YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

HOLBEIN AND HIS TIME.

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HOLBEIN AND HIS TIME.

DE. ALEEED WOLTMANN.

TRANSLATED BY F. E. BUNNETT.

WITH SIXTY ILLUSTRATIONS.

LONDON :
] -. ICH A' 1 . 1 ) BENTLEY A N D S (.) N,
NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
^ublisljws in ©rtmra-g to fitr Pajestg.
1872.

LONDON :
R. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, PRINTER?,
T3READ STREET HILL,

4M*y

PREFACE.

The history of the art of the Middle Ages and of modern times
demands special investigation. An outline is drawn round modern
science ; it is filled up by degrees as time progresses. An attempt to
do this as regards art is the especial object of this work. Contem
poraries and posterity have eagerly occupied themselves with Albert
Diirer; but the records transmitted to us of Hans Holbein, the
second great painter of his country, are more scanty. Up to the
most recent period, his history was veiled in complete obscurity.
Ulrich Hegner's work on Holbein, which appeared in 1827, cor
responds with the stage at which the history of art at that time
stood. It is an excellent guide to the study of the material existing
in Basle, yet we must not forget that the author is neither a critical
historian nor an experienced judge in artistic matters. Since
Hegner's work, the master has been utterly neglected by art-investi
gators. Almost the only notice of permanent value respecting him
is that contained in the works of G. F. Waagen, who never made it
his special task to pursue historical investigations regarding an artist,
but clearly recognized and pointed out all that was peculiar and
essential in his creations. Not till late years has this state of things
been altered. In England, owing to W. H. Black's archival re
searches, the discovery was made of the year of Holbein's death, and
this was followed by the investigations of Mr. A. W. Franks and
Mr. G. Scharf. At the same time I myself began my studies pre
paratory to a larger work on Holbein, many of which I published in
Journals, in a dissertation on the painter, and in a Holbein-Album

vi PREFACE.

issued in Berlin by G. Schauer. Induced by interest in my work,
Herr His-Heusler resumed with double energy his former archival
studies, so that in a short period our knowledge of the life and
works of the master became essentially enlarged. And when my
task had reached so far that the first part of my book had been given
to the public, I heard that a work upon Holbein was about to appear
by an English art-scholar, Mr. Wornum, Director of the National
Gallery in London.
A work of this kind, if it is to possess any value, must be based
on the study of authentic sources. Every art-seholar "knows bow
scanty are the literary notices with regard to old German and
Netherland painting. Art finds no place in contemporary literature.
The first attempts at artist biography — those of Mander, Sandrart,
and Patin — belong to the seventeenth century. We have long felt
their perfectly unreliable character ; we have long perceived that
nothing in these writings is based on evidence, and that though
perhaps here and there we cannot avoid paying attention to
their statements, we can never rest upon them. Three kinds of
material yet lie open to us. In the first place, that which may be
obtained from personal examination of the works of art themselves.
This is similar to documental statements in other branches of
historical investigation, even apart from the fact that frequently
works of art have become documents from the inscriptions they bear.
In the second place, there is the material afforded by archival inves
tigations. In the third place, it is necessary to pay regard to that
which we may indirectly learn with respect to an artist, just because
directly we know so little concerning him. We must take into
account the general historical circumstances under which he lived,
both as regards time and place, and which must have affected him
also. We shall thus be afforded means of realizing as far as possible
all that we know concerning him, and of finding the just position in
which the master stood to the mental current and to the culture and
art of his time. While I have called my book "Holbein and his
Time," I have, in no wise, intended to write a history of the whole
period, placing Holbein as its artistic centre.

PREFACE. vii

I must especially mention the kind assistance afforded me by the
two men to whom the German copy of my work is dedicated : Hcri-
Waagen, from whose writings I not only acquired much information,
but who met me in every respect with advice and assistance ; and
Herr His-Heusler, who helped me with his continued researches in
the Basle archives, and was never weary of replying to my numerous
inquiries. I must also mention Herr Herberger at Augsburg, who
placed at my disposal much original material ; also Herr Greiff,
Herr Steichele, Herr Eigner, Herr Sesar, and Herr v. Huber, in the
same city ; Herr von Sturler and Dr. Hidber at Berne ; and Colonel
Meyer-Blielmann and his son at Lucerne. The permission to make
use of unpublished works in the illustrations was given me by Her
Eoyal Highness Princess Charles of Hesse, by the Director of the
Eoyal Museum at Berlin, and by the Director of the Basle
Museum. I have also to thank His Grace the Duke of Devonshire and the
Director of the British Museum for their permission to publish works
of Holbein that have not before appeared. Thanks are also due to
Professor Burkner in Dresden, who placed engravings of his excellent
copies of the pictures of the Old Testament at the disposal of my
publisher. A similar kindness was shown me by a noble and
genuine promoter of artistic effort, now no longer among the living,
Herr Eudolf Weigel. THE AUTHOE.

