Until modern times royal courts were a major focus of artistic patronage. Monarchs employed their own artists giving them titles such as ‘King’s painter’, but they are generally referred to as court painters. They could be among the most famous artists of the day. In Britain Henry VIII imported Holbein and Charles I appointed Sir Anthony van Dyck ‘Principalle Paynter in ordinary to their majesties’. Elizabeth I nurtured the first native-born genius of British art, Nicholas Hilliard. Charles I built one of the greatest royal art collections and lavishly patronised the arts in general.
