121-683: The Solothurn Madonna is an oil-on-panel painting created in 1522 by the German-Swiss artist Hans Holbein the Younger in Basel . The painting depicts the Virgin Mary and Christ enthroned, flanked by Martin of Tours , shown as a bishop giving alms to a beggar, and Ursus of Solothurn , depicted as a soldier in armour. Notably, Holbein used his wife, Elsbeth, as the model for the Madonna, and
242-409: A "passionate attachment" ( Latin : fervidos amores ), with a fellow canon, Servatius Rogerus, and wrote a series of love letters in which he called Rogerus "half my soul", writing that "it was not for the sake of reward or out of a desire for any favour that I have wooed you both unhappily and relentlessly. What is it then? Why, that you love him who loves you." This correspondence contrasts with
363-515: A 1667 copy by Remigius van Leemput . An earlier half-length portrait shows Henry in a similar pose, but all the full-length portraits of him are copies based on the Whitehall pattern. The figure of Jane Seymour in the mural is related to Holbein's sketch and painting of her. Jane died in October 1537, shortly after bearing Henry's only legitimate son Edward VI . Holbein painted a portrait of
484-560: A combined richness and purity of style." Holbein was born in the free imperial city of Augsburg during the winter of 1497–98. He was a son of the painter and draughtsman Hans Holbein the Elder , whose trade he and his older brother, Ambrosius , followed. Holbein the Elder ran a large and busy workshop in Augsburg, sometimes assisted by his brother Sigmund, also a painter. By 1515, Hans and Ambrosius had moved as journeymen painters to
605-668: A deep aversion to exclusive or excessive Aristotelianism and Scholasticism and started finding work as a tutor/chaperone to visiting English and Scottish aristocrats. There is no record of him graduating. Patrons : William Blount • William Warham • John Fisher • John Longland • Margaret Beaufort • Catherine of Aragon Erasmus stayed in England at least three times. In between he had periods studying in Paris, Orléans, Leuven and other cities. In 1499 he
726-411: A disagreement with the friars over rent that caused bad blood. He assisted his friend John Colet by authoring Greek textbooks and securing members of staff for the newly established St Paul's School and was in contact when Colet gave his notorious 1512 Convocation sermon which called for a reformation of ecclesiastical affairs. At Colet's instigation, Erasmus started work on De copia . In 1511,
847-706: A drawing". A gifted draughtsman, he was heir to a German tradition of line drawing and precise preparatory design. Holbein's chalk and ink portraits demonstrate his mastery of outline. He always made preparatory portraits of his sitters, though many drawings survive for which no painted version is known, suggesting that some were drawn for their own sake. Holbein produced relatively few portraits during his years in Basel. Among these were his 1516 studies of Jakob and Dorothea Meyer, sketched, like many of his father's portrait drawings, in silverpoint and chalk. Holbein painted most of his portraits during his two periods in England. In
968-604: A faith in pieties such as pilgrimages, veneration of relics, and prayer for dead souls. Holbein's early work reflects this culture. The growing reform movement, led by humanists such as Erasmus and Thomas More, began, however, to change religious attitudes. Basel, where Martin Luther 's major works were first published, became the main centre for the transmission of Reformation ideas. The gradual shift from traditional to reformed religion can be charted in Holbein's work. His Body of
1089-444: A falcon standing on roses, as well as jewellery and books connected to her. He also sketched several women attached to her entourage, including her sister-in-law Jane Parker. At the same time, Holbein worked for Thomas Cromwell as he masterminded Henry VIII's reformation. Cromwell commissioned Holbein to produce reformist and royalist images, including anti-clerical woodcuts and the title page to Myles Coverdale 's English translation of
1210-501: A full purse from his generous friends, to allow him to complete his studies. However, he had been provided with bad legal advice by his friends: the English Customs officials confiscated all the gold and silver, leaving him with nothing except a night fever that lasted several months. Opponents : Noël Béda (or Bédier) Following his first trip to England, Erasmus returned first to poverty in Paris, where he started to compile
1331-929: A gap no other patron could fill. It was, ironically, Holbein's portrait of Anne of Cleves which largely led to Cromwell's downfall: furious at being saddled with a wife he found entirely unattractive, the King directed all his anger at Cromwell. Granted, Cromwell had exaggerated her beauty, but there is no evidence that Henry blamed Holbein for supposedly flattering Anne's looks. Apart from routine official duties, Holbein now occupied himself with private commissions, turning again to portraits of Steelyard merchants. He also painted some of his finest miniatures, including those of Henry Brandon and Charles Brandon , sons of Henry VIII's friend Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk and his fourth wife, Catherine Willoughby . Holbein managed to secure commissions among those courtiers who now jockeyed for power, in particular from Anthony Denny , one of
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#17327828285441452-536: A given time as any other man he had ever met. In 1507, according to his letters, he studied advanced Greek in Padua with the Venetian natural philosopher, Giulio Camillo . He found employment tutoring and escorting Scottish nobleman Alexander Stewart , the 24-year old Archbishop of St Andrews, through Padua, Florence, and Siena Erasmus made it to Rome in 1509, visiting some notable libraries and cardinals, but having
1573-591: A kind of conversion experience, and introduced him to Origen . In 1502, Erasmus went to Brabant, ultimately to the university at Louvain. In 1504 he was hired by the leaders of the Brabantian "Provincial States" to deliver one of his few public speeches, a very long formal panegyric for the Philip "the Fair" , Duke of Burgundy and later King of Castille: the first half being the conventional extravagant praise, but
1694-458: A less active association with Italian scholars than might have been expected. In 1509, William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Lord Mountjoy lured him back to England, now ruled by what was hoped would be a wise and benevolent king ( Henry VIII ) educated by humanists. Warham and Mountjoy sent Erasmus £10 to cover his expenses on the journey. On his trip over the Alps via Splügen Pass, and down
1815-485: A letter to a fictitious Papal secretary, Lambertus Grunnius ("Mr. Grunt"). His parents could not be legally married: his father, Gerard, was a Catholic priest who may have spent up to six years in the 1450s or 60s in Italy as a scribe and scholar. His mother was Margaretha Rogerius (Latinized form of Dutch surname Rutgers), the daughter of a doctor from Zevenbergen . She may have been Gerard's housekeeper. Although he
