Hans Holbein der Jüngere: Master Portraitist and Designer of the High Renaissance

(Left) A drawn portrait of Hans Holbein the Younger, presumed to be of his own hand. (Right) King Henry the VIII is portrayed in his most famous stance in this Holbein recreation. The original painting was lost in a fire in 1698.

Hans Holbein the Younger (not to be confused with his father, Hans Holbein the Elder) was born in the free imperial city of Augsburg, Bavaria in 1497 to a family of artists. As per German tradition, Holbein was a skilled draftsman and prepared each painting with a precise line drawing in chalk and ink. Many of his well preserved technical drawings are the only hint of a subsequent painting ever existing.

The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein is both a double portrait and still life. Pictured above is Jean de Dinteville, French Ambassador, and Georges de Selve, Bishop of Lavaur, of King Henry VIII’s court.

His most well-renowned painting was The Ambassadors which featured heavy use of symbolic objects and an anamorphic skull. Holbein was appointed as the King’s painter in 1535 and painted King Henry the VIII’s standard image of him standing with his legs apart and hands on his hips in Portrait of Henry VIII.

  • The Abbess
  • The Child
  • The Lady
Holbein’s Dance for Death exhibits the reality that Death excludes no one, and that his severity differs for no child, woman, or elder.

Although he was known as one of the greatest portraitists of the High Renaissance, Hans Holbein was also an incredible designer. His design elements extended past gold leaf inscriptions and intricate decorations. The substantial contribution he made to book design can be observed in his woodcut series Dance for Death. He also has many drawings that show his designs for jewellery, momentous frescos, and clothing. Many of his designs went on to inspire engravings for the distinctively English Greenwich armour. Hans Holbein the Younger was lost to the plague in London in 1543.

(Left) Detailed view of engravings inspired by Hans Holbein on Greenwich armour garniture, most likely made for King Henry VIII. (Right) Jewellery designs drawn by Hans Holbein were found in his “Jewellery Book” and were brought to physical realization for King Henry VIII and his wives.

References for Images:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Holbein_the_Younger
https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/hans-holbeins-dance-of-death-1523-5
https://theadventurine.com/culture/jewelry-history/henry-viiis-favorite-jewelry-designer/

References for Information
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Holbein_the_Younger
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hans-Holbein-the-Younger

One thought on “Hans Holbein der Jüngere: Master Portraitist and Designer of the High Renaissance”

  1. Tobin,

    Solid work on Holbein! Your research is bang on and your writing is pretty good as well. I like that you cited his design work as well which probably isn’t that well known. I’ve spent lots of time standing in front of the Ambassadors in the National Gallery in London as I love that painting.
    Look forward to further posts.

    Jeff

    Reply

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