Holbein: Renaissance Master – Elizabeth Goldring

Thu 15 October, 2026 at 7:00 pm

This landmark biography of Hans Holbein the Younger (c. 1497–1543) breathes new life into Holbein’s story. From his early days in Augsburg and Basel to his lasting impact on British art and culture, this definitive account reveals the artist whose paintings would shape perceptions of the Tudor court for five hundred years.

The book explores Holbein’s famous portraits of Tudor figures—Henry VIII, his queens, would-be wives and leading courtiers such as Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell.  Illustrated with rarely seen paintings and with new archival discoveries and scientific analysis, Holbein’s art is placed within the broader context of Tudor Britain, tracing the birth of collecting, connoisseurship and art history itself.

Elizabeth Goldring is an honorary Professor at the University of Warwick and a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Historical Society. She is the author of Nicholas Hilliard: Life of an Artist and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and the World of Elizabethan Art.

“A superbly written and magnificently produced tribute to an artist who was far more than a Court painter for Henry VIII.” – Michael Hall, Country Life

Elizabeth Goldring