1936-443: A mechanical device to help him trace the contours of his subjects' faces. Holbein paid less attention to facial tones in his later drawings, making fewer and more emphatic strokes, but they are never formulaic. His grasp of spatial relationships ensures that each portrait, however sparely drawn, conveys the sitter's presence. Holbein's painted portraits were closely founded on drawing. Holbein transferred each drawn portrait study to
2057-458: A much smaller scale. He designed satirical religious woodcuts in England. His small painting for private devotion, Noli Me Tangere , has been taken as an expression of his personal religion. Depicting the moment when the risen Christ tells Mary Magdalene not to touch him, Holbein adheres to the details of the bible story. The 17th-century diarist John Evelyn wrote that he "never saw so much reverence and kind of heavenly astonishment expressed in
2178-653: A picture". Holbein has been described as "the supreme representative of German Reformation art". The Reformation was a varied movement, however, and his position was often ambiguous. Despite his ties with Erasmus and More, he signed up to the revolution begun by Martin Luther , which called for a return to the Bible and the overthrow of the papacy. In his woodcuts Christ as the Light of the World and The Selling of Indulgences , Holbein illustrated attacks by Luther against Rome. At
2299-491: A range of styles. His portrait of Georg Giese of Gdańsk shows the merchant surrounded by exquisitely painted symbols of his trade. His portrait of Derich Berck of Cologne, on the other hand, is classically simple and possibly influenced by Titian . For the guildhall of the Steelyard, Holbein painted the monumental allegories The Triumph of Wealth and The Triumph of Poverty , both now lost. The merchants also commissioned
2420-511: A rare precision. His portraits were renowned in their time for their likeness, and it is through his eyes that many famous figures of his day are pictured today, such as Erasmus and More . He was never content with outward appearance, however; he embedded layers of symbolism, allusion, and paradox in his art, to the lasting fascination of scholars. In the view of art historian Ellis Waterhouse , his portraiture "remains unsurpassed for sureness and economy of statement, penetration into character, and
2541-479: A register compiled to ensure that all major citizens subscribed to the new doctrines: "Master Hans Holbein, the painter, says that we must be better informed about the [holy] table before approaching it". In 1530, the authorities called Holbein to account for failing to attend the reformed communion. Shortly afterwards, however, he was listed among those "who have no serious objections and wish to go along with other Christians". Holbein evidently retained favour under
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#17327828285442662-535: A religious artist and his gifts as a portraitist to his son. The young Holbein learned his craft in his father's workshop in Augsburg , a city with a thriving book trade, where woodcut and engraving flourished. Augsburg also acted as one of the chief "ports of entry" into Germany for the ideas of the Italian Renaissance . By the time Holbein began his apprenticeship under Hans Herbster in Basel, he
2783-491: A series of commissions. "Your painter, my dearest Erasmus," he wrote, "is a wonderful artist". Holbein painted the famous Portrait of Sir Thomas More and another of More with his family. The group portrait, original in conception, is known only from a preparatory sketch and copies by other hands. According to art historian Andreas Beyer, it "offered a prelude of a genre that would only truly gain acceptance in Dutch painting of
2904-524: A son of his own, Philipp, in their first year of marriage a girl called Katharina in 1526 and two more children, Jacob and Küngold in later years. Holbein was prolific during this period in Basel, which coincided with the arrival of Lutheranism in the city. He undertook a number of major projects, such as external murals for The House of the Dance and internal murals for the Council Chamber of
3025-633: A stipend, Erasmus went on to study at the University of Paris in the Collège de Montaigu , a centre of reforming zeal, under the direction of the ascetic Jan Standonck , of whose rigors he complained. The university was then the chief seat of Scholastic learning but already coming under the influence of Renaissance humanism. For instance, Erasmus became an intimate friend of an Italian humanist Publio Fausto Andrelini , poet and "professor of humanity" in Paris. During this time, Erasmus developed
3146-416: A street tableau of Mount Parnassus for Anne Boleyn's coronation eve procession of 31 May 1533. Holbein also portrayed various courtiers, landowners, and visitors during this time, and his most famous painting of the period was The Ambassadors . This life-sized panel portrays Jean de Dinteville , an ambassador of Francis I of France in 1533, and Georges de Selve , Bishop of Lavaur who visited London
3267-436: A third in advance. He presumably returned home to preserve his citizenship, since he had been granted only a two-year leave of absence. Enriched by his success in England, Holbein bought a second neighboring house in 1531 for which he initially advanced only a seventh of the price and was to pay a yearly rate during the following six years. During this period in Basel, he painted The Artist's Family , showing Elsbeth with
3388-460: A tutor of the More family whose notes appear on Holbein's sketch for their group portrait. Although Holbein did not work for the king during this visit, he painted the portraits of courtiers such as Sir Henry Guildford and his wife Lady Mary, and of Anne Lovell, identified in 2003 or 2004 as the subject of Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling . In May 1527, "Master Hans" also painted a panorama of
3509-482: A year staying at recently married Thomas More 's house, now a lawyer and Member of Parliament, honing his translation skills. Erasmus preferred to live the life of an independent scholar and made a conscious effort to avoid any actions or formal ties that might inhibit his individual freedom. In England Erasmus was approached with prominent offices but he declined them all, until the King himself offered his support. He
3630-514: A year. Eventually Erasmus moved to the same abbey as a postulant in or before 1487, around the age of 16 (or 19.) Poverty had forced the sickly, bookish, teenaged orphan Erasmus into the consecrated life, entering the novitiate in 1487 at the canonry at rural Stein , very near Gouda, South Holland : the Chapter of Sion community largely borrowed its rule from the larger monkish Congregation of Windesheim who had historical associations with
