Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/8-1543), one of the most versatile and admired painters of the Northern Renaissance, trained under his father in Augsburg and then worked for leading patrons in Switzerland before settling in England as Court Painter to Henry VIII. To commemorate the five-hundredth anniversary of the artist's birth, Oskar Bätschmann and Pascal Griener offer this richly illustrated book--the first comprehensive monograph on the artist to appear in more than forty years--which is a major advance in our understanding of Holbein's contribution to European art. The authors reexamine every aspect of a remarkable career, and further illuminate the artistic and cultural influences that affected the artist.
 Holbein was a hugely ambitious artist, and even during his formative years in Lucerne and Basel, made designs for jewelry, stained glass, and woodcuts, and painted major altarpieces and portraits. He also carried out several monumental decorative schemes for private houses and civic buildings. In his commissions, Holbein sought to rival the greatest masters of Germany and Italy, most notably Dürer and Mantegna, and by the time of his visit to France in 1524 he was determined to secure a position as Court Painter. However, Holbein soon found himself in a precarious situation as a result of the Reformation's increasing hostility toward religious works, and he left for England in 1532. While in England, in addition to decorative schemes and Triumphs, he both drew and painted numerous unrivaled likenesses of leading courtiers, merchants, and diplomats, among which is his celebrated double portrait, The Ambassadors. This book offers both a remarkable range of extant visual evidence and a rewarding and scholarly account of Holbein's oeuvre in its full historical and artistic contexts.

Hans Holbein

Arts & Photography

Griener, Pascal

Bätschmann, Oskar

History & Criticism

Princeton University Press

Individual Artists

An artist's workshop is both a mental and an artistic space in which the artist's idea is carved in marble, laid down in pigments, or engraved in copper. The workshop is also a classroom in which the trade of the painter, sculptor, or cabinetmaker is passed on by example and where companions or apprentices seek to exceed the master. Finally, it is a salon where reputations are forged, sometimes echoed or even undermined by remarkable imitators or passionate amateurs. Europe itself figures throughout the centuries as a large workshop, or rather like a suite of workshops, each housing artists with specific practices and particular styles, and each creating opportunities for collaboration. Long before its emergence as a political entity, Europe was distinguished by its intense traffic in goods and people. Artists, art-lovers, and rich patrons made arduous journeys not only by road but also by river to far-flung locales as they sought to satisfy their appetite for beauty. This is the world of The Great Workshop, in which the editors develop a number of themes analyzing the circulation of art and the artistic community over a substantial geographic area ranging from Dublin to Palermo, from Cordoba to Stockholm, Rouen to Sofia. Short, focused essays treating the peregrinations of those conducting the business of art are crucial to our understanding of the migration of themes and formal motifs. With its remarkable and often spectacular selections, The Great Workshop illustrates the complex web of European artistic exchange and production. The book contains 250 full-color examples from well over one hundred European collections and essays from distinguished art historians who elucidate a long stretch of art history from the fall of the Roman Empire to the birth of the first great museums of Europe.

The Great Workshop: Pathways of Art in Europe, (5th to 18th Centuries)

BURKE, PETER

Recht, Roland

Pèrier-D'Ieteren, Catheline

Cornell University Press

Hans Holbein the Younger was the leading artist of the Northern Renaissance, yet his life and work are not nearly as well-documented as those of his contemporaries Leonardo da Vinci or Michelangelo. That omission has been remedied with this acclaimed study by Oskar Bätschmann and Pascal Griener. Hans Holbein chronicles the life and oeuvre of Holbein (1497/8–1543), as Bätschmann and Griener apply their considerable knowledge to explore the full range of cultural and social influences that affected him and his work. The artist’s friendships with leading thinkers such as Erasmus and Thomas More, the development of his painting style, and the cultural influences on his work are all discussed here in this unparalleled and in-depth biography that will be essential to the bookshelf of every art lover. This second edition includes an expanded introduction and additional images.

Hans Holbein: Revised and Expanded Second Edition

Reaktion Books

Hans Holbein the Younger was the leading artist of the Northern Renaissance, yet his life and work are not nearly as well documented as those of his contemporaries Leonardo da Vinci or Michelangelo. That omission has been remedied with this acclaimed study by Pascal Griener and Oskar Bätschmann.            Now offered in an affordable and richly illustrated paperback edition, Hans Holbein chronicles the life and oeuvre of Holbein (1497/8–1543), as Bätschmann and Griener apply their considerable knowledge to explore the full range of cultural and social influences that impacted him and his work. The artist’s friendships with leading thinkers such as Erasmus and Thomas More, the development of his painting style, and the cultural influences on his work are all discussed here in this unparalleled and in-depth biography that will be essential to the bookshelf of every art lover. 

Biographies & Memoirs

Gallimard]

La République de l'oeil: L'expérience de l'art au siècle des Lumières

JACOB

The Grand Atelier: Pathways of art in Europe (5th-18th century) (Mercatorfonds)

Perier-D'Iteren, Catheline

Mercatorfonds

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