Holbein

[BrainMonkeys]

The Hans Holbein the Youner exhibition opened today at the Tate Britain in London. He was the court painter of Henry VIII, and it is by his hand that most of the famous portriats of the day were painted.

I'm off to see it next weekend, and was wonering if anybody else woul dbe going to see it from AB.

[Carakeel]

I so wish I were going too! I love Holbein. I am an amateur artist and when I see paintings like Holbein's I find them so inspiring. His portraits were exquisite. Have a lovely time at the exhibition!

[jno]

definitely - I think he's up there with Turner and Constable as one of the greatest painters ever to work in Britain. (Monet too, I guess, he was in London for a while.) Not sure when I'll get there, though, I usually find I've left these things to the last week.

[Octavius]

Thomas Cromwell sent him off to paint a minature portrait of Anne of Cleves (The Flanders Mare) as he was trying to encourage Henry VIII to marry her. It turned out that she was rather less attractive in the flesh than Holbein had lead the king to believe, much to the detriment of Cromwell's career, but Holbein redeemed himself with Christina of Denmark otherwise he may well have faced the chop as well.

I am seriously hoping to get along and see this exhibition.

[DaSwede]

Just the other day somebody mentioned avatars on the AB, and I was thinking what would I choose for mine, if there were no legal restrictions. This was one of the three candidates that came to mind. I so like it. Have a look at it for me - if they've borrowed it?

[BrainMonkeys]

No DaSwede, it's owned by the National Gallery in London, but it will be on loan as the Holbein exhibition is in the Tate.

Good choice too! My personal favourite is The Ambassadors, but Holbein is such a good painter that it's hard to pin down just one!

[DaSwede]

Ah yes, BrainMonkeys, I have that one (in a book, obviously.) Spent a lot of time in the past trying to stand the book opened and remaining open on a shelf while I walked about to the side in an effort to make the skull look skullish before the book folded closed and fell over. Easily amused, who, me.

[jno]

The Ambassadors isn't going to be in the exhibition - apparently too fragile to carry a mile across London, which I'm not sure I believe. Still, it's close at hand and free to view (though as DaSwede points out, you have to walk past it bent like a pretzel to make it work).