3751-482: Is considered one of the most influential thinkers of the Northern Renaissance and one of the major figures of Dutch and Western culture. Erasmus was an important figure in classical scholarship who wrote in a spontaneous, copious and natural Latin style. As a Catholic priest developing humanist techniques for working on texts, he prepared pioneering new Latin and Greek scholarly editions of
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3872-572: Is displayed at the Staatsgalerie in Augsburg. In 1517, father and son began a project in Lucerne (Luzern), painting internal and external murals for the merchant Jakob von Hertenstein. While in Lucerne, Holbein also designed cartoons for stained glass . The city's records show that on 10 December 1517, he was fined five livres for fighting in the street with a goldsmith called Caspar, who
3993-865: Is housed at the Solothurn Art Museum . After the Darmstadt Madonna , the Solothurn Madonna is the second largest surviving Madonna by Hans Holbein the Younger. This article about a sixteenth-century painting is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger ( UK : / ˈ h ɒ l b aɪ n / HOL -byne , US : / ˈ h oʊ l b aɪ n , ˈ h ɔː l -/ HOHL -byne, HAWL - ; German : Hans Holbein der Jüngere ; c. 1497 – between 7 October and 29 November 1543)
4114-462: Is unclear: in later life he calculated his age as if born in 1466, but frequently his remembered age at major events actually implies 1469. (This article currently gives 1466 as the birth year. To handle this disagreement, ages are given first based on 1469, then in parentheses based on 1466: e.g., "20 (or 23)".) Furthermore, many details of his early life must be gleaned from a fictionalized third-person account he wrote in 1516 (published in 1529) in
4235-421: Is where he began learning it. His education there ended when plague struck the city about 1483, and his mother, who had moved to provide a home for her sons, died from the infection; then his father. Following the death of his parents, as well as 20 fellow students at his school, he moved back to his patria (Rotterdam?) where he was supported by Berthe de Heyden, a compassionate widow. In 1484, around
4356-820: The Adagio for his students, then to Orléans to escape the plague, and then to semi-monastic life, scholarly studies and writing in France, notably at the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Bertin at St Omer (1501,1502) where he wrote the initial version of the Enchiridion ( Handbook of the Christian Knight .) A particular influence was his encounter in 1501 with Jean (Jehan) Vitrier, a radical Franciscan who consolidated Erasmus' thoughts against excessive valorization of monasticism, ceremonialism and fasting in
4477-776: The Brethren of the Common Life , but also with the notable pastoral, mystical and anti-speculative post-scholastic theologians Jean Gerson and Gabriel Biel : positions associated also with Erasmus. In 1488–1490, the surrounding region was plundered badly by armies fighting the Squire Francis War of succession and then suffered a famine. Erasmus professed his vows as a Canon regular of St. Augustine there in late 1488 at age 19 (or 22). Historian Fr. Aiden Gasquet later wrote: "One thing, however, would seem to be quite clear; he could never have had any vocation for
4598-659: The Late Gothic school. Holbein was born in Augsburg but worked mainly in Basel as a young artist. At first, he painted murals and religious works, and designed stained glass windows and illustrations for books from the printer Johann Froben . He also painted an occasional portrait, making his international mark with portraits of humanist Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam . When the Reformation reached Basel, Holbein worked for reformist clients while continuing to serve traditional religious patrons. His Late Gothic style
4719-850: The New Testament and of the Church Fathers , with annotations and commentary that were immediately and vitally influential in both the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Reformation . He also wrote On Free Will , The Praise of Folly , The Complaint of Peace , Handbook of a Christian Knight , On Civility in Children , Copia: Foundations of the Abundant Style and many other popular and pedagogical works. Erasmus lived against
4840-518: The Town Hall . The former are known from preparatory drawings. The Council Chamber murals survive in a few poorly preserved fragments. Holbein also produced a series of religious paintings and designed cartoons for stained glass windows. In a period of a revolution in book design, he illustrated for the publisher Johann Froben . His woodcut designs included those for the Dance of Death , cut by
4961-520: The University of Cambridge 's chancellor, John Fisher , arranged for Erasmus to be (or to study to prepare to be) the Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity , though whether he actually was accepted for it or took it up is contested by historians. He studied and taught Greek and researched and lectured on Jerome . Erasmus mainly stayed at Queens' College while lecturing at the university, between 1511 and 1515. Erasmus' rooms were located in
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5082-579: The formschneider Hans Lützelburger the Icones (illustrations of the Old Testament ), and the title page of Martin Luther 's bible . Additionally he designed twelve alphabets , of those a Greek and Latin for Froben. The letters were ornamented with depictions of Greek and Roman gods, heads of Caesars , poets and philosophers. Through the woodcut medium, Holbein refined his grasp of expressive and spatial effects. Holbein also painted
5203-454: The sweating sickness plague (to Orléans ), employment (to England ), searching libraries for manuscripts, writing ( Brabant ), royal counsel ( Cologne ), patronage, tutoring and chaperoning (North Italy ), networking ( Rome ), seeing books through printing in person ( Paris , Venice , Louvain , Basel ), and avoiding the persecution of religious fanatics (to Freiburg ). He enjoyed horseback riding. In 1495 with Bishop Henry's consent and
5324-437: The " I " staircase of Old Court. Despite a chronic shortage of money, he succeeded in mastering Greek by an intensive, day-and-night study of three years, taught by Thomas Linacre , continuously begging in letters that his friends send him books and money for teachers. Erasmus suffered from poor health and was especially concerned with heating, clean air, ventilation, draughts, fresh food and unspoiled wine: he complained about
5445-491: The Basel authorities paid him six months' salary in advance. The state of Holbein's marriage has intrigued scholars, who base their speculations on fragmentary evidence. Apart from one brief visit, Holbein had lived apart from Elsbeth since 1532. His will reveals that he had two infant children in England, of whom nothing is known except that they were in the care of a nurse. Holbein's unfaithfulness to Elsbeth may not have been new. Some scholars believe that Magdalena Offenburg,
