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| − | [[Image:HolbeindJ.jpg|250px|thumb|A 1543 [[portrait miniature]] of Hans Holbein the Younger by [[Lucas Horenbout]]]]
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| − | [[Image:Holbein-ambassadors.jpg|thumb|250 px|Holbein's 1533 painting ''[[The Ambassadors (Holbein)|The Ambassadors]]'']]
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| − | '''Hans Holbein the Younger''' (c. 1497– before November 29 1543) was a [[Germans|German]] [[artist]] and [[printmaker]] who worked in a [[Northern Renaissance]] style. He is best known for his numerous [[portrait]]s and his [[woodcut]] series of the ''Dance of Death''.
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| − | ==Early life and career==
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| − | 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 [[Netherlands|Dutch]] [[Humanism|humanist]] [[Erasmus]]. Holbein was asked by Erasmus to illustrate his [[satire]]s. He also illustrated other books, and contributed to [[Martin Luther|Martin Luther's]] translation of the [[Bible]]. Like his father, he [[design]]ed [[stained glass window]]s and painted portraits.
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| − | ==Holbein in England==
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| − | The [[Reformation]] made it difficult for Holbein to support himself as an artist in Basel, Switzerland, and he set out for [[London]] in 1526. Erasmus furnished him with a letter of introduction addressed to the English statesman and author [[Thomas More|Sir Thomas More]]. Holbein painted many portraits at the [[Noble court|court]] of [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]]. While there he designed state [[robe]]s for the king. He also designed many of the extravagant [[monument]]s and decorations for the [[coronation]] of Henry's second wife, [[Anne Boleyn]], in the summer of 1533.
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| − | 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 [[pregnant|pregnancy]], sometime between 1533 and 1535, but recent research suggests that the subject is actually one of Anne's [[Lady-in-waiting|ladies-in-waiting]], possibly Lady [[Margaret Lee]] or one of her sisters. It seems more likely that portrait Holbein drew or painted of Anne Boleyn was destroyed after she was [[beheading|beheaded]] in 1536 on false charges of [[treason]], [[adultery]], [[incest]] and [[witchcraft]].
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| − | 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.
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| − | [[Image:Hans Holbein d. J. 065.jpg|250px|thumb|left|Portrait of Sir Thomas More, by Hans Holbein the Younger (1527).]]
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| − | Holbein also painted [[Anne of Cleves]] for Henry VIII. Henry criticized the portrait as having been too flattering; 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 [[jewelery|jewel]]s is in fact Holbein's painting of Henry's fifth wife, Catherine Howard.
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| − | ==Later years==
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| − | In his later years Holbein worked in both Basel and London. On one of his stays in London he painted German merchant [[Georg Giese]], brother of [[Tiedemann Giese]], at the [[Hanseatic League]] outpost in London, called the [[Steelyard]] ''(Stalhof)''.
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| − | 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.<ref>Michael Levey, ''The German School''. London : Publications Dept., National Gallery, 1959. OCLC 155723675</ref>
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| − | ==Portrait techniques==
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| − | Holbein always made highly detailed [[pencil]] [[drawing]]s 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 (map)|scale]] as the original drawings. Although the drawings were made as [[Study (drawing)|studies]] for paintings, they stand on their own as independent, finely wrought works of art.
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| − | He painted a few, superb, [[portrait miniature]]s, having been taught the art by [[Lucas Horenbout]], a Flemish Illuminator who was also a court artist of Henry.{{fact}} Horenbout painted Holbein in perhaps his best miniature, and the best portrait we have of Holbein, who never made a [[self-portrait]] (illustration).
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| − | [[David Hockney]] has speculated in the [[Hockney-Falco thesis]] that Holbein used a concave mirror to project an image of the subject onto the drawing surface. The image was then traced. However this thesis has not met with general acceptance from art historians.
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| − | A subtle ability to render [[Moral character|character]] may be noted in Holbein's work, as can be seen in his portraits of [[Thomas Cromwell]], [[Desiderius Erasmus]], and [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]]. The end results are convincing as definitive images of the subjects' appearance and personality.
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| − | ==See also==
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| − | * [[Early Renaissance painting]]
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| − | * [[Artists of the Tudor court]]
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| − | * [[List of British artists]]
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| − | * [[Anamorphosis]]
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| − | ==Notes==
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| − | {{reflist}}
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| − | ==External links and references==
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| − | All links retrieved November 20, 2007.
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| − | *[http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/holbein_the_younger_hans.html A list of museums featuring the artist] - Artcyclopedia.com
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| − | *[http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/holbein/ Holbein, Hans the Younger] by Nicolas Pioch.
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| − | *[http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/holbein/ 2006 exhibition on Holbein in England at Tate Britain] - Tate Britain
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| − | * [http://artreview.wordpress.com/2006/11/25/holbein-in-britain-tate-britain/ Review of Holbein in Britain, Tate Britain] - Tate Britain,2006
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| − | *[http://smarthistory.org/blog/22/holbein-vodcast/ Holbein’s The Ambassadors, 1533 (National Gallery London)] - smARThistory.org
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| − | *[http://www.museumsyndicate.com/artist.php?artist=410 Hans Holbein the Younger Gallery] - MuseumSyndicate.com
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| − | *[http://book-lover.com/danceofdeath/ Holbein's Dance of Death] - A pictorial gallery of the woodcut illustrations.
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| − | [[Category:People from Bavaria|Holbein, Hans the Younger]]
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| − | [[Category:German painters|Holbein, Hans the Younger]]
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| − | [[Category:Deaths from bubonic plague|Holbein, Hans the Younger]]
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| − | [[Category:German-English people|Holbein, Hans the Younger]]
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| − | [[Category:British-Germans|Holbein, Hans the Younger]]
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| − | [[Category:Renaissance painters|Holbein, Hans the Younger]]
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| − | [[Category:Walhalla enshrinees|Holbein, Hans the Younger]]
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| − | [[Category:German printmakers|Holbein, Hans the Younger]]
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| − | [[Category:Portrait artists|Holbein, Hans the Younger]]
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| − | {{credit|172099125}}
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