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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
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| Jun 29 2008, 9:32 AM EDT (current) | MsSquirrly | 13 words added, 1 photo added |
| May 16 2008, 12:04 AM EDT | MsSquirrly | 2 photos added, 1 photo deleted |
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Hans Holbein the Younger as played by Peter Gaynor
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| born 1497 - died November 29, 1543 Character's backstory: Son of Hans Holbein the Elder, Hans Holbein the Younger was arguably one of the greatest portrait artists of his time. Born in Augsburg, Germany, Holbein was taught his skill by his father and gained experience painting alter pieces and carving woodcuts. In 1515, the Holbiens moved to Basel, Switzerland a growing community of artists and humanist scholars. By 1525, Basel had become a difficult place for an aritist like Holbein to work. The religious and political influence of the Luthereans had by then took over, and production of nonreligious artwork was outlawed. Religious artwork, for that matter, was austere and very few projects would be comissioned by the new Lutherean society. With a letter of introduction from his patron and mentor Erasmus, Holbein traveled to England for the first time in 1526. Holbein went on to paint many in the court of King Henry VIII, including Thomas More, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, and perhaps most infamously, Anne of Cleves. Henry charged Holbein to create as accurate a portrait of Anne as possible, and in all likelihood, Holbein did his best not to flatter the German princess (as was the common practice of the day). However, Henry attacked the portrait after his marriage for being too complimenting to Anne (not because, as was probably the case, he needed an excuse to rid himself of his new wife). In all likelihood, many historians today believe Holbein's depiction was accurate. Despite the criticism, Holbein continued to create portraitures for Henry, and it was while painting a portrait of the King that Holbein contracted what was likely the plague and died. Gentility: Position: Court portrait artist Personality type: With an eye for detail, Holbein was noted for his ability to catch the personality of his subjects in his artwork. Very observant, and most likely an honest artist. Signature look: Endearing trait(s): Annoying trait(s): |    |
CHARACTER CONNECTIONSFamily members: Hans Holbein the Elder: Father Ambrosius Holbein: Brother Elsbeth Binzenstock: Wife Phillip Holbein: Son Catherine Holbein: Daughter Romance(s): Magdalena Offenburg: was Holbein's model for such works as "Venus and Amour" and "Lais of Corinth", she may also have been his mistress for a time Friends: Desiderius Erasmus Sir Thomas More King Henry VIII of England Enemies: German Lutherans | Portrait Techniques 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. He painted a few, superb, portrait miniatures, having been taught the art by Lucas Horenbout, a Flemish illuminator who was also a court artist of Henry. Horenbout painted Holbein in perhaps his best miniature, and the best portrait we have of Holbein, who never made a self portrait. 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. |
UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTER QUOTES
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DEFINING EPISODES | MEMORABLE SCENES
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*Click here for "The Works of Hans Holbein" - a more extensive page
PHOTOS
| Holbein tells Thomas More why he can't go home |  Hans Holbein |
 |  The Family of Hans Holbein His Wife, Elsabeth, son Philip and daughter Catherine |
 c.1540 |  c.1536 |
 c.1536 Jane Seymour |  "Anne of Cleves" Holbein's infamous portrait which led Henry VIII to fall in love with her, only to be disappointed after they meet that he "liked her not" |
 c.1539 Portrait of Edward, Prince of Wales. |  "Sir Thomas More" |
 |  "The Ambassadors" by Hans Holbein one of Holbein's most famous masterpieces  As well as being a double portrait, the painting contains a still life of several symbolic objects, the meaning of which is the cause of much debate such as the skewed (anamorphic) skull at the bottom of the painting - shown to the left . The viewer must approach the painting nearly from the side to see the form morph into a completely accurate rendering of a human skull. One possibility is that this painting represents three levels: the heavens (as portrayed by the astrolabe and other objects on the upper shelf), the living world (as evidenced by books and a musical instrument on the lower shelf), and death (signified by the skull). The upper left corner, is a crucifix with Jesus on the cross behind the curtain which may represent the diplomatic efforts to achieve reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants |
 "The Family of Sir Thomas More" 1527 |  Study for 1527 More Family Portrait |
 Noli me tanger |  "Allegory of the Old and New Testaments" |