5566-525: The Bible. Henry VIII had embarked on a grandiose programme of artistic patronage. His efforts to glorify his new status as Supreme Head of the Church culminated in the building of Nonsuch Palace , which started in 1538. By 1536, Holbein was employed as the King's Painter on an annual salary of 30 pounds—though he was never the highest-paid artist on the royal payroll. Royal "pictor maker" Lucas Horenbout earned more, and other continental artists also worked for
5687-595: The Dead Christ in the Tomb of 1522 expresses a humanist view of Christ in tune with the reformist climate in Basel at the time. The Dance of Death (1523–26) refashions the late-medieval allegory of the Danse Macabre as a reformist satire. Holbein's series of woodcuts shows the figure of "Death" in many disguises, confronting individuals from all walks of life. None escape Death's skeleton clutches, even
5808-452: The Gouda region. In 1505, Pope Julius II granted a dispensation from the vow of poverty to the extent of allowing Erasmus to hold certain benefices, and from the control and habit of his order , though he remained a priest and, formally, an Augustinian canon regular the rest his life. In 1517, Pope Leo X granted legal dispensations for Erasmus' defects of natality and confirmed
5929-546: The Greek language, which would enable him to study theology on a more profound level. Erasmus also became fast friends with Thomas More , a young law student considering becoming a monk, whose thought (e.g., on conscience and equity) had been influenced by 14th century French theologian Jean Gerson , and whose intellect had been developed by his powerful patron Cardinal John Morton (d. 1500) who had famously attempted reforms of English monasteries. Erasmus left London with
6050-568: The Italians, Holbein learned the art of single-point perspective and the use of antique motifs and architectural forms. In this, he may have been influenced by Andrea Mantegna . The decorative detail recedes in his late portraits, though the calculated precision remains. Despite assimilating Italian techniques and Reformation theology, Holbein's art in many ways extended the Gothic tradition. His portrait style, for example, remained distinct from
6171-857: The New Law Archived 25 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine identified the Old Testament with the "Old Religion". Scholars have detected subtler religious references in his portraits. In The Ambassadors , for example, details such as the Lutheran hymn book and the crucifix behind the curtain allude to the context of the French mission. Holbein painted few religious images in the later part of his career. He focused on secular designs for decorative objects, and on portraits stripped of inessentials. For Holbein, "everything began with
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#17327828285446292-563: The Rhine toward England, Erasmus began to compose The Praise of Folly . In 1510, Erasmus arrived at More's bustling house, was confined to bed to recover from his recurrent illness, and wrote The Praise of Folly , which was to be a best-seller. More was at that time the undersheriff of the City of London . After his glorious reception in Italy, Erasmus had returned broke and jobless, with strained relations with former friends and benefactors on
6413-717: The Stein house and take up the post of Latin Secretary to the ambitious Bishop of Cambrai , Henry of Bergen, on account of his great skill in Latin and his reputation as a man of letters. He was ordained to the Catholic priesthood either on 25 April 1492, or 25 April 1495, at age 25 (or 28.) Either way, he did not actively work as a choir priest for very long, though his many works on confession and penance suggests experience of dispensing them. From 1500, he avoided returning to
6534-542: The age 14 (or 17), he and his brother went to a cheaper grammar school or seminary at 's-Hertogenbosch run by the Brethren of the Common Life : Erasmus' Epistle to Grunnius satirizes them as the "Collationary Brethren" who select and sort boys for monkhood. He was exposed there to the Devotio moderna movement and the Brethren's famous book The Imitation of Christ but resented the harsh rules and strict methods of
6655-564: The age of 6 (or 9), his family moved to Gouda and he started at the school of Pieter Winckel, who later became his guardian (and, perhaps, squandered Erasmus and Peter's inheritance.) Historians who date his birth in 1466 have Erasmus in Utrecht at the choir school at this period. In 1478, at the age of 9 (or 12), he and his older brother Peter were sent to one of the best Latin schools in the Netherlands, located at Deventer and owned by
6776-551: The baby is believed to have been modelled after Holbein and Elsbeth's infant son Philipp. The church that originally commissioned the Solothurn Madonna is unknown, but it reappeared in 1864 in a state of disrepair at the Allerheiligenkapelle in the Grenchen district of Solothurn . The town of Solothurn has owned the painting since 1879, and it has been named after the town since the late 19th century. Currently, it
6897-576: The backdrop of the growing European religious reformations . He developed a biblical humanistic theology in which he advocated the religious and civil necessity both of peaceable concord and of pastoral tolerance on matters of indifference . He remained a member of the Catholic Church all his life, remaining committed to reforming the church from within. He promoted the traditional doctrine of synergism , which some prominent reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin rejected in favor of
7018-552: The blame for the king's disillusionment fell on Thomas Cromwell, who had been instrumental in arranging the marriage and had passed on some exaggerated claims of Anne's beauty. This was one of the factors that led to Cromwell's downfall. Holbein had deftly survived the downfall of his first two great patrons, Thomas More and Anne Boleyn , but Cromwell's sudden arrest and execution on trumped-up charges of heresy and treason in 1540 undoubtedly damaged his career. Though Holbein retained his position as King's Painter, Cromwell's death left
7139-447: The canonry at Stein even insisting the diet and hours would kill him, though he did stay with other Augustinian communities and at monasteries of other orders in his travels. Rogerus, who became prior at Stein in 1504, and Erasmus corresponded over the years, with Rogerus demanding Erasmus return after his studies were complete. Nevertheless, the library of the canonry ended up with by far the largest collection of Erasmus' publications in
7260-542: The care of his two children, and sold and dispersed his effects, including many designs and preliminary drawings that have survived. The site of Holbein's grave is unknown and may never have been marked. The churches of St Katherine Cree or St Andrew Undershaft in London are possible locations, being located near his house. The first influence on Holbein was his father, Hans Holbein the Elder , an accomplished religious artist and portraitist who passed on his techniques as
