Portrait of Lady Mary Guildford 1527

Hans Holbein the Younger made this drawing of Lady Mary Guildford with metalpoint and colored chalks. Holbein was a German artist who spent long periods in England, where he became the court painter to Henry VIII. The painting is a wonderful example of portraiture in England during the Tudor period. Wealthy patrons, like Lady Mary, sought portraits of themselves as a way of signifying their status and their place in the social hierarchy. The work also shows the influence of the Renaissance, where artists like Holbein were interested in classical forms of beauty as well as the accurate representation of the natural world. The Reformation had a large impact on the institutions of art as the Catholic church was no longer the prominent patron, to be replaced by the court. Understanding the art of the period requires us to look at sources beyond the image itself. Letters, inventories, and other documents can help us understand more about the painting's original context.