Brief Biography-Hans Holbein the Younger, born in Augsburg, was from a family of artists, his father Hans Holbein the Elder, sent him and his brother Ambrosius to Basle, Switzerland for training with Hans Herbster. In Basle he worked on book illustrations, most notably for the German translation of the Bible by Martin Luther and The Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus. He visited Italy where he was strongly influenced by the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci and he later went to France to further his experience. Back in Basle, he undertook many commissions doing altarpieces, frescoes and portraits. In 1519 he married a widow and a year later became a Burgher of Basle. During 1526, the oppression of religious art, due to turmoil after the Reformation, led him to depart for England.
A letter from Erasmus the humanist introduced Holbein to Sir Thomas More who gave him lodgings. During his two-year stay in More’s house he did several portraits of notables from his circle. He returned to Basle for a period in which he completed frescoes for the townhall, however, it wasn’t long before unrest by the iconoclasts forced him to travel back to England. He sought refuge amongst German merchants, during this time his paintings were recognised by the Court and Thomas Cromwell became his loyal patron. One of his commissions was a woodcut for the historic Coverdale Bible in English.
In 1537 he was appointed the King’s Painter, portraiture was his main task amongst many others including designing robes. He was dispatched to the continent to acquire images of possible suitors for Henry VIII. In Brussels he painted Christina of Denmark whom the king never married due to political reasons. He paid a visit to Basle where they tried to entice him to stay with a pension but he returned to England to continue painting for the King. In 1543 he died suddenly of the plague.