Hans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger (c. 1497– before November 29, 1543) was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style in Basel, Switzerland and England. He is best known for his series of 41 woodcuts of the Dance of Death and his numerous portraits.
He was a friend of the famous Dutch humanist Erasmus and illustrated his satire, “In Praise of Folly.” Holbein also illustrated other books including Martin Luther’s German translation of the Bible. He designed stained glass windows and painted murals. In 1526 he traveled to England with a letter of introduction from Erasmus, to Sir Thomas More. He painted in England for two years, returned to work on portraits and murals for the town hall, in Basel, Switzerland, but again left his family to return to England in 1532 where he became court painter to King Henry VIII. He painted over 100 portraits and miniatures, designed numerous items for the court, including the king's robes, and died of plague in London in 1543.
Early life and career
Holbein was born in Augsburg, Bavaria and learned painting from his father Hans Holbein the Elder. Later he went with his brother Ambrosius Holbein to Basel where he met many scholars, among them the Dutch humanist Erasmus. Holbein was asked by Erasmus to illustrate his satires. He also illustrated other books, and Martin Luther's translation of the German Bible. Like his father, he designed stained glass windows and painted portraits.
He visited Italy in 1517 and France in 1524 where his skill was influenced by the artists there. He joined the painters’ corporation in 1519. He married a tanner’s widow and became a burgher of Basle in 1520. By 1521 he was painting important murals in the town hall of Basle. His most famous work of the time was a series of 41 scenes (woodcuts) illustrating the medieval allegorical concept of Death. He designed them between 1523-26, another artist cut them and they were published in 1538. These striking scenes reveal not only a deep sense of order but also many distinct details about the habits of Death’s victims. 1526 saw iconoclastic riots and censorship of the press sweeping over the city of Basel which severely limited the production of art, and blocked many artists from finding work. (It seems that Holbein voluntarily gave up all painting of religious art after 1530 as a result of the religious struggle.)
Holbein in England
The strife of the Reformation made it difficult for Holbein to support himself as an artist in Basel, Switzerland, and he set out for London in 1526 where he worked for two years. Erasmus furnished him with a letter of introduction addressed to the English statesman and author Sir Thomas More. He painted portraits of More and a full size one of his family, thus gaining him a good reputation.
When Holbein returned to England again in 1532-43, he became court painter and produced many portraits at the court of Henry VIII. He painted a full-size portrait of Henry, which astonished the court, and numerous people remarked that it seemed ‘alive’ with the head and limbs seemingly to move as the viewer passed by.
He designed the king’s state robes as well as many household items, from buttons and bridles to book bindings. He also designed many of the extravagant monuments and decorations for the coronation of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, in the summer of 1533. He contributed much to the colorful period of art of the court and his works are seen as an historical document of the culture of the court.
Several extant drawings said to be of Anne Boleyn are attributed to Holbein. One portrays a woman with rather plump features dressed in a plain nightgown. Some have said that this shows the queen during pregnancy, sometime between 1533 and 1535, but recent research suggests that the subject is actually one of Anne's ladies-in-waiting, possibly Lady Margaret Lee or one of her sisters. It seems more likely that the portrait Holbein drew or painted of Anne Boleyn was destroyed after she was beheaded in 1536 on charges of treason, adultery, incest and witchcraft.
Holbein painted Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour. He also painted Jane's sister, Elizabeth Seymour, who married the son of Thomas Cromwell. This portrait was incorrectly identified as Henry's fifth wife, Queen Catherine Howard, when it was discovered in the Victorian era. After Seymour's death Holbein painted Christina of Denmark during negotiations for her prospective marriage to Henry VIII. The likeness met with Henry's approval, but Christina declined the offer of matrimony, citing a desire to retain her head.
Holbein also painted Anne of Cleves for Henry VIII as a prelude to a proposal of marriage. Henry criticized the portrait as having been too flattering; but it seems likely that Henry was more impressed by extravagant praise for Anne than with Holbein's portrait. There is some debate over whether or not a portrait miniature of a young woman in a gold dress and jewel is in fact Holbein's painting of Henry's fifth wife, Catherine Howard. And his famous, The Ambassadors, in 1533.
