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A review by jamieleepilk
The King's Painter: The Life and Times of Hans Holbein by Franny Moyle
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.