He may have paid a brief visit to Italy, but he never lived there for any length of time, nor did he try to paint like an Italian as some northern artists unhappily tried to do.

The German merits, solidity, boldness, detailed finish, and grasp of character, he possessed in a high degree, but he combined with them a beauty of line, delicacy of modelling, and richness of colour almost southern.

His pictures appeal more to the eye and less to the mind than do those of Durer.

Where Durer sought to instruct, Holbein was content to please.

But like a German he spared no pains.