Hans Holbein the Younger, returning from London…

Hans Holbein the Younger, returning from London to Basel in 1528, seeks to resume his former practice, but patrons for portraits prove difficult to find, and religious strife there makes the execution of any religious works hazardous.

Holbein buys a house in Basel, in St Johanns-Vorstadt, on August 29, 1528.

He presumably returned home to preserve his citizenship, since he had been granted only a two-year leave of absence.

During this period in Basel, he paints The Artist's Family, showing Elsbeth, with the couple's two eldest children, Philipp and Katherina, evoking images of the Virgin and Child with St John the Baptist.