Fotoreproductie van een portret van John Gage door Hans Holbein before 1877

This is an anonymous reproduction of a portrait of John Gage after Hans Holbein. The copy is done in a reddish-brown ink on paper. Holbein was working in England in the 16th century. He was a northern European artist who came to England and became the court painter for Henry VIII. Holbein’s portraits offer a window into the Tudor court, a world of wealth and power where appearance was everything. This portrait of Gage is a statement of his status, capturing his likeness for posterity. Holbein’s work helped to shape the visual culture of the English Renaissance, and his portraits were highly sought after by the elite. The existence of this reproduction raises questions about the dissemination and reception of Holbein’s work. How did copies like this one circulate, and what role did they play in shaping perceptions of the Tudor court? The answers to these questions lie in the archives, where we can trace the networks of patronage and exchange that sustained artistic production in the 16th century.