Great Masters

Selfportrait, 1543

Hans Holbein the Younger brought a new dimension in the art of portrait painting at the start of the 16th Century when he represented his sitters in a much realistic way that was unrivalled during many decades.

Breaking away from all Middle Age concepts, Holbein produced striking portraits during his short life and was also the first artist to open a golden era for miniature painting.

Hans and his brother decided to settle in Basel probably because of the opportunities they were offered to work as draughtsmen and engravers for many printing houses such as those run by Adam Petri, Cratander, Wolff and Jan Froben that were flourishing in that city.

Hans and Ambrosius Holbein produced many book frontispieces and illustrations for these printers, notably Jan Froben. However, religious disputes marred the city and in 1519, Hans, encouraged by Erasmus, decided to find work elsewhere and particularly in England where he was introduced to Sir Thomas Morus.

Erasmus

He first travelled by boat on the Rhine river and stopped in Antwerp where he visited Quentin Metsys before coming to London. According to certain accounts, he then received a warm welcome from Sir Thomas Morus of whom he was his host in his Chelsea home.

Hans had married at a young age and on his return from London he painted the portraits of his wife and two children.

During his long stay in London, Hans Holbein had become the favourite painter of King Henry 8th and his court. It was also during this 12-year period that he produced the most exquisite miniature portraits in a style that was only matched by a handful of miniaturists at the end of the 18th Century.

The Ambassadors

In the history of art, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Dürer, Rembrandt and many other painters have been placed by many specialists on a higher pedestal than Holbein for different reasons, one being that their works generally contained more mystery than those he produced, another one being that he had been considered chiefly as a portrait painter. Still one may suspect that some uncertainties regarding his biography and the fact that much of his career took place in England did not entirely plead in his favour.

In the eyes of many historians, painting in England during the first half of the 16th Century bore little importance despite the presence of Holbein there. It is true that when he started to work in London, most painters attached to the English court were foreigners of little talent such the Hornebolt (Horenbout) family of artists who started to produce what I would call primitive miniature portraits of the king. During these times there were no landscape nor portrait painters able to match the mastery of those working in Italy, the Netherlands, France or the Flanders region. Strangely enough, Holbein found a propitious terrain in such desert to work at his best though he had no rival with whom to compete. Nevertheless, he had much freedom as he was not involved in any serious feud with some jealous rival to observe the people around him and to produce spectacular portraits.

Nevertheless, the court of England and England itself were far away from the European continent, which was a world apart during most of the 16th Century. England had not yet conquered the seas and had not yet dressed its wounds after the memorable 100-year war it had waged and lost in France, Calais remaining its last foothold on the continent until 1558.

In such circumstances, Holbein had made the bizarre choice of living like an exile in London instead of achieving a seemingly more interesting career in Switzerland or Germany if one considers that England offered little scopes to most good European artists until at least the beginning of the 17th Century. In some way, Holbein suffered from an inadvert association with the rather poor English school of painting of the 1520-1620 period and was as a result somewhat neglected when art historians contributed to the legends of many artists through their writings.

Sir Thomas Godsalve and his son

William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury,

Before leaving London to return in Basel, he also produced woodcuts for an extremely rare book, The Pastime of People, or the Chronicles of diverse realms, and most especially of the realm of England, printed by Pastell in 1529. It must however be pointed out that his stay in England had not remained unnoticed in Basel as City officials had been informed of his tremendous success in London.

Madonna of the Meyer Burgomaster

In 1528 he painted the Madonna of the Meyer Burgomaster of Darmstadt, probably produced during his brief return to Basel, a painting in which the waves of the carpet on which donors are shown kneeling have been raising strange conjectures.

Holbein painted in 1532 the portrait of a German merchant called Georg Gisze, now in the Berlin museum, which was remarkable regarding the multiplicity of accessories placed around the sitter, notably the still life on the table and the deceptive effect on the wall.

In 1533, he painted the double portrait of Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve, called "The Ambassadors", one of his most achieved works with many objects placed in that painting, the sumptuous rendering of clothes and the presence of the strange anamorphosis of a skull, a painting full of innuendoes that has yet to deliver all its meaning today.

