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 Basel, 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. Hans visited Italy, where the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci strongly influenced him, and he later went to France to further his experience. Back in Basel, Hans undertook many commissions doing altarpieces, frescoes, and portraits. In 1519, he married a widow and became a Burgher of Basle a year later. In 1526, due to turmoil after the Reformation, the oppression of religious art led him to depart for England.
In 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 town hall; however, it was not long before unrest by the iconoclasts forced him to travel back to England. Again, he sought refuge among German merchants. The Court recognised his paintings during this time, and Thomas Cromwell became his loyal patron. One of his commissions was a woodcut for the historic English language Coverdale Bible.
In 1537 he was appointed the King’s Painter; portraiture was his main task, including designing robes. He was dispatched to the continent to acquire images of possible suitors for Henry VIII. He painted Christina of Denmark in Brussels, whom the King never married for 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.