7381-554: The careers and opportunities open to the children of unwed parents. Erasmus' own story, in the possibly forged 1524 Compendium vitae Erasmi was along the lines that his parents were engaged, with the formal marriage blocked by his relatives (presumably a young widow or unmarried mother with a child was not an advantageous match); his father went to Italy to study Latin and Greek, and the relatives misled Gerard that Margaretha had died, on which news grieving Gerard romantically took Holy Orders, only to find on his return that Margaretha
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#17327828285447502-519: The chapter clergy of the Lebuïnuskerk (St. Lebuin's Church). A notable previous student was Thomas à Kempis . Towards the end of his stay there the curriculum was renewed by the new principal of the school, Alexander Hegius , a correspondent of pioneering rhetorician Rudolphus Agricola . For the first time in Europe north of the Alps, Greek was taught at a lower level than a university and this
7623-542: The city of Basel , a centre of learning and the printing trade. There they were apprenticed to Hans Herbster, Basel's leading painter. The brothers found work in Basel as designers of woodcuts and metalcuts for printers. In 1515, the preacher and theologian Oswald Myconius invited them to add pen drawings to the margin of a copy of The Praise of Folly by the humanist scholar Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam . The sketches provide early evidence of Holbein's wit and humanistic leaning. His other early works, including
7744-504: The continent, and he regretted leaving Italy, despite being horrified by papal warfare. There is a gap in his usually voluminous correspondence: his so-called "two lost years", perhaps due to self-censorship of dangerous or disgruntled opinions; he shared lodgings with his friend Andrea Ammonio (Latin secretary to Mountjoy, and the next year, to Henry VIII) provided at the London Austin Friars ' compound, skipping out after
7865-589: The couple's two eldest children, Philipp and Katherina, evoking images of the Virgin and Child with St John the Baptist . Art historian John Rowlands sees this work as "one of the most moving portraits in art, from an artist, too, who always characterized his sitters with a guarded restraint". Basel had become a turbulent city in Holbein's absence. Reformers, swayed by the ideas of Zwingli , carried out acts of iconoclasm and banned imagery in churches. In April 1529,
7986-533: The degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology ( Sacra Theologia ) from the University of Turin per saltum at age 37 (or 40.) Erasmus stayed tutoring in Bologna for a year; in the winter, Erasmus was present when Pope Julius II entered victorious into the conquered Bologna which he had besieged before. Erasmus travelled on to Venice, working on an expanded version of his Adagia at the Aldine Press of
8107-569: The doctrine of monergism . His influential middle-road approach disappointed, and even angered, partisans in both camps. Erasmus's almost 70 years may be divided into quarters. Desiderius Erasmus is reported to have been born in Rotterdam on 27 or 28 October ("the vigil of Simon and Jude") in the late 1460s. He was named after Erasmus of Formiae , whom Erasmus' father Gerard (Gerardus Helye) personally favored. Although associated closely with Rotterdam, he lived there for only four years, never to return afterwards. The year of Erasmus' birth
8228-401: The double portrait of Basel's mayor Jakob Meyer zum Hasen and his wife Dorothea , follow his father's style. With Meyer zum Hasen, Holbein maintained a close working relationship until the latter was sacked in 1521. The young Holbein, alongside his brother and his father, is pictured in the left-hand panel of Holbein the Elder's 1504 altar piece triptych the Basilica of St. Paul , which
8349-494: The draughtiness of English buildings. He complained that Queens' College could not supply him with enough decent wine (wine was the Renaissance medicine for gallstones, from which Erasmus suffered). As Queens' was an unusually humanist-leaning institution in the 16th century, Queens' College Old Library still houses many first editions of Erasmus's publications, many of which were acquired during that period by bequest or purchase, including Erasmus's New Testament translation, which
8470-741: The effigies of my Lady Anne and the lady Amelia [Anne's sister] and hath expressed their images very lively". Henry was disillusioned with Anne in the flesh, however, and he divorced her after a brief, unconsummated marriage. There is a tradition that Holbein's portrait flattered Anne, derived from the testimony of Sir Anthony Browne . Henry said that he was dismayed by her appearance at Rochester, having seen her pictures and heard advertisements of her beauty—so much that his face fell. No one other than Henry ever described Anne as repugnant; French Ambassador Charles de Marillac thought her quite attractive, pleasant, and dignified, though dressed in unflattering, heavy German clothing, as were her attendants. Some of
8591-438: The existence of the other work of Holbein & De Villeneuve , Biblia cum Glossis or " Lost Bible". Holbein painted many large religious works between 1520 and 1526, including the Oberried Altarpiece , the Solothurn Madonna , and the Passion . Only when Basel's reformers turned to iconoclasm in the later 1520s did his freedom and income as a religious artist suffer. Holbein continued to produce religious art, but on
8712-441: The famous printer Aldus Manutius , advised him which manuscripts to publish, and was an honorary member of the graecophone Aldine "New Academy" ( Greek : Neakadêmia (Νεακαδημία) ). From Aldus he learned the in-person workflow that made him productive at Froben: making last-minute changes, and immediately checking and correcting printed page proofs as soon as the ink had dried. Aldus wrote that Erasmus could do twice as much work in
8833-455: The first four figures with the Dance of Death . It appears that the Trechsel brothers initially intended to hire Holbein for illustrating Bibles. In fact, some of Holbein's Icones woodcuts appear in the recently discovered Biblia cum Glossis by Michel De Villeneuve ( Michael Servetus ). Holbein woodcuts appear in several other works by Servetus: his Spanish translation of The images of
8954-449: The first, between 1526 and 1528, he used the technique of Jean Clouet for his preliminary studies, combining black and coloured chalks on unprimed paper. In the second, from 1532 to his death, he drew on smaller sheets of pink-primed paper, adding pen and brushwork in ink to the chalk. Judging by the three-hour sitting given to him by Christina of Denmark, Holbein could produce such portrait studies quickly. Some scholars believe that he used
9075-513: The free-thinking Erasmus felt obliged to leave his former haven for Freiburg im Breisgau . The iconoclasts probably destroyed some of Holbein's religious artwork, though the paintings on the organ doors of the Basel Minster were saved. Evidence for Holbein's religious views is fragmentary and inconclusive. "The religious side of his paintings had always been ambiguous," suggests art historian John North, "and so it remained". According to