Holbein then produced in 1534 the portrait of Thomas Cromwell, a painting which was to have some considerable influence on his destiny since it was Cromwell who reportedly made him known to the king though, according to certain accounts, the painter was introduced by Thomas Morus to the monarch. Still, it was only in 1536 that Holbein became one of the King's official painters. That year he painted the portrait of Sir Richard Southwell, now in Florence while he produced the celebrated portrait of King Henry and his father a year later, a major work which was destroyed in the fire that devastated White Hall in 1698 and of which a carton is now in Harwick hall. He also painted the portrait of Jane Seymour and that of Lady Vaux (in Prague) as well of that of Charles Solier de la Morette.

Jane Seymour

Christine of Denmark

In 1538, Holbein went in the Flanders to paint the portrait of Christine of Denmark, a painting full of grace and went on a mission to Burgundy for an unknown reason and took the opportunity of visiting Lyons and Basel where he produced some drawings. During this short stay in Basel, Holbein negotiated a contract under which he was return to that city to become its official painter though with the permission to work in other countries.

King Henry

Anne of Cleves

In 1539-1540, he produced another impressive portrait of King Henry and left England once again to paint the portrait of Anne of Cleves. He also produced the portraits of Thomas Howard and John Chambers and drew as well his self-portrait in 1542, now in Florence.

Holbein was truly the first painter to introduce the notion of psychology in portrait painting showing his sitters as they were in life and giving a remarkable insight of the daily existence of humans beings of the Renaissance period through spectacular details shown in many works.

Last but not least, Holbein was also a remarkable painter of religious-related subjects though he somewhat appeared not to be very much concerned when it came to underline the idealised spirituality of his models.

Holbein worked under several artistic, national or religious influences and managed to gather all these in his works without reducing his originality. He first was under the influence of Swabian and German artists and then under those of the Netherlands and Italy.

Swabian School

Swabian artists had already brought a new dimension to portrait painting, which Holbein further extended. One may believe that Hans Holbein was closely linked to painters like Multscher, Friedrich Herlin, Martin Schaffner, Bernhard Strigel, Christoph Amberger or Burgmayr who already were prone to produce realistic paintings. However Hans' major influence came above all from his father who gave him all the proper recipes that eventually enabled him to surpass many great masters.

Holbein was also by nature a psychologist who was deeply interested in the attitudes of his likes going as far as to produce caricatures of them or to show the torturers of Christ dressed in Bavarian costumes, the Bavarians being the hereditary enemies of the people of Augsburg.

Holbein was also used to seeing many soldiers and elegant cavalrymen in the town of Augsburg. Their impressive looks notably left their mark in many of his drawings and paintings as much as the splendid silver pieces, fabrics and rich decors in the residences of noblemen.

It must be signalled that Augsburg was a modern and joyful city which was the scenes of many pompous or popular feasts. The town had many splendid palaces, churches, houses and gardens while most of its inhabitants were opulent and many well-known artists were active there as well as in neighbouring cities like Nördlingen or Memmingen.

Augsburg was particularly proud of its artists, silversmiths, gun-makers, jewellers, glassmakers, printers or sculptors whose fame had reached many parts of Europe.

Most of its painters worked for Emperor Maximilian who was known as “the father of arts and sciences” such Ulrich Apt the Elder, Jörg Brew or Hans Burgmayr who painted some splendid works as well as impressive mural scenes, which alas were destroyed many decades after his death in 1531.

Portrait of a young man, Ambrosius or Hans Holbein
(Hermitage, St Petersburg)

Amrosius and Hans

We have no accounts regarding Hans' early youth except that his father represented him and his brother in a drawing dated 1511. In his painting of the Saint Paul Basilica, Hans the Elder also represented himself with his wife and two children. He showed himself gazing in the direction of the viewer, his right hand on Hans' head and his left forefinger pointing at his son, as if he wanted to signal that he was already a little genius.

Hans the Younger certainly found the atmosphere of Augsburg most beneficial for the development of his early career. However it was in Basel that his art blossomed for the simple reason that, like in London later, he had not to compete against many rivals notwithstanding the fact that most artists there had become out of fashion in sticking to Middle Age traditions.

