Painters in the Reign of Henry VIII. 117 



"Who his wife was, or what family he left 

 we are ' not told ; mention of fome of his 

 children will be made in the lift of his 

 works. 



Holbein painted in oil, in diftemper and 

 water-colours. He had never pra^lifed the 

 laft 'till he came to England, where he 

 learned it of Lucas Cornelii, and carried 

 it to the higheft perfection. His mi- 

 niatures have all the ftrength of oil-colours 

 joined to the moft finifhed delicacy. He 

 generally painted on a green ground ; in 

 his fmall pi6lures often on a deep blue. 

 There is a tradition that he painted with 

 his left hand, like the Roman knight Tur- 

 pilius, but this is contradicted by one of 

 his own portraits that was in the Arunde- 

 lian colledlion and came to lord Stafford, 

 in which he holds his pencil in the right 

 hand. 



It is impofTible to give a compleat cata- 

 logue of his works ; they were extremely 

 numerous -, and as I have faid, that num- 

 ber is increafed by copies, by doubtfull or 

 by pretended pieces. Many have probably 

 not come to my knowledge i thofe I fliall 

 mention were of his hand, as far as I can 

 judge. - 



H 3 From 



