Hans Holbein: Portrait of an Unknown Man [Library Binding]

Derek Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1997

Hans Holbein the Younger was a leading figure of the Northern Renaissance, who continues to exercise an enormous influence in our understanding of the mid-Tudor age, but who was also a member of Thomas Cromwell's intelligence service. This is his biography. Moving from the Low Countries, to Switzerland, to England, this book sets Holbein in the context of his turbulent age. We watch Holbein's rise from an uneventful life in the bourgeoisie to the echelons of power and a life of covert diplomacy in a bitterly-divided Europe. The book also provides a picture of Renaissance espionage. In parallel to the machinations of power, the book investigates the intricate puzzles that so delighted the Renaissance mind; Holbein's symbols and iconography contain codes, cyphers and hidden messages, some simply intellectual games, others of vital importance to Cromwell's purposes.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As the subtitle of this intriguing speculative biography suggests, very little is known about Hans Holbein. Born in Augsburg in 1497, he encountered a Europe on the verge of great change. Perhaps he would have been less aware of this change had his father, a respected painter in his own right, not decided to send his sons away from Augsburg to study in the printing center of Basel, the Reformation's ground zero and, in Wilson's account, the formative influence on the 18-year-old newcomer's life. Wilson (A Tudor Tapestry) portrays such eminent figures as Erasmus, Zwingli and Luther, whose ideas were shaking Europe, and highlights their background in political and economic forces. The author's detective spirit is bent on restoring details effaced by time. Despite the paucity of documentation about his subject, Wilson offers an absorbing portrayal of Holbein's intellectual culture and forges convincing links to the many artworks that have been preserved. Holbein's last years at Henry VIII's Tudor court produced some of his finest works--The Ambassadors and his various wedding portraits, among others. Wilson tries a little too hard to convince readers that Holbein's early fervent spiritual commitment continued--though restrained--through his difficult later days with Henry VIII. But this is a slight wobble in an otherwise fine biography.

Copyright 1997 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Derek Wilson is a leading biographer and the author of several critically acclaimed and bestselling books including The Astors; Hans Holbein; and more recently, The King and the Gentleman, about Charles Stuart and Oliver Cromwell. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Library Binding: 308 pages
• Publisher: George Weidenfeld & Nicholson, Ltd. (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 029781561X
• ISBN-13: 978-0297815617
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,856,226 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars READABLE, OPINIONATED, NEVER DULL, August 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Hans Holbein: Portrait of an Unknown Man (Library Binding)

The author attempts interesting 'symbolic' interpretations of some of Holbeins' more famous works in the visual context of the time. For example, Anna of Cleves' asymmetrical dress trim says "No social graces", to the initiated. One wonders why the King didn't see this if it was indeed common to include visual puns in paintings? I took issue with the author's rather silly descriptions of 16th century religious books as 'best-sellers', as if there was some sort of survey going on at the time. Otherwise, this is a very worthwhile addition to any Holbein fan's collection. It's written intelligently and attempts to place the artist in the various towns and countries with reason. And it will make you look twice at ALL the details in all the versions of a Holbein painting!