A servant of King Henry VIII

A Servant of King Henry VIII, painted around 1534, belongs to Holbein's documentation of the Tudor court at its full extension — from monarchs and great ministers to the lesser attendants and officials who constituted the court's working body. The sitter's modest status is indicated by his plain dress and lack of insignia, yet Holbein accords him the full psychological attention he brought to kings and archbishops. This democratic insistence on the interest of any human face — regardless of its owner's position — is one of the most radical qualities of Holbein's portraiture, connecting him to the northern humanist tradition of his mentor Erasmus, who found worth in every human being regardless of birth or office.

Oil on canvas, the portrait demonstrates Hans Holbein the Younger's command of psychological penetration and precise draftsmanship. The careful modeling of the face reveals close study of the sitter's physiognomy, while the treatment of costume and setting projects appropriate social standing.