The Mistress and Secret Messages of Hans Holbein: Lais of Corinth

Did the famous Tudor Painter Hans Holbein the Younger include secret messages and his mistress in his paintings?
We looked at his two early paintings, Lais of Corinth and Venus and Amor, and we believe that he was in love with Magdalena Offenburg, the model he used for these paintings.
Moreover, he did include some subtle messages in his artwork, which may help us unlock his thoughts in these and other portraits.
Was ahw Hans Holbein's mistress?

Chapters:
00:00 Hans Holbein the Younger
00:21 Who was this Beautiful Lady?
00:36 Magdalena Offenburg
01:21 Hans Holbein’s Secret Message: Venus and Amor
01:50 Hans Holbein’s Secret Message: Lais of Corinth
03:00 Hans Holbein leaving for England, Death of Magdalena
03:10 Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell
03:24 Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII
03:50 Was Magdalena the mistress of Hans Holbein?
03:58 Did Hans Holbein create the secret message as a love letter?
04:11 Narration: The Mistress and Secret Messages of Hans Holbein
04:38 Outro

Hans Holbein, the famous Tudor Royal Painter of Henry VIII, used the same lady to model two of his fascinating paintings: Lais of Corinth and Venus and Amor.
Who was this lady?

Many believed this beautiful lady to be Magdalena Offenburg, who could be Hans Holbein's mistress.
Some art Historians believed that some subtle difference between these paintings hid a secret message that Holbein tried to convey.
Can you spot these differences and Holbein's message?

Hans Holbein's Secret Message:
In the 1524 painting Venus and Amor, Venus, the Greek Goddess of Love, held Cupid (Amor) in her hand as a symbol of her love.
Holbein depicted a delighted lady with a black veil on her head.
Many believed the open sleeve suggested sexual attractiveness, giving the first suggestion that Holbein and Magdalena Offenburg were in love.
In 1526, Holbein painted Lais of Corinth.
Lais of Corinth was a famous Athenian Courtesan and the most beautiful woman of her time who charged a hefty price for her services.
Holbein painted her with gold coins on her table, wearing a gold veil and a disdainful look.
In real life, Lais was the lover of Apelle, an ancient Greek painter to whom Holbein often compared himself.
The Painting suggested the possibility that Magdalena was his mistress, but something happened for him to perceive that she swapped love (Cupid) for gold coins.
From love to gold coins, the swop made her different, disdainful and unhappy.

Magdalena died in 1526, the year in which Hans Holbein left for England.
In England, He became the painter for Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII.
And produce the magnificent portraits we are using to understand the Tudors today.

Do you also believe that Magdalena Offenburg was Hans Holbein's mistress?
Did Hans Holbein make these portraits, clues, and secret messages an eternal love letter to his lover?

The Music is “After Noon” by Brock Hewitt:Stories in Sound, licensed via Music Vine: J3EBD0UXD9ED6QTE

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