Hans Holbein the Younger: From Basel to the Tudor Court (Part 1)
How did Hans Holbein become court painter to Henry VIII, one of the most notorious monarchs in British history? Without his stunning portraits would the Tudor period burn so brightly in the imagination ? Join Alastair and James to find out how Holbein, an artist from a small town in southern Germany ended up kickstarting the story of British art.
Dr James Fox is a Cambridge art historian, bestselling author and multi award-winning broadcaster. He is Director of Studies in History of Art at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and Creative Director of the Hugo Burge Foundation. His critically-acclaimed books on art and culture have been translated into fourteen languages. His most recent title and best-seller Craftland: a journey through Britain’s Lost Arts and Vanishing Trades (2025) has been named Waterstones Book of the Year, BBC’s book of the week and shortlisted for the Nero Book Prize. James is perhaps best known for his many arts documentaries for the BBC, including A History of Art in Three Colours, The Art of Japanese Life The Age of the Image and Nature and Us: a history through Art
Alastair Sooke is an author and broadcaster, and chief art critic at The Telegraph, for which he has been covering art since 2003. He has presented more than 60 hours of television and radio for the BBC (Modern Masters, Treasures of Ancient Egypt, An Art Lovers’ Guide) and written several books, including studies of Henri Matisse and Georges Seurat, and a history of Pop art. He is a trustee of The Ampersand Foundation and was educated at the University of Oxford and the Courtauld Institute of Art.
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