Berlin, 26th November, 1867.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
Holbein and the present time. — Historical revolution in Italy and Germany. — Renaissance and
Reformation. — Decline of the Gothic. — Painting the leading art.— Gothic idealism sup
planted by realism. — Hubert van Eyck the pioneer of a new epoch. — Development of
German, especially of Swabian, painting. — Martin Schongauer and Fritz Herlen. — The
schools of Uim and Augsburg ....  Page 1
GHAPTEE II.
Augsburg at that period and at the present day. — The city of German Renaissance and the
painter of German Renaissance. — Position and character of the city. — Democratic reform
of the Commonwealth. — Augsburg reflecting in miniature the movements that agitated
all Germany. — Outward insecurity. — Hereditary hostility with Bavaria. — War, suffering,
and calamity of every kind. — Increase of religious oppression and quarrel with the clergy.
— Bias to reform and to humanistic literature. — Emperor Max. — The citizens in festivity
and work. — Trade and commerce. — General innovations. — Intercourse with Italy. —
Stimulant to artists  . .  Page 22
CHAPTER III.
Hans Holbein the father. — Appearance of the name Holbeiu in different places. — The
Holbein family in Augsburg. — Authentic documents. — The supposed " grandfather Hans
Holbein." — Course of training experienced by Hans Holbein the father. — His works. — A
picture at Basle. — Madonna in the Moritz capell'. — Pictures in Augsburg Cathedral. —
Works of 1499. — The master abroad. — Altar at Frankfort. — Altar at Kaisheim. — Sketch
book. — Pictures for the monastery of St. Catherine. — Basilica of St. Paul. — Portraits of
the artist and his sons. — Accounts of St. Moritz. — Drawings. — Later works. — Portraits. —
Position and influence of the artist ... ..... Page 34
CHAPTER IV.
Hans Holbein the younger. — The year of his birth. — The Augsburg inscription. — Opposing
statements. — Portrait of him at Berlin when fourteen years old. — Portrait and age of
Ambrosius Holbein. — Sketch-book of the young Holbein. — His father's share in it. —
Portraits of the artist's family. — The Emperor and his court. — The Fugger family. —
Citizens and artisans. — The monks of St. Ulrich. — Unknown portraits. — Sketches of
another kind ..... . . . Page 60

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER V.
Youthful pictures executed in Augsburg.— Connection with his father. — Very early works
at Augsburg and Basle.— Altar-panels of 1512. — Burgkniair's influence. — Madonna with
the Lily of the Valley. — Portraits. — Votive tablet of the Schwartz family. — St.
Catherine at Annaberg. — Altar of St. Sebastian  Page, 83

CHAPTER VI.
Removal to Basle. — Period at which this took place. — Sigmund Holbein at Berne. — His
works. — His will. — Ambrosius Holbein and his works. — Hans Holbein admitted into
the freedom of the city of Basle. — What Basle could offer him. — Position of Basle
and character of its inhabitants. — The University and its teachers. — Book-printing. Page 104
CHAPTER VII.
Holbein in Basle and Lucerne. — The schoolmaster's signboard. — Portraits of the Meier
couple. — Portrait of Herbster. — Traces of Holbein in other parts of Switzerland. — The
lost table in Zurich. — Painting of the house of Hertenstein at Lucerne. — Historical
representations, and subjects chosen from antiquity. — A journey to Upper Italy doubtful.
— Influence of Mantegna and Leonardo. — -The Last Supper at Basle. — A doubtful work :
the Fountain of Life at Lisbon  Page 113
CHAPTER VIII.
Church paintings of the Basle period. — The series from the Passion. — Historical representation
of sacred subjects and great freedom of style. — Sketches from the history of the Passion. —
The picture of a deceased Christ in the year 1521. — Double picture of the Man of
Sorrows and the Mother of Sorrows. — The organ-doors in the Minster. — Paintings at
Freiburg and Carlsruhe. — Sketches for paintings. — Drawings for glass-paintings. — Studies
from military life and costumes. — Two drawings in Dresden and London . . Page 127
CHAPTER IX.
The Solothurn and the Meier Madonnas. — The newly-discovered work : the Virgin between
St. Martin and St. Ursus. — Holbein's wife and child probably served as models. — The
Madonna of the Burgomaster Meier. — The picture at Darmstadt the original, not that at
Dresden. — History of the two paintings. — Their differences. — The fate of the donator. —
The picture perhaps an epitaph. — Erroneous interpretations, and true purport of the
representation  Page 141
CHAPTER X.
Works of wall-painting. — Facade paintings. — The house "zum Tanz." — The painting of the
great Town-hall. — Holbein's paintings at Basle. — Original documents. — Pictures of
Justice and citizen Virtue.' — Subjects from antiquity. — Interruption of the work. — The
cause for this in the circumstances of the time. — Commencement of the Reformation
in Basle  Page 160

