Hans Holbein

Hans Holbein the Younger's paintings give faces, fabrics, and objects a precise and carefully arranged presence. His portraits of Thomas More and Christina of Denmark concentrate on the sitter's bearing while describing dress and material detail. The Ambassadors, painted in 1533, places Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve among globes, books, musical instruments, and devices for measurement, linking individual likeness with learning and diplomatic life. A distorted skull stretches across its foreground, becoming recognizable from an oblique angle and introducing a reminder of mortality. Holbein's portrait of Christina was made when Henry VIII was considering her as a possible wife, giving the painted likeness a specific role in marriage negotiations. His work at the Tudor court thus connects the Northern Renaissance study of surfaces with the social, diplomatic, and personal purposes of portraiture.