Book in crack, fashionable painter (7)

I believe the answer is:

holbein

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'painter' is the definition.
(Hans Holbein the Younger or Hans Holbein the Elder)

'book in crack fashionable' is the wordplay.
'book' becomes 'b' (abbreviation for book).
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'crack' becomes 'hole' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'fashionable' becomes 'in' (similar in meaning).
'b' going inside 'hole' is 'holbe'.
'holbe'+'in'='HOLBEIN'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for holbein that I've seen before include "Hans -, German artist who painted Henry VIII" , "Hans --, one of two related German painters" , "German painter at the court of Henry VIII" , "Hans ---, painted Erasmus, More" , "Hans -, German painter (father or son)" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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