Hans Holbein the Younger, Volume 1 (of 2) — John Shaqi
Hans Holbein the Younger, Volume 1 (of 2)Chamberlain, Arthur B. (Arthur Bensley)
History
Hans Holbein the Younger, Volume 1 (of 2)
Chamberlain, Arthur B. (Arthur Bensley)
Holbein, Hans, 1497-1543 -- Criticism and interpretation; Painters -- Germany -- Biography
His next pictures of which the date is certain are of the year 1499,[11]
and include the picture of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore,[12] the
work already mentioned as ordered by Dorothea Rölingerin[13] for the
Convent of St. Catherine in Augsburg, and at one time attributed to the
mythical grandfather Hans. It is a panel in the form of a broad pointed
arch, corresponding, like the five other pictures of the series, with
the vaulting of the chamber for which it was painted. It contains four
scenes in three sections, divided from one another by gilded Gothic
ornamentation. The lower half of the central compartment contains a view
of the church, with a pilgrim kneeling at the altar. On the two bells is
inscribed “Hans Holba—in 1499,” while an “H” is on one of the
tombstones, and the date is repeated on the outer wall of the church.
The upper part of the arch is filled with the Crowning of the Virgin.
The division on the left contains St. Joseph and the Virgin adoring the
Child in the stable, that on the right the Martyrdom of St. Dorothea, in
honour of the donor of the picture, who is represented, a small figure,
kneeling in prayer behind the saint. This picture is now in the Augsburg
Museum (Nos. 62-64).
A second work in the same gallery (No. 61), of the same date, is,
however, far inferior to the foregoing, the execution being careless and
perfunctory. It was a commission from the nun Walburg Vetter, also for
the Convent of St. Catherine, as an offering from herself, and in memory
of her two sisters, Veronica and Christina, all three of whom lived,
died, and were buried in the convent; and the indifference of the
workmanship has been attributed to the fact that Holbein received
extremely poor payment for it, only 26 gulden in all. It has an arched
top, and is divided into a number of small compartments, with the
Crowning of the Virgin above, and six roughly-painted scenes from
Christ’s Passion below, in which the figures, more particularly of the
executioners, are extremely repulsive. It is dated, and contains a long
inscription.[14]
Shortly after he had sent out this very inferior example of his art from
his workshop, Holbein appears to have left Augsburg for a year or two,
and to have settled in Ulm. His name is found in the Augsburg rate-books
every year from 1494 to 1499, but is missing in 1500 and 1501, while
there is a document in the Augsburg archives, dated Wednesday, November
6, 1499, which proves that in that year he had become for the time being
a citizen of Ulm (“Hannsen Holbain dem Maller, jetzo Bürger zu
Ulm”),[15] though no traces remain of any work undertaken by him in that
city. This entry is in connection with the contract for the purchase of
a house in Augsburg from which Holbein received interest.
[Sidenote: THE KAISHEIM ALTAR-PIECE]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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