Paintings during the first visit to England (1526-28)
by Hans HOLBEIN the Younger

By the mid-1520s, however, the violent disturbances associated with the Reformation put an end to this productivity. Religious paintings were viewed with disfavour and Holbein decided to look for work in England. The choice of England was perhaps encouraged by Erasmus, and his portraits of Erasmus form the prelude to the humanist portraits of Holbein's first English period.

A handful of portraits is all that remains of Holbein's first English period: the portraits of Sir Thomas More, William Warham, Unknown Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling, Nicholas Kratzer, Sir Henry and Lady Guildford, the double portrait of Sir Thomas Godsalve and his son John. His most remarkable work was a large group portrait of Sir Thomas More's family, which has since been destroyed.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 18 minutes):
George Frideric Handel: Fireworks Music

Preview Picture Data File Info Comment
Lais of Corinth
1526
Limewood, 35 x 27 cm
Kunstmuseum, Öffentliche Kunstsammlung, Basel

810*1058
True Color
132 Kb



Portrait of Sir Henry Guildford
1527
Oak, 83 x 66 cm
Royal Collection, Windsor

827*1042
True Color
123 Kb



Portrait of Lady Mary Guildford
1527
Oak, 87 x 71 cm
Art Museum, Saint Louis

849*1045
True Color
117 Kb



Portrait of Lady Mary Guildford
around 1550
Oil and gold on oak panel, 82 x 66 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

900*1112
True Color
238 Kb



Portrait of William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury
1527
Oil on oak, 82 x 67 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

840*1049
True Color
137 Kb



Sir Thomas More
1527
Tempera on wood, 74 x 59 cm
Frick Collection, New York

888*1150
True Color
133 Kb



Sir Brian Tuke
c. 1527
Oil on wood, 49 x 39 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington

809*1025
True Color
136 Kb



Portrait of a Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling
1527-28
Oil on oak, 54 x 39 cm
National Gallery, London

803*1163
True Color
105 Kb



Portrait of a Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling (detail)
1527-28
Oil on oak
National Gallery, London

953*793
True Color
89 Kb



Double Portrait of Sir Thomas Godsalve and His Son John
1528
Resin tempera on oak, 35 x 36 cm
Gemäldegalerie, Dresden

1208*1189
True Color
179 Kb



Double Portrait of Sir Thomas Godsalve and His Son John (detail)
1528
Resin tempera on oak
Gemäldegalerie, Dresden

855*620
True Color
87 Kb



Portrait of Nikolaus Kratzer
1528
Tempera on oak, 83 x 67 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

834*1060
True Color
134 Kb



Portrait of Nikolaus Kratzer (detail)
1528
Tempera on oak
Musée du Louvre, Paris

856*706
True Color
104 Kb




Summary of paintings by Hans Holbein the Younger
1515-19 | 1519-25 | altarpieces | 1526-28 | 1529-31
1532-35 | Ambassadors | Henry VIII and his family | 1536-43
drawings and woodcuts | miniatures | Miscellaneous works