Hans Holbein the Younger (German, 1497-1543), Portrait of a Woman, between 1532 and 1534. Tempera and oil on oak panel. Unframed: 23.2 × 19.1 cm; Framed : 39.7 × 34.6 × 3.8 cm. Detroit Institute of Arts, Bequest of Eleanor Clay Ford, 77.81.

Although Hans Holbein the Younger was a German painter, he spent little time in his homeland after commissions for paintings, religious and otherwise, became scarce in Protestant Germany. He settled permanently in London in 1532, and, as court painter during the reign of Henry VIII, specialized in portraying royalty and landed gentry.

The English style of clothing suggests that Holbein painted this thoughtful portrait of a gentlewoman during the 1530s. The painting is startlingly plain, without informative attributes that might identify the sitter. The artist has concentrated on the woman’s personality as expressed in carriage and demeanor, thereby underscoring inner qualities rather than superficial ones.