Although Hans Holbein was born in southern Germany, he spent most of his life in England where he played a key role in the Tudor court as the King’s Painter to Henry VIII. It is unsurprising, then, that the Royal Collection today holds a good deal of his work – as can be seen in this exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace in London, which brings together more than 100 works from the period (10 November –14 April 2024). These include book illustrations, portraits and rarely-shown preparatory chalk drawings – the latter rarely exhibited for reasons of conservation. At the heart of the exhibition are more than 40 portrait sketches of sitters such as Anne Boleyn and Sir Thomas Moore. Find out more on the Queen’s Gallery’s website.
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Anne Boleyn (1532–36), Hans Holbein the Younger. Courtesy Royal Collection Trust; © His Majesty King Charles III 2023
Sir Henry Guildford (1527), Hans Holbein the Younger. Courtesy Royal Collection Trust; © His Majesty King Charles III 2023
Noli me Tangere (1526–28), Hans Holbein the Younger. Courtesy Royal Collection Trust; © His Majesty King Charles III 2023