CONTENTS. xi

CHAPTER XI.
The portraits of this period, and the circle of Erasmus. — Existing and lost portraits. — Froben.
— Bonifacius Amerbach. — The Amerbach Collection. — Erasmus in Basle. — His relations
to Holbein.— The different portraits of Erasmus. — Holbein's marginal drawings on the
" Praise of Folly." — Holbein's character and habits. — His own portrait . . Page 176
CHAPTER Xn.
Helbein's designs for -wood-engraving. — German wood-engraving in an artistic and historical
aspect. — Relation between painter and engraver. — Hans Liitzelburger. — T. Froben as
metal engraver. — Designs for title-pages. — Wood-engraving in its relations with human
istic literature. — Subjects from Lucian, treated by Ambrosius Holbein. — The panel of
Cebes. — Illustrations of the Utopia of Thomas More. — Designs from the legends and
history of antiquity. — Illustrations of the power of women, by Hans and Ambrosius
Holbein. — Illustrations for geographical and astronomical works. — The arms and the
patron saints of Freiburg. — Moral pictures and illustrations from popular life. — Peasants'
dance and fox-hunt. — Children's dances. — Alphabet, with peasants' and children's games.
— Initials of every kind. — Signets of the printers  Page 198

CHAPTER XIII.
Holbein and the Reformation. — Woodcut illustrations for Luther's translations of the Holy
Scriptures. — Two editions of the New Testament by Adam Petri. — Th. Wolff's New
Testament. — The title-page,, with Liitzelburger's device. — The pictures from the Revela
tion. — Holbein's position with regard to Diirer's compositions. — Petri's Old Testament. —
Other woodcuts of a Biblical purport. — Christ under the burden of the Cross. — The
pictures of the Old Testament. — Their origin and appearance. — Holbein and Lyons. —
Bourbon's verses. — Relation of the pictures to the religious state of things. — The sheets
in an artistic point of view. — Initials from the Old Testament. — Satirical sheets of the
time of the Reformation. — The trade in Indulgences. — Christ the True Light. — A sketch
at Erlangen  Page 222

CHAPTER XIV.
Pictures of Death and Dances of Death. — Sandrart's report of Holbein's Pictures of Death,
and of Rubens' opinion of them. — The antique and mediaeval conception of Death. — The
ascetic conception of the Middle Ages increased by the circumstances of the time. —
Pictures in churches of the transitoriness of life. — " The three dead and the three
living," both in poetry and painting. — Triumph of Death at Pisa and at Clusone. — Death
as a demon snatching away and casting down men. — Ironical conceptions find a place by
the side of simple and serious ideas. — Dying represented by games and festivity. — The
Dance of Death. — The originally milder element which here prevailed, supplanted after
wards by one of irony. — The Dance of Death originally in the Drama. — Various monu
ments of the two Dances of Death at Basle. — The freer form given to such subjects by
the arts of Painting and Sculpture. — Various pictures of Death by Diirer, Manuel,
Burgkmair, and others. — The comic element in pictures of Death. — Humour and satire. —
Death as an equalizer. — Satire in political and ecclesiastical matters. — The Dance of
Death at Berne.— Manuel and Holbein  Page 245

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XV
Holbein's Pictures of Death. — Death variously represented by him. — The end of the Righteous
and the Godless. — The Dance of Death on the Scabbard. — The woodcut series of the
Pictures of Death. — Relation to the views of the Middle Ages, and influence of other
kinds. — Death as a skeleton. — Want of anatomical knowledge. — Period at which the
pictures were executed. — Editions of Basle and Lyons. — Preface to the edition of
1538, its author, and its enigmatical passage. — Intentionally anonymous appearance. —
Characterization of the separate pictures. — Exposition and further course of the Drama.
— Compositions added subsequently. — The two concluding sheets. — The group of children.
— Initials with pictures of Death. — The pictures in relation with their age. — Ecclesiastical
and Political Satires. — Holbein and Shakespeare. — Influence and dissemination of the
work. — Its reception at home and abroad .  ... Page 262

CHAPTER XVI.
Holbein's departure from Basle. — Progress of the Reformation. — Disorders in Basle. — Stagna
tion of art. — The Lais picture of 1526, and its corresponding piece. — Milanese influence.
— Conjectures regarding the subject. — A document of 1526. — Holbein's plan to go to
England. — Previous introduction, through Erasmus, to Sir Thomas More. — Departure in
August 1526. — Letter of recommendation to T. jEgidius in Antwerp . . . Page 287