9196-419: The generally detached and much more restrained attitude he usually showed in his later life, though he had a capacity to form and maintain deep male friendships, such as with More , Colet, and Ammonio. No mentions or sexual accusations were ever made of Erasmus during his lifetime. His works notably praise moderate sexual desire in marriage between men and women. In 1493, his prior arranged for him to leave
9317-414: The grandeur of Death". No certain painted portraits survive of Anne Boleyn by Holbein, perhaps because her memory was purged following her execution for treason, incest, and adultery in 1536, although there is a drawing, as made from life by Holbein preparatory to painting a portrait. It is clear, however, that Holbein worked directly for Anne and her circle. He designed a cup engraved with her device of
9438-435: The great Renaissance scholar Erasmus, who required likenesses to send to his friends and admirers throughout Europe. These paintings made Holbein an international artist. Holbein visited France in 1524, probably to seek work at the court of Francis I . When Holbein decided to seek employment in England in 1526, Erasmus recommended him to his friend the statesman and scholar Thomas More . "The arts are freezing in this part of
9559-648: The infant prince about two years later, clutching a sceptre-like gold rattle. Holbein's final portrait of Henry dates from 1543 and was perhaps completed by others, depicting the king with a group of barber surgeons. Holbein's portrait style altered after he entered Henry's service. He focused more intensely on the sitter's face and clothing, largely omitting props and three-dimensional settings. He applied this clean, craftsman-like technique to miniature portraits such as that of Jane Small , and to grand portraits such as that of Christina of Denmark . He travelled with Philip Hoby to Brussels in 1538 and sketched Christina for
9680-500: The king's majesty", Holbein made his will on 7 October at his home in Aldgate . The goldsmith John of Antwerp and a few German neighbours signed as witnesses. Holbein may have been in a hurry, because the will was not witnessed by a lawyer. On 29 November, John of Antwerp, the subject of several of Holbein's portraits, legally undertook the administration of the artist's last wishes. He presumably settled Holbein's debts, arranged for
9801-732: The king, who was appraising the young widow as a prospective bride. John Hutton, the English ambassador in Brussels, reported that another artist's drawing of Christina was "sloberid" (slobbered) compared to Holbein's. In Wilson's view, Holbein's subsequent oil portrait is "the loveliest painting of a woman that he ever executed, which is to say that it is one of the finest female portraits ever painted". The same year, Holbein and Hoby went to France to paint Louise of Guise and Anna of Lorraine for Henry VIII. Neither portrait of these cousins has survived. Holbein found time to visit Basel, where he
9922-423: The king. In 1537, Holbein painted his most famous image: Henry VIII standing in a heroic pose with his feet planted apart. The left section has survived of Holbein's cartoon for a life-sized wall painting at Whitehall Palace showing the king in this pose with his father behind him. The mural also depicted Jane Seymour and Elizabeth of York . It was destroyed by fire in 1698, but is known from engravings and from
10043-479: The last mortuary rolls created. Holbein seems to have distanced himself from More's humanist milieu on this visit, and "he deceived those to whom he was recommended", according to Erasmus. The artist found favour instead within the radical new power circles of the Boleyn family and Thomas Cromwell . Cromwell became the king's secretary in 1534, controlling all aspects of government, including artistic propaganda. More
10164-481: The model for the Darmstadt Madonna and for two portraits painted in Basel, was for a time Holbein's mistress. Others dismiss the idea. One of the portraits was of Lais of Corinth , mistress of Apelles , the famous artist of Greek antiquity after whom Holbein was named in humanist circles. Whatever the case, it is likely that Holbein always supported his wife and children. When Elsbeth died in 1549, she
10285-536: The more sensuous technique of Titian , and from the Mannerism of William Scrots , Holbein's successor as King's Painter. Holbein's portraiture, particularly his drawings, had more in common with that of Jean Clouet , which he may have seen during his visit to France in 1524. He adopted Clouet's method of drawing with coloured chalks on a plain ground, as well as his care over preliminary portraits for their own sake. During his second stay in England, Holbein learned
10406-434: The new order. The reformist council paid him a retaining fee of 50 florins and commissioned him to resume work on the Council Chamber frescoes. They now chose themes from the Old Testament instead of the previous stories from classical history and allegory. Holbein's frescoes of Rehoboam and of the meeting between Saul and Samuel were more simply designed than their predecessors. Holbein worked for traditional clients at
10527-465: The occasional portrait in Basel, among them the double portrait of Jakob and Dorothea Meyer , and, in 1519, that of the young academic Bonifacius Amerbach . According to art historian Paul Ganz, the portrait of Amerbach marks an advance in his style, notably in the use of unbroken colours. For Meyer, he painted an altarpiece of the Madonna which included portraits of the donor , his wife, and his daughter. In 1523, Holbein painted his first portraits of
10648-404: The panel with the aid of geometrical instruments. He then built up the painted surface in tempera and oil, recording the tiniest detail, down to each stitch or fastening of costume. In the view of art historian Paul Ganz, "The deep glaze and the enamel-like lustre of the colouring were achieved by means of the metallic, highly polished crayon groundwork, which admitted of few corrections and, like
10769-463: The patronage of Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell . By 1535, he was King's Painter to Henry VIII of England . In this role, he produced portraits and festive decorations, as well as designs for jewellery, plate, and other precious objects. His portraits of the royal family and nobles are a record of the court in the years when Henry was asserting his supremacy over the Church of England . Holbein's art
10890-501: The pious. In addition to the Dance of Death Holbein completed Icones or Series of the Old Gospel (It contains two works: The images of the stories of the Old Gospel and Portraits or printing boards of the story of the Old Gospel ). These works were arranged by Holbein with Melchior & Gaspar Trechsel in about 1526, later printed and edited in Latin by Jean & Francois Frellon with 92 woodcuts. These two works also share
