Susanna Hornebolt

Susanna Hornebolt
Alleged portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger.
Born	1503 Flanders
Died	c. 1554 (aged 50–51) England
Nationality	Flanders (born) - England (1522 +)
Known for	Portrait miniature, illuminations
Notable work	Illumination, The Savior
Spouse(s)	John Parker, John Gilman

Susanna(h) Hornebolt or Horenbout (1503–c.1554) was the first known female artist in England and the Tudor dynasty. The daughter of Flemish artist Gerard Hornebolt and sister of Lucas Horenbout, Susannah learned to paint with her father. She gained recognition in Europe in 1521 when Albrecht Dürer bought her illumination, The Savior.

She came to England, as did Lucas, her father, and mother, Margaret Svanders Hornebolt. (The family name was anglicised to Hornebolt in 1534). She was a gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber for Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Parr and perhaps Queen Mary. She was reputedly an artist for Henry VIII and his court. Hornebolt married John Parker and after his death married to John Gilman.

Her work has been admired by contemporary artists Albrecht Dürer, Guicciardini and Vasari.

Hornebolt was an illuminator, and daughter of Gerard Hornebolt and Margaret Svanders, who was the daughter of Derick Svanders and widow of Jan van Heerweghe. Susanna Horenbolt was related to Lucas Horenbout. She started working for her father starting in 1520, and by 1521 she was known as a miniature painter and illuminator on the European continent. It was during that year that Albrecht Dürer bought an illumination that she had made of The Saviour when she was in Antwerp with her father. Guicciardini and Vasari "extol her excellence" as an illuminator. Guiccidardini wrote in 1567 that her "excellence in painting, particularly in the art of miniatures and illumination, was 'beyond believing'." In 1568 Vasari wrote that "she was one of a handful of Flemish women who had distinguished themselves by the excellence of their art."

The Hornebolt family, associated with the Ghent-Bruges school of manuscript illumination, was brought to England by Henry VIII to create portrait miniatures like the religious illuminations to "represent God's approval of the Tudors as England's ruling family."