Hans HolbeinChamberlain, Arthur B. (Arthur Bensley)
History
Hans Holbein
Chamberlain, Arthur B. (Arthur Bensley)
Holbein, Hans, 1497-1543
During 1532 and 1533, and occasionally later, he painted a number of his
compatriots seated in their offices and engaged in the ordinary routine
of business life, including the superb picture of _Georg Gisze_ (Berlin,
_see illustration, and p. 51_), _Hans of Antwerp_, the goldsmith, later
on one of Holbein’s executors (Windsor), _Derich Born_ (Windsor and
Munich), _Derich Berck_ (Petworth), _Geryck Tybis_ (Vienna), _Ambrose
Fallen_ (Brunswick), and several others whose names have not been
discovered. He was also employed by the members of the Steelyard as a
corporate body. At the coronation of Anne Boleyn, in May, 1533, the
streets of London were gaily decorated by the various city companies and
guilds, and the triumphal arch erected by the Hanseatic League was
designed by Holbein. Still more important were the two large allegorical
paintings in monochrome, _The Triumph of Riches_ and _The Triumph of
Poverty_, with which he decorated their banqueting-hall. These fine
works have disappeared. Fortunately, they were copied by Zucchero in
1574, and by Jan de Bisschop (British Museum), while the original sketch
for _The Triumph of Riches_ is in the Louvre.
Holbein had now reached the highest point of his career, and the series
of brilliant portraits he produced during the last ten years of his life
is unrivalled. It was probably owing to his connection with the
Steelyard that he was employed by several foreign Ambassadors, who were
accredited to England during his second residence here. Many of these
German merchants were more than mere traders. Owing to their knowledge
of foreign languages, and their business relations with all parts of the
world, they were often employed by the Government, and occasionally sent
on important missions abroad. In this way they were personally known to
many of the Ambassadors to England.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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