CHAPTER XVII.
First Journey to England. — Travel in the sixteenth century.— Holbein's route. — Passage across,
and arrival in London at that time. — The impression made by the city and country upon
German travellers of the sixteenth century.— London and Westminster. — Hampton Court.
— Characters and customs of the English. — Henry VIII. and Cardinal Wolsey. — Love of
splendour and taste for art and science in the upper circles. — Native and foreign artists
in England in Holbein's time.— The spurious and genuine works of the master in Eng
land. — The Windsor Castle collection of sketches  pagC 297
CHAPTER XVIII.
The house of More.— The family life at Chelsea. -Sir Thomas More and the King.— His
domestic life.— Portraits of More, and portraits which erroneously bear his name?— Por
trait of Sir Henry Wyat.— Works belonging to the years from 1527 to 1529.— Portraits
of Archbishop Warham and Bishop Fisher of Rochester.— Sir Henry Guildford.— Nico
laus Kratzer.— The Godsalves.— Sir Bryan Tuke.— Some sketches.— The picture of More's
family.— Original sketch in Basle, and studies at Windsor.— Copy in the possession of
the Winn family  Pagg 3Q7
CHAPTER XIX.
Return to Basle.— Holbein brings Erasmus the sketch of the painting of More's family —
Erasmus in Freiburg.— Events in Basle ; the iconoclastic storm.— Unfavourable condition
for artists.— The picture of Holbein's wife and children.— Authentic notices of Holbein's
son, Philip.— Information respecting Holbein's daughter.— Continuation of the Town-

CONTENTS.

hall paintings. — Rehoboam. — Samuel and Saul. — The circumstances of the time reflected
in the pictures. — Hard times in his native country, and happy turn of affairs in Eng
land. — Second departure for London. — The Town Council seeks in vain to retain
Holbein . .   Page 322
CHAPTER XX.
The Steel-yard. — Sir Thomas More resigns. — Warham's death. — Holbein employed by the
merchants of the German Hanseatic League. — Portrait of Gysins. — Hans von Antwerp,
in Windsor Castle. — Hans von Zurich. — Derich Born, in Windsor and Munich. — Small
circular pictures. — Portraits at Brunswick, Vienna, and Petworth. — " The Wheel of
Fortune " in the possession of the Duke of Devonshire. — The divorce of Henry VIII.
and the coronation of Anna Boleyn. — Splendid entrance of the Queen. — Pageant of the
merchants of the Steel-yard, after Holbein's design. — Paintings for the Guildhall of the
German Hanseatic League. — Fate of the original. — Sketches in the Louvre : copies. —
The " Triumph of Riches " and the " Triumph of Poverty." — Their intellectual value and
their artistic style. — Study of Mantegna and affinity with Raffaelle, — Utmost freedom in
the forms of the cinquecento. — Sketch of Solomon aud the Queen of Sheba. Page 338

CHAPTER XXI.
Work in Protestant circles. — Several portraits from the yeaij_532 to 15353 — The great picture
in Longford Castle. — Sir Thomas Wyat. — His head in drawings and in woodcuts. —
John Leland, the antiquary. — Thomas Cromwell and his portraits. — The Poyns family. —
Simon George and Reskymer of Cornwall. — Nicolaus Bourbon de Vandoeuvre comes to
England. — His portrait in drawing and woodcut. — Personal relation of the poet to
Holbein. — Bourbon's poems on the artist. — Holbein as miniature painter. — The sons of
the Duke of Suffolk   Page 358

CHAPTER XXII.
Woodcuts and Reformation pictures belonging to the English period. — The title-page to
Coverdale's translation of the Bible. — A title-page with St. Peter and St. Paul. — Visita
tion of the monasteries by Cromwell. — The satirical Passion-scenes. — Ridicule of mona-
chism. — Cranmer's Catechism and its woodcuts. — The Unfaithful Shepherd. — Reaction
in ecclesiastical matters and delayed appearance of these pictures. — Holbein's merit
with regard to stamp-cutting in England.— Small woodcuts in the works printed by
R. Wolfe.—" Ingratitude of the World."— Erasmus " in Ghiis."— Woodcut in " Hall's
Chronicle : " King Henry VIII. in the Council. — When was the painter admitted into
the King's service ? — Alleged and actual portraits of Anna Boleyn. — Whether Holbein
ever painted her ? — More's end. — Fall and execution of Queen Anna. — Marriage of Henry
with Jane Seymour ... . . Page 37. "5
CHAPTER XXIII.
In the King's service. — Position and duties of the Court-painter. — Portrait-painting at courts.
 Predilection of the English for portraiture. — Holbein from henceforth is essentially
Injured to this branch of art.— Wall-painting at Whitehall.— The cartoon.— The sketch
jJofunich. — Portraits of Henry VIII. from this model, both before and after Holbein's
time. — His head in the possession of the Earl of Spencer. — Portrait of Jane Seymour at

xiv CONTENTS.

