Tag: Mark Rylance

“He’s a genius – all the information is in his paintings.” – Joanna Eatwell, Costume Designer, Wolf Hall

I had written about the authenticity of the costumes in Wolf Hall  as well as how much the series’ brilliant costume designer Joanna Eatwell values Hans Holbein the Younger’s work in achieving this authenticity here back in 2015.

It turns out that Eatwell digged into the paintings of Holbein for research. From Lucy Worsley’s interview with Eatwell in 2015:

He’s a genius – all the information is in his paintings.

He not only painted members of the court, he also painted merchants and even some of Henry’s courtiers and staff, so we have a complete cross-section which is incredibly important for a piece like this.

Eatwell argues, in an audio interview with the BBC Academy, Holbein is a “master in his craft” and his paintings are realistic but also propaganda. The paintings make a statement about the person in the painting which she calls the “photoshop” of the times.

Continue reading “The King’s Painter: Hans Holbein The Younger in Wolf Hall”