By 1532 Holbein seems to have realized that there was little possibility of finding a fruitful source of patronage in Basle, and he returned to England. The England of 1532 was dramatically different from that of 1528. Holbein fled from the Reformation in Basle to find England on the edge of a revolution. Almost all Holbein's earlier patrons became involved in the disturbances, some of them were died or were imprisoned. It was imperative that Holbein should find new sources of patronage, and between 1532 and 1536 most of Holbein's patrons were members of a trading community in London, merchants of the German Steelyard. His commissions were mostly for small half-length portraits, in which the sitter is shown in his office, often with his accessories of work scattered about, and holding a letter bearing his name and address. Examples are the portraits of Georg Gisze, Derich Born, a member of the Wedigh Family, Dirk Tybis and Robert Chaseman.

A very different work from this period, The Ambassadors of 1533, also showed foreigners in England. This ambitious painting is a life-size double portrait of Jean de Dinteville, French Ambassador to London, and Georges de Selve, the Bishop of Lavaur. The portrait of Jean de Dinteville's successor, as ambassador to the English court, Charles de Solier, Lord of Morette, shows a comparable richness and amplitude. The Unknown Gentleman with Music Books and Lute is also shown against a curtain; its folds add visual interest to the background.

Preview	Picture Data	Info
	Portrait of a Member of the Wedigh Family 1532 Oil and gold on oak panel, 41 x 31 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
	Erasmus of Rotterdam c. 1532 Oil on linden panel, 18 x 14 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
	Portrait of the Merchant Georg Gisze 1532 Oil on wood, 96 x 86 cm Staatliche Museen, Berlin
	Portrait of the Merchant Georg Gisze (detail) 1532 Oil on wood Staatliche Museen, Berlin
	Portrait of the Merchant Georg Gisze (detail) 1532 Oil on wood Staatliche Museen, Berlin
	Portrait of Sir Nicholas Carew 1532-33 Tempera on wood, 91 x 102 cm Drumlanrig Castle, Thornhill, Scotland
	Portrait of a Member of the Wedigh Family 1533 Oak, 47 x 36 cm Staatliche Museen, Berlin
	Portrait of Derich Born 1533 Oil on oak, 60 x 45 cm Royal Collection, Windsor
	Robert Cheseman 1533 Oil on oak, 59 x 63 cm Mauritshuis, The Hague
	Portrait of Dirk Tybis 1533 Oil on oak, 48 x 35 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
	Portrait of Thomas Cromwell c. 1533 Oak, 76 x 61 cm Frick Collection, New York
	Unknown Gentleman with Music Books and Lute c. 1534 Oil on wood, 44 x 44 cm Staatliche Museen, Berlin
	Portrait of an Old Man - Oil on panel, 62 x 47 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid
	Portrait of a Man 1535 Oil and gold on oak panel, diameter 33 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
	Portrait of Charles de Solier, Lord of Morette 1534-35 Oak, 93 x 75 cm Gemäldegalerie, Dresden