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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.
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William Warham,archeveque de Canterbury en 1504
Bois
H.0.82
L.0.66
Paris,Musee du Louvre
Painting ID:: 31029
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William_Warham,archeveque_de_Canterbury_en_1504
Bois
H.0.82
L.0.66
Paris,Musee du Louvre
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Anne de Cleves reine d'Angleterre,quatrieme epouse d'Henri VIII
mk70
Toile
H.0.65
L.0.48
Paris,Musee du Louvre
Painting ID:: 31030
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Anne_de_Cleves_reine_d'Angleterre,quatrieme_epouse_d'Henri_VIII
mk70
Toile
H.0.65
L.0.48
Paris,Musee du Louvre
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Erasme ecrivant
mk70
Bois
H.0.42
L.0.32
Paris,Musee du Louvre
Painting ID:: 31032
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Erasme_ecrivant
mk70
Bois
H.0.42
L.0.32
Paris,Musee du Louvre
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Recreation by our Gallery
mk79
1526-1528
Painting ID:: 32596
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Recreation_by_our_Gallery
mk79
1526-1528
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John Fisher Bishop of Rochester
mk160
c.1528
Painting ID:: 41377
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John_Fisher_Bishop_of_Rochester
mk160
c.1528
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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.
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