New Ambassadors Book

May 16 2025

Image of New Ambassadors Book

Picture: National Gallery Global

Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:

The Tudor historian and curator Tracy Borman has just released a new book in partnership with The National Gallery entitled Holbein: The Ambassadors (One Painting, One Story).

According to the blurb:

Holbein’s Ambassadors is one of the most famous paintings in the National Gallery. It is also one of the most intriguing. Laden with hidden symbols and mysteries, the work has been the subject of intense debate among historians during the five centuries since it was created.

Here Tracy Borman unpicks the secrets of this enigmatic artwork, painted during a turbulent time in English history as Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church in order to marry the young Anne Boleyn. From Holbein’s experiences as a German-Swiss émigré who rose to a position as the ‘King’s Painter’, to the two French ambassadors’ troubles at court, this book illuminates the fascinating story behind a masterpiece of the Tudor era.

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