In addition, Basel was an important production centre for printed books and Holbein became much in demand as an illustrator soon after his arrival in the Swiss City. He first probably worked there as an apprentice in the studio of Hans Herbster (1468-1550) whose portrait he painted in 1516.

In 1516, Holbein was already dealings with many orders regarding religious paintings and portraits produced in Basel and other cities such as Lucerne the following year.

In 1519, he joined a corporation of Basel painters, glass makers, saddle makers and tailors called “To the Sky” and became a bourgeois of that city on July 3rd 1520 after marrying a widow, already mother of a boy. This woman, according to many biographers was cantankerous and wicked, a fact that did not seem much purported if one considers the expressive portrait he made of her in 1528.

The portraits of Erasmus he produced in 1523 underlined the persistence of his relationship with that famous man while many printers continued to call on him to illustrate their books and patrons knocked at his door to ask him to decorate their houses. He had also orders from Zurich and Bern visited France, most probably the town of Bourges, in 1524.

Basel then started to be marred by religious and social troubles when Lutheran ideas spread in the city provoking disputes. Reformers, Catholics and Liberals quarrelled violently and Holbein had no longer orders from the Church or from many people who were then involved in these religious feuds.

A peasant uprising in 1525 further added fuel to the instability faced by Basel and many Swiss or German cities. As a result the Basel University was emptied and most printers became out of work. A year later the town faced a severe economic crisis and an epidemic of plague.

Many painters lived in dire conditions and Holbein had to find an urgent solution to eke out a living. Thanks to Erasmus, who was in close contact with Thomas Morus, he decided to go to England during the fall of 1526, leaving behind him his wife and children.

But first of all he went to Antwerp with the desire to meet Quentin Metsys whom he much admired.

On his arrival in London Holbein discovered a bustling and joyful city which had not yet been exposed to religious troubles. In addition, he did not feel much removed from his former element, as there was a strong community of Dutch and German merchants living there.

The coast was therefore clear for Holbein who painted a remarkable painting showing Thomas Morus and his family (alas lost) as well as the portraits of William Warham. The painter was thus rapidly introduced in the highest circles but not in the Royal court, a fact that apparently caused some disappointment and though he made enough money he returned to Basel in 1528.

Portrait of William Warham

However the situation in the Swiss City had worsened during his absence. Many monasteries had been closed while most churches had been stripped of their paintings. A riot erupted in 1529 and caused panic forcing Erasmus, the Mayor and many members of his council to leave the town which had become the nest of fanatic theologians.

There was therefore no future for Holbein in Basel, which faced galloping inflation and natural disasters, notably floods, as well. Once again, he had no alternative but to leave.

On his way to London in 1532 Holbein hoped for a better life especially as Thomas Morus, his friend, had become Lord Chancellor in 1529. But when he arrived
Morus was no longer in charge and was in disfavour. This did not deter Holbein from staying in England despite some interesting proposals he received from Basel.

Holbein became “servant to the King's Majesty” in 1536 and became busy painting portraits and decors and drawing designs for silversmiths, embroiders or jewellers.

In 1537, King Henry, who had lost his wife Jane Seymour, entrusted him with the special mission of making inquiries about the looks of certain princesses he envisaged to marry. Holbein then embarked on a trip to Brussels in March 1538 to meet Christine of Denmark, widow of Francis Sforza, Duke of Milan. He brought back a marvellous portrait of her and the King seemed much satisfied since he received his annuity in advance and was allowed to leave England to visit Basel.

Jane Seymour, (detail)

During the first days of September 1538, Holbein was in Basel and received a fantastic welcome. The town council once again courted the artist and offered him an incredible contract under which he would receive a big annuity and be allowed to work abroad twice or thrice a year for whoever he liked.

Holbein returned to London at the end of 1538 and offered the King a portrait of his son the Prince of Wales. In the meantime he probably passed through Paris to place his son Jacob as an apprentice with the Parisian goldsmith Jacob David.