11011-538: The preliminary sketch, remained visible through the thin layer of colour". The result is a brilliant portrait style in which the sitters appear, in Foister's words, as "recognisably individual and even contemporary-seeming" people, dressed in minutely rendered clothing that provides an unsurpassed source for the history of Tudor costume. Holbein's humanist clients valued individuality highly. According to Strong, his portrait subjects underwent "a new experience, one which
11132-484: The previous dispensation, allowing the 48-(or 51-)year-old his independence but still, as a canon, capable of holding office as a prior or abbot. In 1525, Pope Clement VII granted, for health reasons, a dispensation to eat meat and dairy in Lent and on fast days. Erasmus traveled widely and regularly, for reasons of poverty, "escape" from his Stein canonry (to Cambrai ), education (to Paris , Turin ), escape from
11253-400: The record at about this time, and it is usually presumed that he died. Holbein re-established himself rapidly in the city, running a busy workshop. He joined the painters' guild and took out Basel citizenship. He married Elsbeth Binsenstock-Schmid 1519, a widow a few years older than he was, who had an infant son, Franz, and was running her late husband's tanning business. She bore Holbein
11374-610: The religious brothers and educators. The two brothers made an agreement that they would resist the clergy but attend the university; Erasmus longed to study in Italy, the birthplace of Latin, and have a degree from an Italian university. Instead, Peter left for the Augustinian canonry in Stein , which left Erasmus feeling betrayed. Around this time he wrote forlornly to his friend Elizabeth de Heyden "Shipwrecked am I, and lost, 'mid waters chill'." He suffered Quartan fever for over
11495-924: The religious life. His whole subsequent history shows this unmistakably." But according to one Catholic biographer, Erasmus had a spiritual awakening at the monastery. Certain abuses in religious orders were among the chief objects of his later calls to reform the Western Church from within, particularly coerced or tricked recruitment of immature boys (the fictionalized account in the Letter to Grunnius calls them "victims of Dominic and Francis and Benedict"): Erasmus felt he had belonged to this class, joining "voluntarily but not freely" and so considered himself, if not morally bound by his vows, certainly legally, socially and honour- bound to keep them, yet to look for his true vocation. While at Stein, 18-(or 21-)year-old Erasmus fell in unrequited love, forming what he called
11616-467: The same time, he continued to work for Erasmians and known traditionalists. After his return from England to a reformed Basel in 1528, he resumed work both on Jakob Meyer's Madonna and on the murals for the Council Chamber of the Town Hall. The Madonna was an icon of traditional piety, while the Old Testament murals illustrated a reformist agenda. Holbein returned to England in 1532 as Thomas Cromwell
11737-420: The same time. His old patron Jakob Meyer paid him to add figures and details to the family altarpiece he had painted in 1526. Holbein's last commission in this period was the decoration of two clock faces on the city gate in 1531. The reduced levels of patronage in Basel may have prompted his decision to return to England early in 1532. Holbein returned to England, where the political and religious environment
11858-473: The same year. The work incorporates symbols and paradoxes, including an anamorphic (distorted) skull. According to scholars, these are enigmatic references to learning, religion, mortality, and illusion in the tradition of the Northern Renaissance . Art historians Oskar Bätschmann and Pascal Griener suggest that in The Ambassadors , "Sciences and arts, objects of luxury and glory, are measured against
11979-402: The second half being a strong treatment of the miseries of war, the need for neutrality and concilliation (with the neighbours France and England), and the excellence of peaceful rulers: that real courage in a leader was not to wage war but to put a bridle on greed, etc. This was later published as Panegyricus . Erasmus then returned to Paris in 1504. For Erasmus' second visit, he spent over
12100-465: The seventeenth century". Seven fine-related studies of More family members also survive. During this first stay in England, Holbein worked largely for a humanist circle with ties to Erasmus. Among his commissions was the portrait of William Warham , Archbishop of Canterbury , who owned a Holbein portrait of Erasmus. Holbein also painted the Bavarian astronomer and mathematician Nicholas Kratzer ,
12221-484: The siege of Thérouanne for the visit of French ambassadors. With Kratzer, he devised a ceiling covered in planetary signs, under which the visitors dined. The chronicler Edward Hall described the spectacle as showing "the whole Earth, environed with the sea, like a very map or cart". In August 1528, Holbein bought a house in Basel in St.Johanns-Vorstadt and became the neighbor of Hieronymus Froben . For this house he paid
12342-687: The stories of the Old Gospel , printed by Juan Stelsio in Antwerp in 1540 (92 woodcuts), and also of his Spanish versification of the associated work Portraits or printing boards of the story of the Old Gospel , printed by Francois and Jean Frellon in 1542 (same 92 woodcuts plus 2 more), as it was demonstrated in the International Society for the History of Medicine , by the expert researcher in Servetus, González Echeverría, who also proved
12463-444: The technique of limning , as practised by Lucas Horenbout . In his last years, he raised the art of the portrait miniature to its first peak of brilliance. Holbein followed in the footsteps of Augsburg artists like his father and Hans Burgkmair , who largely made their living from religious commissions. Despite calls for reform, the church in the late 15th century was medieval in tradition. It maintained an allegiance to Rome and
12584-659: The two chief gentlemen of the bedchamber. He became close enough to Denny to borrow money from him. He painted Denny's portrait in 1541 and two years later designed a clock-salt for him. Denny was part of a circle that gained influence in 1542 after the failure of Henry's marriage to Catherine Howard . The king's marriage in July 1543 to the reformist Catherine Parr , whose brother Holbein had painted in 1541, established Denny's party in power. Holbein may have visited his wife and children in late 1540, when his leave of absence from Basel expired. None of his work dates from this period, and
12705-513: The world," he wrote, "and he is on the way to England to pick up some angels". Holbein broke his journey towards Antwerp , where he delivered a recommendation from Erasmus to Pieter Gillis . In Antwerp, he also bought some oak panels and may have met the painter Quentin Matsys . Gillis then seemed to have sent Holbein to the Court of England, where Sir Thomas More welcomed him to and found him
12826-415: Was a German-Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also produced religious art, satire, and Reformation propaganda, and he made a significant contribution to the history of book design. He is called "the Younger" to distinguish him from his father Hans Holbein the Elder , an accomplished painter of
