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Join ARTscapades for a lively discussion as art historian Elizabeth Goldring chats with Michael Prodger, associate editor at the New Statesman, about her definitive biography of Hans Holbein the Younger (c.1497-1543), the artist who, more than any other, has shaped our image of the Tudor court for five hundred years.

This landmark scholarly biography of Holbein, court painter to Henry VIII, is the first in more than a century. From his early days in Augsburg and Basel to his lasting impact on British art and culture, it sheds light on the artist, explores his famous portraits of Tudor figures – Henry VIII, his queens, would-be wives, and leading courtiers such as Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell – and examines iconic works including The Ambassadors.

Goldring situates Holbein’s art within the broader context of Tudor Britain, tracing the birth of collecting, connoisseurship and art history itself. Including rarely seen paintings from private collections, this biography weaves the latest research – including new archival discoveries and scientific analysis – into a fresh examination of Holbein’s life and work.