A School Teacher Explaining the Meaning of a Letter to Illiterate Workers

German artist Hans Holbein the Younger created this work depicting a teacher instructing workers who cannot read. The scene reflects the importance of literacy and education during the Renaissance period when reading was becoming increasingly valued.

Holbein was one of the greatest portrait painters of the 16th century, serving at the court of Henry VIII. His genre scenes and illustrations demonstrate the same precise observation that made his portraits so striking. The work is at the Kunstmuseum Basel in Switzerland.