Wenceslaus Hollar, after Hans Holbein the Younger. Sir William Butts and Lady Mary Butts (trad.) / Etching, 1649 (late 18th century impression).

Artist: Hans Holbein the Younger (German, 1497/98–1543)
Engraver: Wenceslaus Hollar (Bohemian, 1607–1677)
Publisher: Adam Alexius Bierling (Netherlandish, 1625–1675)
Place/Date: Antwerp, 1649 (late 18th century printing on wove paper)
Medium: Etching; black ink on thick wove paper
Dimensions:
– Male portrait: Platemark 135 × 93 mm; sheet 140 × 98 mm
– Female portrait: Platemark 134 × 92 mm; sheet 137 × 96 mm

Sitters: Traditionally, Sir William Butts (British, c.1486–1545) and his wife Margaret Bacon, Lady Butts (British, c.1485–1545); alternative identification for the male portrait: Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk (British, 1484–1545).

Printed inscriptions (on both): Lower left: “Holbein inu.”; centre: “Wollar fecit. 1649.”; lower right: “Adam Alexius Bierling exc.”

Description: Later (post-mid-18th-century) impressions of two plates from Hollar’s series after Holbein. The male image has long been identified as Sir William Butts, Henry VIII’s physician; however, New Hollstein rejects this identification, and the British Museum notes a resemblance to Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. The companion female portrait, often labelled “Lady Mary Butts,” represents Margaret, Lady Butts, wife of Sir William Butts.

Technique note: Plates etched and dated 1649; these impressions were printed later on wove paper.

References: New Hollstein (Hollar), Copies after Holbein, i/iii; Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sir William Butts and Lady Mary Butts; British Museum male portrait noted as Charles Brandon.