While in London he also painted German merchant Georg Giese, brother of Tiedemann Giese, at the Hanseatic League outpost in London, called the Steelyard ((Stalhof)).
While Holbein was working on another portrait of Henry, he died in London. He made his will on October 7th, 1543, and a document attached to it, dated November 29th, describes him as recently dead. [1]
Portrait techniques
Holbein always made highly detailed pencil drawings of his portrait subjects, often supplemented with ink and colored chalk. The drawings emphasize facial detail and usually did not include the hands; clothing was only indicated schematically. The outlines of these drawings were then transferred onto the support for the final painting using tiny holes in the paper through which powdered charcoal was transmitted; in later years Holbein used a kind of carbon paper. The final paintings thus had the same scale as the original drawings. Although the drawings were made as studies for paintings, they stand on their own as independent, finely wrought works of art.
He painted a few, superb, portrait miniatures, having been taught the art by Lucas Horenbout, a Flemish illuminator who was also a court artist of Henry VIII. Horenbout painted Holbein in perhaps his best miniature, and the best portrait we have of Holbein, who never made a self-portrait.
A subtle ability to render character may be noted in Holbein's work, as can be seen in his portraits of Thomas Cromwell, Desiderius Erasmus, and Henry VIII. The end results are convincing as definitive images of the subjects' appearance and personality.
Legacy
Hans Holbein the Younger effectively brought Renaissance painting to Britain from Europe. His 100 portraits reveal the culture and styles of the court of King Henry VIII. His subtle portraits do not immediately grab the viewer and reveal the character of the sitter. But on further viewing the subtleties of facial expression do in fact show much of the character of the sitter. No one created more beautiful and striking portraits. He stands as one of the greatest portraitists in art history and had a great impact on the culture of Henry’s court.
His work reveals that during the Protestant Reformation, there was a shift from religious art to more of an individualized expression of character. Holbein and his contemporaries, Filippo Bellini (active 1594) and Leonardo da Vinci conveyed the complexity of the human character through a more complex mix, revealing not one static emotion but a dynamic character of the sitter.
See also
- Early Renaissance painting
- Artists of the Tudor court
- Anamorphosis
Notes
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Buck, Stephanie, et al. Hans Holbein the Younger, 1497/98-1543: portraitist of the Renaissance, The Hague: Royal Cabinet of Paintings Mauritshuis ; Zwolle : Waanders, 2003. ISBN 9789040087967
- Gombrich, E. H. "The Story of Art", London: Phaidon Press, Ltd., 1995. ISBN 9780714833552
- Holbein, Hans, Stephanie Buck, and Jochen Sander. Hans Holbein the Younger: painter at the court of Henry VIII, New York: Thames & Hudson, 2004. ISBN 9780500093184
- Michael, Erika. Hans Holbein the Younger: a guide to research, New York: Garland Pub., 1997. ISBN 9780815303893
- ______________. The drawings by Hans Holbein the Younger for Erasmus' "Praise of folly", New York: Garland, 1985. ISBN 9780824068769
- Rowlands, John and Hans Holbein. Holbein: the paintings of Hans Holbein the younger, Boston: D.R. Godine, 1985. ISBN 9780879235789
- Zwingenberger, Jeanette. The Shadow of Death in the work of Hans Holbein the Younger, London: Parkstone Press, 1999. ISBN 9781859954928
External links and references
All links retrieved November 20, 2007.
- A list of museums featuring the artist - Artcyclopedia.com
- Holbein, Hans the Younger by Nicolas Pioch.
- 2006 exhibition on Holbein in England at Tate Britain - Tate Britain
- Review of Holbein in Britain, Tate Britain - Tate Britain,2006
- Holbein’s The Ambassadors, 1533 (National Gallery London) - smARThistory.org
- Hans Holbein the Younger Gallery - MuseumSyndicate.com
- Holbein's Dance of Death - A pictorial gallery of the woodcut illustrations.
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