Vienna. — Various female portraits. — Lord and Lady Vaux. — Sir Richard Southwell at
Florence. — Lady Rich. — John Russell. — Various portraits in the Windsor Collection ;
statesmen, country gentlemen, courtiers. — Sir Nicholas Carew. — Morett's portrait at
Dresden  Page 388

CHAPTER XXIV.
Holbein's activity as regards art-industry. — Beginning of Renaissance taste in Germany. —
Holbein's earliest productions in this sphere of art. — Title-pages and glass-paintings ;
architecture in paintings. — Designs for armourers and goldsmiths. — Dagger-sheaths. — ¦
Works of this kind at the English court. — Sketch-books in London and Basle. — •
Medals and implements. — Tankards, bowls, and splendid vessels. — Jane Seymour's
drinking-cup. — Sketch for a clock. — Architectural works. — The chimney-piece. — Artistic
feeling in German Renaissance  Page 406

CHAPTER XXV.
Holbein's journeys by royal order.— The birth of the Prince of Wales and the death of Queen
Jane Seymour. — New wooing.— Holbein sent to Brussels to paint the bride.— The
portrait of Christina, duchess of Milan. — Holbein appears in the " Expenses of the House
hold." — His visit to Basle. — Appointment from the Council. — Portraits of the Prince of
Wales.— Henry's marriage with Anne of Cleves.— Holbein's portrait of the Princess. Page 422
CHAPTER XXVI.
Last years.— Generosity of the King towards the painter.— Henry's divorce from Anne, and
Cromwell's fall.— Marriage of the King with Catherine Howard.— Portraits of the Duke
of Norfolk and the Earl of Surrey.— Portraits of the new Queen.— End of Catherine
Howard.— Henry's last marriage.— Works for citizens.— The painting of the Barbers' and
Surgeons' Guild.— Portraits of Dr. Butts and his wife.— Dr. Chamber.— Holbein as
portrait-painter.- — His own portrait in his last years  Pa.qe 439
CHAPTER XXVII.
Holbein's end.— The Plague in London.— The master's will.— Diirer's death and that of
Holbein.— Comparison between Holbein and Diirer.— Alleged and true followers of
Holbein. — Christopher Amberger. — Condition of German art at Holbein's death. 
Further course of the Renaissance in Germany. — Conclusion  paqe 451

INDEX  p
 Page 465

LIST OE ILLTJSTEATIONS.

PAGE

Hans and Ambrosius Holbein  Frontispiece.
Holbein, the Father, with his two youngest Sons  54
Sigmund Holbein  70
Kunz von der Rosen  72
Jacob Fugger  74
Herr Heinricb Griin  80
Herr Lienhard Wagner  81
Madonna with the Lily of the Valley  to face 89
Death of St. Sebastian  to face 95
St. Barbara and St. Elizabeth   to face 99
The Annunciation  to face 101
The Burgomaster Jacob Meier zum Hasen  to face 114
Wife of the Burgomaster Meier  115
Pilate washing his hands  to face 131
Christ on the Cross  to face 132
Organ-doors of Basle Minster — Right Panel  ) .
Organ-doors of Basle Minster — Left Panel  J J
Two Soldiers  to face 138
Study of Costume  to face 139
Madonna of the Burgomaster Meier  to face 149
Ground-plan of Council Hall  166
Froben  to face 177
Bonifacius Amerbach  178
Erasmus  187
The Ass attempting to sing  191
Folly lecturing  193
Women before Madonna Picture  194
Nymphs and Silenus  194
Nicolaus de Lyra  195
Holbein's Portrait  197
The Fox stealing a Goose  217
A, B, L, V, Initials— Peasant's Alphabet  218
A Initial — Bacchus  219
Abraham's offering  , . . . 238
Hannah and Elkanah  238
Nathan and David  239
Solomon in the Temple  240

xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE
Sale of Indulgences  to face 242
Christ the True Light  to face 243
Adam tilling the Ground and Death  273
The Chevalier and Death   277
The Trader (Death's Dance)  278
X, 0, Initials— Death's Alphabet  283
Archbishop Warham of Canterbury .  . . to face 312
Holbein's Wife and Children  3*28
Rehoboam   to face 332
Samuel and Saul  to face 333
Triumph of Riches   .... to face 349
Sir T. Wyat   362
S, Initial  373
Title-page  to face 374
Healing of the Possessed   378
The Good and the Bad Shepherd  379
The Printer's Device of Reinhold Wolfe ....  381
I, Initial — Children in Winter    388
Henry VIII. and his Father  to face 394
Scabbard  to face 410
Clock for Henry VIII  }
Ornament for the Clock of Henry VIII  \ (0 fMt 418
The Prince of Wales  433

HOLBEIN, AND HIS WORKS.

CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
Holbein and the present time. — Historical revolution in Italy and Germany.— Renaissance and
Reformation. — Decline of the Gothic- — Painting the leading art.— Gothic idealism sup
planted by realism. — Hubert van Eyck the pioneer of a new epoch.— Development of
German, especially of Swabian, painting. — Martin Schongauer and Fritz Herlen. — The
schools of Uim and Augsburg.
With the artists and art productions of her own early ages, even the German
nation is but little acquainted. We may regret it, but we can easily under
stand it : at the period when, in happy Italy, Leonardo, Raphael, and Michael
Angelo reached the highest point of perfection, the art of Germany was still
in a state of struggle and beginning; in all that it at that time produced,
the modern eye has much to surmount before it can comprehend and enjoy.
At the transition from the Middle Ages to modern times, the Italian people, \
almost as the Greeks of old, were the true people of art. To produce great
works of art was the historical vocation of the nation. That historical revo
lution, which belonged to this epoch, was accomplished by Italy in the sphere
of the beautiful, while the German nation consummated it in matters of a
moral and religious nature. The latter accomplished in the Reformation that
great historical fact, upon which, up to the present day, the further progress
of mankind depends. Thus art could not in Germany occupy the central
point of the national interests, it could not engross all the highest powers
of man, as on the other side of the Alps ; even the artists themselves were
so completely filled and carried away with the universal impulse which
animated their people, that even to them the beautiful did not absolutely
occupy the first place.
However difficult this may have made their path, impelling them into a
direction possessing little attraction for modern taste ; still, on the other
hand, it is just this which renders the art of Germany at that time especially

2 GERMAN ART AT THE TIME OF THE REFORMATION.
valuable, and brings it near to ourselves. Throughout it the same spirit
breathes which called forth the Reformation. It is this spirit which fills its
longing and its striving, its desires and powers, which decides indeed its
boundaries, but also its greatness. In the Reformation, the German character
manifested itself in all its peculiarity, and thus also art never so truly speaks
our mother tongue as in the German works of that period. If we con
template these works from this point of view, we find the true basis of their
power and strength, and we become reconciled with the imperfections they
possess ; but the beautiful, where they have really attained to it, stands before
us magnified in its grandeur, because we know the difficulties and the struggles
through which alone it was to be obtained. Using thus the standard of
history, the right understanding of these artistic productions opens before us,
and not only so, but on their side they become to us documents, from which,
as clearly as though they were written, the spirit and history of the age
speak to us.
If we would attempt in the present day, by an examination of this kind,
to gain a more accurate idea of the German art of that period, we cannot
enter upon such an attempt better than with Holbein. He possessed the
great qualities of his nation, without sharing her weaknesses ; he was wholly
imbued with the spirit which was actuating her, but at the same time he
pressed forward unfettered to that highest idea of the beautiful, elsewhere
unattainable to her; and in his outward fate as well as in his artistic position,
he became at once an international artist. Joachim von Sandrart, the old
biographer of painters, boasted that his works throughout evidence a modern
style. Holbein is modern in the best sense of the word, modern as the great
masters of Italy were so, and as no German has ever been, not even Albert
Diirer. However grandly Diirer stands forth, however undeniably precedence
is due to him in other respects, the only man in German art who has reached
true perfection of form, is Holbein, and Holbein alone. And thus we can
say of him, as we cannot say of Diirer, that the feeling of the present day
reveals a path to the direct understanding of his productions.
That advance of art, at the height of which Holbein stands, has its root
and its foundation in the decline of the Middle Ages. This decline was
brought about by the endeavours to reconcile Christian ideas with the antique,
that is, to reconcile mankind with that earlier stage of culture, from which
they had become more and more alienated by the spirit of Christianity,
developed during the Middle Ages.
Men cast off the fundamental principle of the time, which urged the
subjection and denial of nature; the harmony of mind and nature, which
in antiquity had formed the basis of thought and life, became anew their
aim. Nature was again to assert her rights : this was the impulse pervading
all the feelings, the deeds, and the events, which established a new age,

REVOLUTION IN ITALY.

pervading all its great inventions and discoveries ; this was the point in
question, when the powers of nature were investigated, when mechanical
views were recognized, and new worlds discovered. And while man acquires
distinct ideas of nature, and comprehends his position with regard to her,
this acquisition reacts upon himself, and from nature he perceives his own
being and his own rights. Man is no longer regarded, as in the Middle Ages,
merely according to position, corporation, and family, but as an independent,
self- authorized individual. For such a position to be enjoyed either- by nature
or by man, there was no scope, so long as the power which ruled the world
during the Middle Ages, namely the Church, existed. The contest, therefore,
must be kindled against the Church, the more the new impulse made its way.1
The manner, the tendency, and the course of this contest were wholly
diverse on this side and on the other side of the Alps. Italy was the soil on
which the new ideas had first taken root. Here it became most natural to
look back, beyond the one-sided civilization of the Middle Ages, to the former
grand culture of the ancient world. Here, wThither the world-ruling nation of
antiquity had migrated, the traces of it had never wholly vanished. Re
membrances of classic past ages emerged here and there amidst the deepest
barbarism, and increased with every advance in national development. But
in the fourteenth century, in the generation that listened to Dante and
Petrarca, things had already assumed a wholly different appearance. Through
out Italy, from henceforth, the interest in antiquity had become universal,
and a true revival and resuscitation of antiquity, not the use and accumulation
and piecemeal imitation of separate antique elements, was the end and endea
vour of the nation. This tendency had at last reached a decisive issue, when
in the middle of the fifteenth century, from the destruction of the Byzantine
kingdom, a new stream of Hellenic culture poured forth. However weakly
and secretly the spark of old Greece may have glimmered even there, it now
came in contact with matter so readily inflammable, that it was able to
awaken a lively flame. Among the ruins of Rome, men now felt seized with
a feeling of reverence and enthusiasm ; the fallen walls aud columns spoke a
language which they understood. They searched the ground on which they
trod, and it brought back to light the long hidden creations of the Greek
chisel, which enchanted and delighted every eye. And besides the statues in
the bosom of the earth, they sought and found old manuscripts in the corners
of monastic libraries. They read classic historians, orators, and poets ; they
transcribed them, and gave them from hand to hand. The ideas which they
here learned became guiding stars for thought and action, and thus arose
1 How much I am indebted for the historical description of this period to C. Hagen's work,
" Deutschlands Religiose und Literarische Verhaltnisse, ein Reformation Alter," and for
the artistic description to the well-known works of Waagen, Hotho, and Schnaase, I will here
mention once for all.

