Scant are the details of his life, and nothing is known of his artistic training; however, his earliest works reveal a clear Flemish influence, as seen in the altarpiece for the Dominicans of Frankfurt am Main (1501). Towards the end of his career, though essentially archaic in his compositions with dark colors, he changed his style by assimilating the innovations of the new art influenced by Italy. Among his works are remembered *The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian*, one of his masterpieces (c. 1515), and *The Fountain of Life* (1519). He was also a renowned portraitist. His sons Ambrosius and the more famous Hans (the Younger) were also painters.
BIBL.: Glaser, s. V. in Thieme-Becker, XVII, pp. 333-335; O. Benesch, *Beiträge zur oberschwäbischen Bildnismalerei*, in *Jahrbuch der Preussischen Kunstsammlungen*, 1933, pp. 238-254; A. A. Schmidt, *Holbeinstudien*, in *Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte*, 1941-42, pp. 1-39.