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The King's Painter

The Life and Times of Hans Holbein
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( 22 ratings, 4 reviews)
Brief Description
A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK 'A great, thrusting codpiece of a book. It is big, bombastic and richly brocaded... A jewel in its own right' The Times 'Evokes the painter and his world as vividly as a Holbein masterpiece. Beautifully written and illustrated,... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3899
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The first illustrated biography of Hans Holbein, the painter who depicted some of the most powerful people of the early sixteenth century, in three decades.

The first illustrated biography of Hans Holbein, the painter who depicted some of the most powerful people of the early sixteenth century, in three decades.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK

'A great, thrusting codpiece of a book. It is big, bombastic and richly brocaded... A jewel in its own right' The Times

'Evokes the painter and his world as vividly as a Holbein masterpiece. Beautifully written and illustrated, this book is a must for lovers of Tudor history' — Tracy Borman

'Full of insight... This is a gorgeous book, to which I am sure I shall return again and again' — Dan Jones

Hans Holbein the Younger is chiefly celebrated for his beautiful and precisely realised portraiture, which includes representations of Henry VIII, Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Anne of Cleves, Jane Seymour and an array of the Tudor lords and ladies he encountered during the course of two sojourns in England. But beyond these familiar images, which have come to define our perception of the world of the Henrician court, Holbein was a protean and multi-faceted genius: a humanist, satirist, political propagandist, and contributor to the history of book design as well as a religious artist and court painter. The rich layers of symbolism and allusion that characterise his work have proved especially fascinating to scholars.

Franny Moyle traces and analyses the life and work of an extraordinary artist against the backdrop of an era of political turbulence and cultural transformation, to which his art offers a subtle and endlessly refracting mirror.

The King's Painter presents a vivid portrait of Holbein's world and remarkable contributions to Tudor art and culture.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781035919635

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 08 May 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Apollo

Illustration: 3 x 8pp col.

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 34.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 380g

Pages: 464

About the Author

Franny Moyle is a British television producer and author. Her first book Desperate Romantics was adapted into the BBC drama serial of the same title by screenwriter Peter Bowker. Her second book Constance: The Tragic and Scandalous Life of Mrs Oscar Wilde was published in 2011 to critical acclaim. In 2016 she released The Extraordinary Life and Times of J.M.W Turner.

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    One of Britain's most admired, misunderstood and celebrated artists. J. M. W. Turner is Britain's most famous landscape painter. Yet beyond his artistic achievements, little is known of the man himself and the events of his life - the tragic committal of his mother to a lunatic asylum, the personal sacrifices he made to effect his stratospheric rise, and the...
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  • The King's Painter
    A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK 'A great, thrusting codpiece of a book. It is big, bombastic and richly brocaded... A jewel in its own right' The Times 'Evokes the painter and his world as vividly as a Holbein masterpiece. Beautifully written and illustrated, this book is a must for lovers of Tudor history' — Tracy Borman 'Full...
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  • Mrs Kauffman and Madame Le Brun
    From the acclaimed author of The King’s Painter, a vivid life-and-times biography of two unjustly neglected women artists, Angelica Kauffman and Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun. In the late autumn of 1789, two of Europe’s most celebrated painters met in Rome. One, Angelica Kauffman, was a Swiss-born prodigy who had conquered the art scenes of London and Italy. The other, Élisabeth...
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