MO VEMENT IN GERMANY.

that culture which prepared the way for all further stages of development up
to our own day ; namely, the culture of the Renaissance.
This revolution in intellectual matters in Italy seems necessarily to lead
to the contest with the Church, whose fundamental principle was of so per
fectly opposite a character. Indeed, even within the Church, various oppo
sition movements broke forth, but the national mind did not carry them on
generally enough, or did not endure them long enough,; they never arrived at
any actual result. Outwardly, both opposites could long bear with each other.
Even the Vatican presented no obstruction to the new current of ideas. The
vicegerents of Christ gave themselves up regardlessly to the spirit of heathen
times. Outwardly, they maintained as decidedly as ever the power and great
ness of the Church, but inwardly they were perfectly alienated from the eccle
siastical spirit and the Christian faith ; one thing alone they forgot not, how
far those fables of Christ, as Leo X. expressed himself, had been of advantage
to them and theirs. The Church remained as she was, only that she ceased as
before to be the universal spiritual centre. A new element here stepped in
her place. Not in the Church, but side by side with the Church, the mind
asserted its freedom.
It is true all was not yet done, which was to be done. In the first place,
the entire people were not profited by this advance to liberty. This new
liberty, based as it was on culture, was only for the cultivated, while the old
restraint continued for the rest. And if, even in Italy, it was not sufficient
for the entire nation, it was still less sufficient for the other nations of
Western Europe. In order really to change the state of things which
opposed the new ideas, not merely enlightened knowledge, but moral energy
was necessary ; the one was awakened in Italy, but the other was to proceed
from another nation, who had not, like the Italians, fallen into such a state of
confusion, in a moral point of view. The German nation here asserted its
influence on the destiny of mankind. The German character is not so
brilliant, so ready, and so excitable as the Italian, but it is deeper, more
serious, and more stedfast ; it does not grasp things so quickly, nor with such
superior mind, but it is far more energetic. If the German advocated in
dividual freedom of mind, it was not enough for him to obtain it by emanci
pation from ecclesiastical rule ; he went to the very heart of the matter, and
urged for the renovation of religious life itself. The fruits of this effort also
fell, not merely to the lot of the privileged classes, but were reaped by the
entire people. It was again, as at the origin of the Christian doctrines, the
poor to whom the glad message was addressed.
Resistance against the Papal Hierarchy had been indeed familiar in
Germany long ago ; it had originated with the' greatest emperors, and the first
spiritual representatives of the people. And there was also a resistance in
the national feeling. For that decided national feeling, which everywhere

REVOLUTION IN GERMANY.

receded before the repressing power of the Church, had here remained more
lively than in any other land. Long, indeed, had it been before this feeling
had bent under the domination of Rome. But when at length, after the
weakening of the Imperial power, this had been the case, the opposition in the
national mind soon arose anew. Cause for this lay in the relations which the
Church herself had brought about. In the barbarous ages, she had been the
defender of spiritual interests, and thus the guardian of mankind. But man
kind had now grown to maturity, and needed no longer the once salutary and
necessary guidance. The Church and religious life were more and more de
cidedly sundered, and in the fourteenth century appeared in expressed oppo
sition. Science from henceforth no longer was identical with scholasticism,
which stood in the service of the Church, but it came into conflict with it,
while scholasticism in its later course became more and more a mere
cultivation of formal thought. The cleft between faith and knowledge had
opened, from henceforth to widen more and more. The Church had reached
such a brilliant position of outward authority, that she trusted to this entirely,
and thought to need inward authority no longer. She withdrew herself from
spiritual swa3r. The clergy began to strive more after outward consideration
than spiritual ascendency, and with religious ardour, moral ardour sank also.
Moral power necessarily vanished, because the spiritual power no longer
believed in itself, and in the truth of the principles which it advocated. By
this want of genuine conviction, the essential warrant for the power of the
Church was lost, and it became tyranny.
To this was added another burthen, namely, the system of extortion, by
which the laity were impoverished, and German money was conveyed to
Rome. The greatest offence, however, lay in the low state of morals among
the clergy, who not only conducted Divine worship in a superficial and
unworthy manner, but also contradicted by their life the very principles
of the Church with regard to self-abnegation and the subduing of the desires
of the flesh. Covetousness, luxury, and voluptuousness were universal,
and among monks especially moral depravity had reached its height. The
age was long passed in which monasteries stood in the midst of races yet
undeveloped, as blessed nurseries of civilization, making the soil productive,
introducing a well-ordered state of things, ami affording a quiet refuge to art
and science. Not alone indolence, opposition to enlightenment, and debauchery,
but all shameless ness and every crime against nature, were permitted within
the cloister walls. It was a popular saying at the time, " What a monk
ventures to do, would shame the devil himself even to think of."
While on one side the Church was so much endangered by this state of
things, in spite of all this, on the other side devotion and warmth of religious
feeling were increasing among the people. But mere subjection to external
religious authority did not satisfy their minds. This was especially the case in

