Ruth Leon recommends… Holbein – Eye of the Tudors – Waldemar Januszczak

Holbein – Eye of the Tudors – Waldemar Januszczak
Click here to watch : free

Searching around the internet this week for a programme about art that didn’t come from the Rijksmuseum or the Frick (you must think I’m on commission, so often do I recommend their videos to you) I found this. It’s a fascinating documentary about the painter, Hans Holbein, who gave us our indelible view of what people, particularly Royal people, looked like in the time of Henry V111. What did they wear? How did they present themselves? Why did they matter (if they did)?

Holbein – Eye of the Tudors is presented by the immensely knowledgeable and erudite art critic and historian, Waldemar Januszczak.  What he doesn’t know about painting in the 16th century isn’t worth knowing and he tells it in an earnest, down-to-earth style that is direct and communicative. On the minus side, the programme is riddled with commercial interruptions which you just have to ignore and the Januszczak style of presentation is not everyone’s cuppa. I admire what he writes enormously but find watching him somewhat harder to take. But if you’re interested in portraiture, there’s no one better.