The masters behind our paintings
Hans Holbein the Younger – the painter who made Henry VIII immortal
* 1497/98, Augsburg · † 1543, London
He painted scholars, merchants, queens and a king everyone can still picture today. When we think of Henry VIII, we see him the way Holbein painted him.
From Augsburg to the English court
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A family of painters
Hans Holbein the Younger is born in Augsburg in 1497 or 1498. His father, Hans Holbein the Elder, is a respected painter; Hans and his brother Ambrosius learn the craft from him. Around 1515 the two brothers move to Basel, then a centre of printing.
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Doodles for Erasmus
In Basel young Holbein draws witty marginal pictures in a copy of Erasmus' “In Praise of Folly”. The famous scholar becomes his patron, and Holbein paints him several times. He also designs book decoration, stained glass and façades for the city.
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Pictures that frighten
Holbein can do the uncanny too: his “Dead Christ in the Tomb” shows a corpse in unsparing length – Dostoevsky was so shaken by it that he immortalised it in his novel “The Idiot”. In his woodcut series “Dance of Death”, Death comes for pope, emperor and peasant alike.
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Off to England
With the Reformation, commissions for church pictures in Basel dry up. In 1526 Holbein travels to London with a letter of recommendation from Erasmus to Thomas More, later Lord Chancellor, and paints his famous portrait. In 1532 he returns to England for good.
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A skull in the picture
In 1533 he paints “The Ambassadors”: two Frenchmen surrounded by globes, instruments and books. Across the floor lies a strangely distorted shape – only when viewed from a sharp angle does it turn into a skull.
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In the king's service
By the mid-1530s Holbein is working for Henry VIII. He paints the king, his family and the court, and designs jewellery, ceremonial vessels and festive decorations. In 1537 he creates a life-size mural in the Palace of Whitehall – it still shapes the king's image today.
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Anne of Cleves and the end
In 1539 Henry sends him to the Rhine to paint his possible bride, Anne of Cleves. The marriage in 1540 lasts only half a year. The legend that Holbein flattered her and fell from favour is not supported by evidence – he remains court painter. He dies in London in 1543, probably of the plague; his grave is unknown.
His most famous paintings
Five portraits that made history – today in London, Basel, New York, Paris and Madrid.
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The Ambassadors Splendour, knowledge and a hidden skull – one of the most enigmatic pictures in art history. -
Erasmus of Rotterdam The great scholar writing, in profile, lost in thought. -
Sir Thomas More Velvet, fur and a chain of office – and a gaze that takes in every detail. -
Anne of Cleves The bridal portrait for Henry VIII – frontal, calm and splendidly dressed. -
Henry VIII The only surviving painted portrait of the king attributed to Holbein himself.
The story behind the picture
The king as everyone knows him
Broad shoulders, sumptuous sleeves, a flat cap, gold chains and a gaze that brooks no contradiction: that is how we picture Henry VIII. Holbein created this image.
In 1537 he paints the king life-size on a wall in the Palace of Whitehall. In 1698 the mural burns in the great palace fire – what survives is Holbein's preparatory drawing and many copies that spread the image across Europe.
The small portrait in Madrid was made at the same time and is considered the only surviving painted portrait of the king by Holbein's own hand. That very power and splendour is what we give your pet.
Your pet as a king
We keep Holbein's composition – cap, gold chains, sumptuous sleeves – and put your pet on the throne. Fur, markings and expression come from your photo. The preview is free.
Images of the original paintings: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.