|
| | | Prev Artist Next Artist
|
|
Hans Holbein
German
1497-1543
Hans Holbein Galleries
Holbein always made highly detailed pencil drawings 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 as the original drawings. Although the drawings were made as studies for paintings, they stand on their own as independent, finely wrought works of art. How many portraits have been lost can be seen from Holbein's book (nearly all pages in the Royal Collection) containing preparatory drawings for portraits - of eighty-five drawings, only a handful have surviving Holbein paintings, though often copies have survived.
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.
A subtle ability to render character may be noted in Holbein's work, as can be seen in his portraits of Thomas Cromwell, Desiderius Erasmus, and Henry VIII. The end results are convincing as definitive images of the subjects' appearance and personality.
|
|
|
|
|
| Click Image to Enlarge |
Erasmus
1523
Musee du Louvre, Paris
Painting ID:: 2426
|
|
|
Erasmus
1523
Musee du Louvre, Paris
|
|
|
|
| Click Image to Enlarge |
George Gisze
1532
Gemalegalerie, Berlin
Painting ID:: 2427
|
|
|
George_Gisze
1532
Gemalegalerie, Berlin
|
|
|
|
| Click Image to Enlarge |
Portrait of a Member of the Wedigh Family
1532
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Painting ID:: 2428
|
|
|
Portrait_of_a_Member_of_the_Wedigh_Family
1532
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
|
|
|
|
| Click Image to Enlarge |
Portrait of Henry VIII
1540
Painting ID:: 2429
|
|
|
Portrait_of_Henry_VIII
1540
|
|
|
|
| Click Image to Enlarge |
Edward VI as a Child
1538
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
Painting ID:: 2430
|
|
|
Edward_VI_as_a_Child
1538
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
|
|
|
| Prev Artist Next Artist
|
|
Hans_Holbein
German
1497-1543
Hans Holbein Galleries
Holbein always made highly detailed pencil drawings 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 as the original drawings. Although the drawings were made as studies for paintings, they stand on their own as independent, finely wrought works of art. How many portraits have been lost can be seen from Holbein's book (nearly all pages in the Royal Collection) containing preparatory drawings for portraits - of eighty-five drawings, only a handful have surviving Holbein paintings, though often copies have survived.
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.
A subtle ability to render character may be noted in Holbein's work, as can be seen in his portraits of Thomas Cromwell, Desiderius Erasmus, and Henry VIII. The end results are convincing as definitive images of the subjects' appearance and personality.
|
|
|
ARTWORKS INDEX
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
ARTISTS INDEX A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
|
|
Wholesale China Oil Painting Wholesale Oil Painting China Xiamen Portrait Reproduction on canvas Chinese Oil Painting Wholesale
|
|
