Hans Holbein
Hans Holbein, the younger, was a German Renaissance artist that produced work in the 16th century. As writers, Oskar Batschmann and Pascal Griener state, “Holbein’s central artistic concern [had] two aspects: fantastic creation and virtuoso imitation” (Batschmann and Griener 42). This shows that he was most widely known for his high realism in regards to portraits, and he valued creating them with intricate detail.
As a lover of realism, especially with people as the main subject, I truly admire Holbein’s work and attention to detail. As I skim through pictures of paintings, I can’t help but notice the change between Renaissance and Gothic style painting is so drastic. It’s beautiful to me to see how our eye and depth of perception has evolved. The piece that I think best displays this is Edward VI as a Child (fig 1) because the flesh tones are so perfectly accurate. It captures his goal for realism quite nicely!
Figure 1
Figure 2: King Henry VII
Figure 3: Lady with a Squirrel
Figure 4: The Ambassadors
Figure 5: Sir Thomas More
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Works Cited
Bätschmann, Oskar, and Pascal Griener. Hans Holbein : Revised and Expanded Second Edition, Reaktion Books, Limited, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest- com.ezproxy.capilanou.ca/lib/capilano- ebooks/detail.action?docID=1569660.
Mikaela,
Your writing is excellent. Research is solid and your personal responses are well placed. Interesting points about both painters but I have a real attachment to Holbein, as you seem to for the same reasons. He’s definitely an important artist in early portraiture.
Jeff