The Dance of Death.

127

VIII.,, from admiration of his works, appointed him hispainter, with apartments at Whitehall. In 1529 hevisited Basle, but returned to England in 1530. In 1535he drew the portrait of his friend Nicholas Bourbon orBorbonius at London, probably the before-mentionedcrayon drawing at Buckingham House, or some duplicateof it. In 1538 he painted the portrait of Sir RichardSouthwell, a privy counsellor to Henry VIII., which wasafterwards in the gallery of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. 5About this time the magistrates of the city of Basle settledan annuity on him, but conditionally that he should returnin two years to his native place and family, with whichterms he certainly did not comply, preferring to remain inEngland. In the last-mentioned year he was sent by theking into Burgundy to paint the portrait of the Duchess ofMilan, and in 1539 t0 Germany to paint that of Anne ofCleves. In some household accounts of Henry VIII.there are payments to him in 1538, 1539, 1540, and 1541,on account of his salary, which appears to have been thirtypounds per annum. 6 Erom this time little more is re-corded of him till 1553, when he painted Queen Mary'sportrait, and shortly afterwards died of the plague inLondon in 1554.

In the absence of positive evidence, it may surely beallowed to substitute probable conjecture; and as it cannotbe clearly proved that Holbein painted a Dance of Deathat Basle, may not the before-mentioned verses of Borboniusrefer to his painting at Whitehall, and which the poet musthimself have seen ? It is no objection that Borboniusremained a year only in England, when his portrait waspainted by his friend Holbein in 1535, or that the versesdid not make their appearance till 1538, for they seemrather to fix the date of the painting, if really belonging toit, between those years; and it is not unreasonable tosuppose that Borbonius would hold some intercourse withthe painter, even after leaving England, as is indeedapparent from other compliments bestowed on him in his"Nug£e,"the contents of which are by no means ch^ono-

8 Baldinucci notizie d' e professori del disegno, torn. iii. p. 317, 410.edit, where the inscription on it is given. 6 Norfolk MS. 97, now

in the British Museum.

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