annieb123's review against another edition
5.0
Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
The King's Painter is a well written biography of Hans Holbein presented by Franny Moyle. Due out 5th Oct 2021 from Abrams, it's 400 pages and will be available in hardcover format.
This is a layman accessible, precise, and exhaustively annotated biography of Hans Holbein the Younger shown through the lens of his patronage by the important and influential families of the Tudor period, most specifically his interaction and service to King Henry VIII.
The author does a good job of explaining some of the more esoteric political machinations and background. Holbein was a supremely gifted artist, but he was also a politically astute and intelligent man who often had the regard of the king and managed (for the most part) to avoid being embroiled unnecessarily in the deadly political machinations at court.
The book is not strictly chronological; the author has arranged it in a series of thematic chapters each of which explore Holbein's relationships to other great persons of the time period.The narrative is enhanced by excerpts from extant period letters and journals. It is exhaustively annotated and the chapter notes and bibliography will give readers opportunity for many more hours of learning and research. I cannot state with certainty what this biography provides which is lacking from other biographies of Holbein, but I can say I found it accessible and enjoyable to read. The author doesn't make the reading onerous with overly academic constructions, and I appreciated that.
There are no illustrations included in the early ARC provided for pre-release review.
Five stars. This would make a superlative selection for public or school library acquisition, or for the home library, especially for fans of art, or history, or both.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
The King's Painter is a well written biography of Hans Holbein presented by Franny Moyle. Due out 5th Oct 2021 from Abrams, it's 400 pages and will be available in hardcover format.
This is a layman accessible, precise, and exhaustively annotated biography of Hans Holbein the Younger shown through the lens of his patronage by the important and influential families of the Tudor period, most specifically his interaction and service to King Henry VIII.
The author does a good job of explaining some of the more esoteric political machinations and background. Holbein was a supremely gifted artist, but he was also a politically astute and intelligent man who often had the regard of the king and managed (for the most part) to avoid being embroiled unnecessarily in the deadly political machinations at court.
The book is not strictly chronological; the author has arranged it in a series of thematic chapters each of which explore Holbein's relationships to other great persons of the time period.The narrative is enhanced by excerpts from extant period letters and journals. It is exhaustively annotated and the chapter notes and bibliography will give readers opportunity for many more hours of learning and research. I cannot state with certainty what this biography provides which is lacking from other biographies of Holbein, but I can say I found it accessible and enjoyable to read. The author doesn't make the reading onerous with overly academic constructions, and I appreciated that.
There are no illustrations included in the early ARC provided for pre-release review.
Five stars. This would make a superlative selection for public or school library acquisition, or for the home library, especially for fans of art, or history, or both.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
hughesie's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.5
Interesting and well produced. The hardback is beautiful and richly illustrated. The chapters are thematic so the book isn't completely chronological, but it works. I understand that it is a key part of Holbein's work, but verisimilitude is an odd word to see quite so often.
jamieleepilk's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
An interesting and in depth biography of a great artist.
This book feels very overdue. Hans Holbein was not only a great artist but he also lived through so many turning points in British History. I have to admit I'm a big "fan" of Holbein's work but I didn't know that much about the man himself.
Franny Moyle's writing is extremely gripping and easy to get lost in, she's very clearly done a lot of research and put it too good use.
I was a little intimidated by the size of this beast but once you get going you fly through with each chapter being sectioned off really nicely. Each section is kind of told through different influential people that Holbein meets in his life and they are used as kind of stepping stones to move his story along. The only issue I had with this format is that sometimes it lead to the focus being moved away from Holbein.
I love the sections about Anne of Cleves but I'm slightly biased as she owns my heart already.
A must read for any Tudor or art history fan. Also the hardback edition of this book is a glorious thing to own with beautiful full colour images (and a ribbon bookmark). Brilliant all round.
This book feels very overdue. Hans Holbein was not only a great artist but he also lived through so many turning points in British History. I have to admit I'm a big "fan" of Holbein's work but I didn't know that much about the man himself.
Franny Moyle's writing is extremely gripping and easy to get lost in, she's very clearly done a lot of research and put it too good use.
I was a little intimidated by the size of this beast but once you get going you fly through with each chapter being sectioned off really nicely. Each section is kind of told through different influential people that Holbein meets in his life and they are used as kind of stepping stones to move his story along. The only issue I had with this format is that sometimes it lead to the focus being moved away from Holbein.
I love the sections about Anne of Cleves but I'm slightly biased as she owns my heart already.
A must read for any Tudor or art history fan. Also the hardback edition of this book is a glorious thing to own with beautiful full colour images (and a ribbon bookmark). Brilliant all round.
More...