It was at the end of the fifteenth century, about 1495, that one of the greatest geniuses in German painting was born at Augsburg. He is known as Hans Holbein the Younger, as his father is called Hans Holbein the Elder, for he too was an excellent artist.
Hans and his brother, Ambrosius, worked under Holbein the Elder until 1516. They undoubtedly helped their father on his pictures. Later the two brothers went to Basel, where Hans met his powerful patron, Jacob Meier, who commissioned him to paint a picture which is now considered one of his greatest works, “The Meier Madonna.”
In 1517 Hans Holbein left Basel for two years. He is supposed to have visited Italy in his travels, returning to Basel in 1519. There he met the learned Erasmus, whose friendship he gained. He also made a number of sketches for his book, “Praise of Folly.” Jacob Meier still continued to be his patron and turned many commissions his way. The artist at this time designed stained glass, decorated furniture, and illustrated books. His best illustrations were the drawings for the book “The Dance of Death.” These are supposed to have been made sometime before 1527.
It is as a portrait painter that Hans Holbein is best known. It was his fame as such that brought him to England in 1526, where he spent most of the last years of his life. To England Holbein had brought letters of introduction from Erasmus to Sir Thomas More. Through this gentleman he received many commissions. About 1536 he was appointed by Henry VIII “King’s Painter” with a salary of thirty-four pounds a year (in value today about $850) and rooms in the palace.
The last part of Hans Holbein’s life is enveloped in mystery. In 1543 the dreaded plague broke out in London once more. The city was still a dirty, crowded town of the Middle Ages. The streets were narrow and the houses and little shops were set close together. Consequently, London was just the kind of a city in which the plague might take its terrible course unchecked. On the 7th of October, 1543, Holbein made his will. This was found some years ago in London. Not long after making his will the great artist died. No one knows the details of his death, nor the place of his burial.
But though Holbein was dead, his works lived on. They are known and valued today as those of few other artists. He belongs among the immortals of German art.
His portrait of the “Duchess of Milan” is a marvel of beauty in its exquisite simplicity of rendering. “Both paint and painter are forgotten in looking at a work like this; you see only the incarnate spirit, and feel its very sphere. Though the woman is really not beautiful, her expression is fascinating in the highest degree. The rich brown eyes, with the yellow ring immediately around the pupil, seem to admit you to the secrets of her thoughts, and the full pouting lips irresistibly command admiration.”
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 4, No. 4, SERIAL No. 104
COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
