Holbein
Renaissance Master
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
Published:11th Nov '25
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A definitive biography of the artist who, more than any other, has shaped our image of the Tudor court
This landmark scholarly biography of Hans Holbein the Younger (c. 1497–1543), court painter to Henry VIII, is the first in more than a century. From his early days in Augsburg and Basel to his lasting impact on British art and culture, this definitive account breathes new life into Holbein’s story, shedding light on the artist whose paintings would shape perceptions of the Tudor court for five hundred years.
Written in accessible, engaging prose, the book explores Holbein’s famous portraits of Tudor figures—Henry VIII, his queens, would-be wives, and leading courtiers such as Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell—and examines iconic works, including The Ambassadors. Beyond biography, it situates Holbein’s art within the broader context of Tudor Britain, tracing the birth of collecting, connoisseurship, and art history itself.
Beautifully illustrated, with rarely seen paintings from private collections, this volume weaves the latest research—including new archival discoveries and scientific analysis—into a fresh examination of Holbein’s life and work.
Distributed for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
A New Statesman Book of the Year 2025
A Country Life Book of the Year 2025
“Engaging and beautiful.”—Katherine Harvey, Times (UK)
“[Holbein’s] great achievement was to bring before us the living, breathing men and women who plotted, suffered, contrived and triumphed through the most terrifying decades of English history. And it is Goldring’s achievement to show us the process by which this magic happened.”—Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian
A Spectator Art Book of the Year 2025
A Telegraph Book of the Year 2025
“This fine book gives us the wider picture, including his metalwork designs. There is hardly an illustration that one can look at without murmuring ‘heavens, that’s good.’”—Huon Mallalieu, Country Life
“To Goldring’s credit, it is hard to imagine that another biography will be required for quite some time.”—David Eskerdjian, The Oldie
“It is hard to imagine how this biography could be bettered—it is bold without being eccentric, unfailingly alert to context and possibility, and entertainingly readable throughout. The book itself is a thing of beauty, adorned with over 250 high-quality and meticulously placed colour illustrations. It is a work of craftsmanship of which Holbein himself might have approved.”—Peter Marshall, Literary Review
“Such a brilliant piece of historiography, and illustrative of her complete mastery of both the immediate sources and the wider circumstantial evidence for Holbein’s life and work.”—Mathew Lyons, Broken Compass
“Goldring, with an extraordinary command of the archives, assiduously charts Holbein’s professional career.”—Engelsberg Ideas
“A magnificent biography of Hans Holbein astounds.”—Bookseller
“A work of consummate scholarship.”—Michael Prodger, New Statesman
“Meticulously detailed, judicious and perceptive, it will surely prove the definitive account of Holbein’s life, and of the life and afterlife of his work, for many years to come.”—Mathew Lyons, Spectator
“Goldring gives full weight to Holbein’s inventiveness as a designer and a worker in precious metals, while breathing life into the individuals whom he portrayed and sketched.”—Nicholas Cranfield, Church Times
“A superbly written and magnificently produced tribute to an artist who was far more than a Court painter for Henry VIII.”—Michael Hall, Country Life
ISBN: 9781913107505
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
424 pages