out of favor at court, Holbein won the patronage of the
German merchants of the Steelyard, producing for them
many portraits of considerable virtuosity. Possibly
through the good offices of Thomas CROMWELLhe ob-
tained the commission in 1533 for his great double por-
trait The Ambassadors (National Gallery; London) and
then the patronage of HENRY VIII, for whom he undertook
his most celebrated work in England, the wall painting in
Whitechapel Palace of the king with his mother and Jane
Seymour (destroyed in 1698 but preserved as a cartoon
and in copies). Subsequent portraits for Henry VIII in-
cluded Jane Seymour (1537; Vienna), Anne of Cleves
(1539/40; Louvre), Catherine Howard (1540/41; Toledo,
Ohio), and Christina, Duchess of Milan (1538; London).
Although it seems likely that Holbein never realized the
full depth of his talent at the English court, he did also
produce other portraits, miniatures, and designs for gold-
smiths’ work which has now perished. He died in London
of the plague.
Further reading: Susan Foister et al, Holbein’s Ambas-
sadors (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1998);
John North, The Ambassador’s Secret: Holbein and the World
of the Renaissance (London: Hambledon, 2003); Roy
Strong, Holbein and Henry VIII (London: Routledge &
Kegan Paul, 1967).
Holl, Elias (1573–1646) German architect
Holl was born into a prominent Augsburg family of ma-
sons. He visited Venice briefly (1600–01) and some Palla-
dian influence is to be seen in his work. He was the city
architect, or master builder, of Augsburg from 1602 to
1635, at a time when Augsburg was the largest city in Ger-
many and one of the most important. It is for his Augs-
burg building program (which included schools,
guildhalls, warehouses, houses, and city gates) that he is
known, although he also executed commissions outside
the city. His first building in office was the arsenal (con-
structed 1602–07), carrying out a design by Joseph
Heintz. The style here was mannerist verging on baroque,
especially in the sculpture erected over the portal. Holl’s
own designs are based on a primarily functional approach,
symmetry, and fine proportions—in fact a far more re-
strained classicism, almost severe in its lack of elaborate
detailing. This style can be seen particularly in St. Anne’s
grammar school (1613–15) and in Holl’s most acclaimed
building, the town hall (constructed 1615–20). This com-
bines classical with Germanic and other features (such as
onion domes) in a very plain, functional, but pleasantly
proportioned building. Holl’s career reflects the fate of Re-
naissance architecture in Germany, being brought to an
abrupt close by the Counter-Reformation and the Thirty
Years’ War. Along with 8000 Augsburg citizens, Holl went
into temporary exile when Protestant worship was forbid-
den in the city in 1629; in 1635 his Protestantism finally
lost him his post. Widely celebrated in his own day, Holl
is considered the most important German Renaissance ar-
chitect.Holland, Philemon (1552–1637) English translator
Holland was born at Chelmsford, Essex, the son of a
Protestant clergyman who fled to the Continent during
the reign of the Catholic Mary I. He took his MA at Cam-
bridge in 1574 and subsequently studied medicine. He
then settled in Coventry where he spent the rest of his life
teaching, practicing medicine, and making his renowned
translations from the classics: of the Roman historian Livy
(1600), Pliny’s Natural History (1601), Plutarch’s Moralia
(1603), Suetonius (1606), Ammianus Marcellinus (1609),
and Xenophon’s Cyropaedia (1632). In addition he trans-
lated William CAMDEN’s Britannia into English (1610), and
some medical translations were issued posthumously. His
translations are characterized by immense learning com-
bined with a fine feeling for the emotional tone of the
original.Hollanda, Francisco da See FRANCISCO DA HOLLANDAholy brotherhood See HERMANDADHoly League Any military alliance that included the pa-
pacy. In the Renaissance period the term was applied toHHoollyy LLeeaagguuee 2 24411Hans Holbein the Younger Detail from the famous portrait of
Henry VIII of England painted in 1540 when Holbein was
court painter (Galleria Nazionale, Palazzo Barberini, Rome).
Photo AKG London