Sir Brian Tuke

1526

Departure for England on Erasmus's Recommendation

On the advice of Erasmus of Rotterdam he set out for England in search of work, visiting France and the Netherlands on the way; Erasmus recommended him to Thomas More.

1526

Received into Thomas More's Humanist Circle

In England he was received by Sir Thomas More, who found him a series of commissions; in the humanist circle Holbein quickly won a high reputation. More wrote to Erasmus: "Your painter is a wonderful artist."

1528

Return to Basel, Purchase of a House

He returned to Basel and bought a house in the St. Johanns-Vorstadt, becoming a neighbor of the publisher Hieronymus Froben; in 1531, having grown wealthy from his English commissions, he bought the adjoining house as well.

1529

Iconoclasm in Basel

Reformers influenced by the ideas of Zwingli staged iconoclastic actions and banned images in the churches; some of Holbein's religious works were probably destroyed, and in April 1529 Erasmus left Basel.

early 1532

Return to England: The Second English Period

In early 1532 he returned to England and resumed his career under the patronage of Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell; he painted portraits of the Lutheran merchants of the Hanseatic Steelyard.

1535

Court Painter to Henry VIII

He became court painter to King Henry VIII: he painted portraits, designed court festivities, and produced designs for fountains, stained glass, jewelry, and objects for the royal household. By 1536 he was receiving an annual salary of thirty pounds.