Holbein: The Ambassadors (One Painting, One Story)

Special Gallery price £10.00 - RRP: £12.99

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.

Author

Tracy Borman OBE is Chief Historian at Historic Royal Palaces and Chief Executive of the Heritage Education Trust. She is a regular broadcaster and the author of a number of highly acclaimed books, including The Private Lives of the Tudors: Uncovering the Secrets of Britain’s Greatest Dynasty, Thomas Cromwell: The Untold Story of Henry VIII’s Most Faithful Servant and Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History.