Portrait of the Prince of Wales

A year later the painter was back on the move to paint the portraits of princesses that were likely to marry the King after the latter had given up the idea of a wedding with Christine of Denmark. He thus went to Germany where he painted the portrait of Ann of Cleves and was rewarded with a consistent payment from the monarch whose liberality probably postponed his planned return to Basel.

Ann of Cleves (detail)

Holbein was finally a real genius, as he was not confined to one domain only. He was a marvellous draughtsman, a superb painter, an unbelievable miniaturist, a talented decorator, a remarkable engraver and an extraordinary designer for silver pieces as well that made him the greatest master of Swabian art.

Holbein's maturity reached another height under the influence of German, Swiss, Flemish and Italian artists after detaching himself from that of Albrecht Dürer. There was a deep difference between them; Dürer being above all a poet more attracted by a certain ideal rather than beauty while Holbein was purely an artist. In fact, he seemed more impressed by the works of Baldung Grien and Grünewald whose styles were more picturesque and less pictorial than that of Dürer.

Albrecht Dürer,
Portrait of Hieronymus Holzschuher

In addition, Holbein worked under the influence of many Italian artists as a result of the close relationship between Augsburg and Venice, which were not simply limited to the economic field. It seems probable that some rich people from his native town, like the Fugger family of bankers, were collecting some Venetian art pieces and that certain artists had been familiar with the paintings of Antonio da Messina, Crivelli, Bellini, Cima da Conegliano, Carpaccio, Giorgione or Titian.

Giorgione (Giorgio da Castelfranco),
Judith

Burgmayr himself had among his pupils a Venetian named Caspar Straffo while Holbein probably met some Italian artists in Basel, which was the crossroad between Italy and Germany. When he worked in Lucerne in 1517, Holbein certainly took the opportunity of visiting the neighbouring town of Milan, which in his 1538 contract with the Council of Basel, was listed among the cities in which he wanted to work.

The works of Mantegna, whose reputation had reached almost the whole of Europe by 1520, equally impressed Holbein. Many of his paintings reflect Mantegna's influence, especially in the representation of perspective, of costumes, elegant postures, the forms of bodies, triumphal parades and the arrangements of scenes not to forget this habit of determining the point of view in the inferior side of his paintings.

He also drew some stunning portraits with incredible skill, such as that of Lady Vaux (now in Windsor), which demonstrated that he was among the greatest draughtsmen in the history. He also was at ease producing woodcuts.

Portrait of Lady Vaux

Miniature, portrait of a woman,1534

Nicholas Hilliard

However Hilliard was much less talented than Holbein who painted his sitters with some astonishing realism. It was only during the first half of the 17th Century that the English school found in Samuel Cooper a miniature painter of almost the same calibre as that of Holbein. But Cooper was far from equalling Holbein's genius, as he did not have the stature of an all-round artist.

Holbein's truest heir in Switzerland was probably Jean-Etienne Liotard (1702-1789) who also worked in London and was among the best exponents of realism in the history of painting.

Holbein was a true man of the Renaissance period who was a witness of Augsburg's economic and artistic prosperity and of intense religious and humanistic life.

He also had the privilege to meet Erasmus and saw the emergence of the reformed Church in Basel before being acquainted with the splendour of King henry 8th court.

Holbein was certainly a brilliant intellectual thanks to his contacts with Erasmus and Thomas Morus who influenced him as much as the ideas of Luther, which led him to produce anti-papal charges.

Holbein left no school behind him but was often an example for many artists who followed him. He had much influence on Swiss artists producing stained-glass works, impressed many French and German painters and gave birth to the true art of miniature portrait painting.

Holbein became a legend in Basel, his town of adoption and in England, many collectors such as the Counts of Arundel and of Pembroke collected his works with extraordinary passion. King Louis 13th of France once did not hesitate to exchange Leonard da Vinci's Saint John against his portrait of Erasmus while his son, Louis 14th, collected many works by Holbein, most of which are now in the Louvre museum.

In Italy, Frederigo Zucchero went as far as comparing his Triumphs of wealth and Poverty with Raphael's masterpieces, which Rubens much admired.

Finally, Holbein was by definition a true European painter though his influence appeared much diluted probably because his portraits seemed to reflect human nature whereas other great masters had represented legends which placed them out of reach of common mortals.