Hans Holbein the Younger was an eminent German painter known for his precisely rendered portraits. Along with his peers Lucas Cranach the Elder and Albrecht Dürer, Holbein’s work represented a high point for Northern Renaissance painting. The artist eloquently combined the nuance of Flemish realism with the rigid structure of Late Gothic stylization. Born c. 1497 in Augsburg, Holy Roman Empire (present-day Germany), he first studied under his father Hans Holbein the Elder, before moving to Basel, Switzerland around 1515. During his time in Basel, he befriended a number of humanist writers and publishers who promoted and commissioned his work. With the Protestant Reformation taking hold of Basel, in 1526, the artist left the city ...