Holbein and the Court of Henry VIII

The drawings, paintings and miniatures by Hans Holbein the Younger shown in the present exhibition constitute perhaps the most remarkable visual record of a royal court in European art. They are the work of one of the greatest portrait painters of all time and they represent most of the types of people associated with the court of King Henry VIII, whether as members of his family, officials, soldiers, politicians, humanists or friends. The portraits include images of those who served the King well though they were often rewarded with ingratitude, as well as those who treated him with servility in order to futher their own careers . . . The chief abgsentee is the King himself. Sadly the Royal Collection contains no original portrait of him whether drawn or painted, by Holbein. -- Introduction.