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
In the course of his journey to and from Lombardy he probably made short
halts in more than one Swiss town. Hegner mentions pictures by him in
Coutrai, Zürich, Altorf, and Berne, but the works he enumerates, with
the exception of the painted table at Zürich, are not the work of
Holbein. There are, however, indications that he spent some time in
Altorf, in the canton Uri, from which district it has been suggested
that his family originally came, for the Holbein arms are almost
identical with those of that canton. In the church is a “Head of
Christ,” which local tradition gives to Holbein, and in the Convent of
the Capuchins still hangs a copy of the “Christ in the Tomb” of the
Basel Gallery. The “Head of Christ” has suffered so severely that it is
impossible to-day to say whether it is from his hand; the church
archives, which are said to have contained proofs of its authenticity,
were lost in a fire which occurred in 1799, and did a great amount of
damage, destroying, among other things, an altar-piece of the
“Crucifixion,” attributed to Holbein, painted on canvas, one of the
chief treasures of the church. The version of the “Christ in the Tomb”
in the monastery shows material differences from the original at Basel.
The body of Christ is no longer rigid in death. He has conquered it, and
the artist, whoever he may have been, has represented him as the giver
of eternal life, by means of rays of light which emanate from the
recumbent body. Above the figure is a medallion with the Burial, which
bears little likeness to Holbein’s work. M. Pierre Gauthiez suggests
that this Christ was painted by Holbein when under the immediate
influence of certain Lombard painters, but that it became so badly
damaged in course of time that it was restored and repainted by some not
very skilful worker.[177]
[Sidenote: DESIGNS FOR PAINTED GLASS]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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