12947-577: Was a profound visual expression of humanist ideals". Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( / ˌ d ɛ z ɪ ˈ d ɪər i ə s ɪ ˈ r æ z m ə s / DEZ -i- DEER -ee-əs irr- AZ -məs ; Dutch: [ˌdeːziˈdeːrijʏs eːˈrɑsmʏs] ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus , was a Dutch Christian humanist , Catholic priest and theologian , educationalist , satirist , and philosopher . Through his vast number of translations, books, essays, prayers and letters, he
13068-596: Was about to transform religious institutions there. He was soon at work for Cromwell's propaganda machine, creating images in support of the royal supremacy and (in the case of An Allegory of the Old and New Testaments ) Lutheranism . During the period of the Dissolution of the Monasteries , he produced a series of small woodcuts in which biblical villains were dressed as monks. His reformist painting The Old and
13189-411: Was alive; many scholars dispute this account. In 1471 his father became the vice-curate of the small town of Woerden (where young Erasmus may have attended the local vernacular school to learn to read and write) and in 1476 was promoted to vice-curate of Gouda . Erasmus was given the highest education available to a young man of his day, in a series of monastic or semi-monastic schools. In 1476, at
13310-502: Was already steeped in the late Gothic style, with its unsparing realism and emphasis on line, which influenced him throughout his life. In Basel, he was favoured by humanist patrons, whose ideas helped form his vision as a mature artist. During his Swiss years, when he may have visited Italy, Holbein added an Italian element to his stylistic vocabulary. Scholars note the influence of Leonardo da Vinci 's " sfumato " (smoky) technique on his work, for example in his Lais of Corinth . From
13431-407: Was born out of wedlock, Erasmus was cared for by his parents, with a loving household and the best education, until their early deaths from the bubonic plague in 1483. His only sibling Peter might have been born in 1463, and some writers suggest Margaret was a widow and Peter was the half-brother of Erasmus; Erasmus on the other hand called him his brother. There were legal and social restrictions on
13552-458: Was changing radically. In 1532, Henry VIII was preparing to repudiate Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn , in defiance of the pope. Among those who opposed Henry's actions was Holbein's former host and patron Sir Thomas More, who resigned as Lord Chancellor in May 1532. Around this time, Holbein is supposed to have decorated the mortuary roll of John Islip , abbot of Westminster , one of
13673-442: Was enriched by artistic trends in Italy, France, and the Netherlands, as well as by Renaissance humanism . The result was a combined aesthetic uniquely his own. Holbein travelled to England in 1526 in search of work with a recommendation from Erasmus. He was welcomed into the humanist circle of Thomas More , where he quickly built a high reputation. He returned to Basel for four years, then resumed his career in England in 1532 under
13794-683: Was executed in 1535 along with John Fisher , whose portrait Holbein had also drawn. Holbein's commissions in the early stages of his second English period included portraits of Lutheran merchants of the Hanseatic League . The merchants lived and plied their trade at the Steelyard , a complex of warehouses, offices, and dwellings on the north bank of the Thames. Holbein rented a house in Maiden Lane nearby, and he portrayed his clients in
13915-450: Was fined the same amount. That winter, Holbein probably visited northern Italy, though no record of the trip survives. Many scholars believe he studied the work of Italian masters of fresco , such as Andrea Mantegna , before returning to Lucerne. He filled two series of panels at Hertenstein's house with copies of works by Andrea Mantegna , including The Triumphs of Caesar . In 1519, Holbein moved back to Basel. His brother fades from
14036-443: Was fêted by the authorities and granted a pension. On the way back to England, he apprenticed his son Philipp to Basel-born goldsmith Jacob David in Paris. Holbein painted Anne of Cleves at Burgau Castle , posing her square-on and in elaborate finery. This was the woman whom Henry married at Düren at the encouragement of Thomas Cromwell in the summer of 1539. English envoy Nicholas Wotton reported that "Hans Holbein hath taken
14157-612: Was inclined, but eventually did not accept and longed for a stay in Italy. Opponents : Alberto Pío , Sepúlveda In 1506 he was able to accompany and tutor the sons of the personal physician of the English King through Italy to Bologna. His discovery en route of Lorenzo Valla 's New Testament Notes was a major event in his career and prompted Erasmus to study the New Testament using philology . In 1506 they passed through Turin and he arranged to be awarded
14278-409: Was invited to England by William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy , who offered to accompany him on his trip to England. His time in England was fruitful in the making of lifelong friendships with the leaders of English thought in the days of King Henry VIII . During his first visit to England in 1499, he studied or taught at the University of Oxford . There is no record of him gaining any degree. Erasmus
14399-565: Was particularly impressed by the Bible teaching of John Colet , who pursued a style more akin to the church fathers than the Scholastics . Through the influence of the humanist John Colet, his interests turned towards theology. Other distinctive features of Colet's thought that may have influenced Erasmus are his pacifism, reform-mindedness, anti-Scholasticism and pastoral esteem for the sacrament of Confession. This prompted him, upon his return from England to Paris, to intensively study
14520-674: Was prized from early in his career. French poet and reformer Nicholas Bourbon (the elder) dubbed him "the Apelles of our time", a typical accolade at the time. Holbein has also been described as a great "one-off" in art history since he founded no school. Some of his work was lost after his death, but much was collected and he was recognized among the great portrait masters by the 19th century. Recent exhibitions have also highlighted his versatility. He created designs ranging from intricate jewellery to monumental frescoes. Holbein's art has sometimes been called realist, since he drew and painted with
14641-466: Was well off and still owned many of Holbein's fine clothes; on the other hand, she had sold his portrait of her before his death. Hans Holbein died between 7 October and 29 November 1543 at the age of 45. Karel van Mander stated in the early 17th century that he died of the plague. Wilson regards the story with caution since Holbein's friends attended his bedside; and Peter Claussen suggests that he died of an infection. Describing himself as "servant to
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