergy sent to the block – Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543), court artist during Henry VIII's reign, must have seen it all.
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