RELIGIOUS REFORMATION.

Germany, where this external show of authority brought the people far more
evil than good. The distracted nation had to suffer with its blood for the
unceasing disputes between Emperor and Pope. Oftentimes the Pope hurled
the thunderbolt of excommunication against the head of the Emperor
and his party. Whole cities and districts had suffered under the curse,
church-doors had remained closed, no song nor organ tone refreshed the heart,
and all sacraments were refused, so that there were no marriages and no
baptisms of children, no confession, and no last consolation for the dying.
No previous period had been visited like this with all imaginable misery.
Not only was the land lacerated by discord and war ; earthquakes alarmed the
people, famine raged, one pestilence followed another, and black death marched
over the entire land. This was the time when, to give suitable expression to
the general state of feeling, the walls of the churchyards and the cloisters
were painted with the gloomy representation of the Dance of Death.
While suffering thus followed upon suffering, it fell each time upon the ear
of the people as a louder reminder of Divine judgment. Devotion increased
in the troubled minds ; the multitude pressed more densely to the house of
God; the altars were more richly adorned; religious foundations, so-called good
works, constantly increased. But deeper hearts were not satisfied by this
outward piety. Religious and moral regeneration in the innermost heart of
man himself seemed to them the only cure. This was the endeavour of the
mystics, of men such as Eckhardt, Tauler, Suso, and of countless others who
laboured with them and came after them, especially in Germany, where the
need was the greatest. Without actually separating themselves from the
Church, they freely entered the lists against ecclesiastical abuses, and attacked
the empty formal nature of their doctrines and the immorality in the life of
the clergy. But not by fasts and expiations, not by outward activity, but by
examining their own heart, and by ardent longing after God and complete
personal devotion to Him, did they think to become sharers in Divine
blessedness. They addressed themselves to the entire people, and proclaimed
their doctrines in the language of the country.
Gradually the opposition assumed a more and more definite form. Not
only the renovation and improvement of the individual heart, but the re
formation also of ecclesiastical affairs, presented themselves as necessary.
The demand of every serious mind, the universal watchword, was the
reformation of the Church in its head and members.
The Waldenses, who had taken up the contest as early as the close of
the twelfth century, had been suppressed, but yet the traces of their teachino-
had not been perfectly effaced. In England, Wickliffe arose and held up
the Bible as the one foundation of faith, and entered the lists against papal
power, against the avarice and depravity of the clergy, and against ceremonies
and indulgences. The old Waldensian communities of Germany, who had

THE GOTHIC STYLE.

secretly retained their persecuted opinions, were a favourable soil for him.
By his writings, John Huss was stirred up in Prague, and, carrying all Bohemia
away with him> kindled the flame in Germany also. Although the council
convoked for reform was alarmed at the consistency of the Reformer and
consigned him to the stake, no crusade could extirpate nor suppress his
adherents. Even though for a time the old system remained in force, the
new ideas ever took root more and more and disseminated, until at length
the whole people were so imbued with them that Luther's appearance
proved the successful climax, because it was but the expression of the
general national feeling.
The course taken by this universal revolution in Italy and Germany
corresponds in both lands with the further development of art. The Chris
tian spirit of the Middle Ages found its complete expression in the Gothic
style, the fundamental principle of which was an idealism carried to an
extreme such as the world had never seen. The Gothic style renounces
nature just as the Christian ideas renounce it ; by ingenious combination it
brings under its own sway the all-powerful laws of nature. As if there
were no mass, and no weight in the mass, the Gothic structure aspires
upwards. Though it belongs to every building to rest broadly on the ground,
springing up from it only to return to it again ; though elsewhere in architec
ture no power can be expressed without at the same time the exhibition of
the burthen which rests upon it, yet the Gothic disregards all these funda
mental conditions. It denies the burthen entirely and expresses the power
alone, an unhindered aspiring power, such as we see in the slender growth
of the tree which knows no resistance of mass, but gently waves its topmost
leaves in the breeze. As the Christian doctrine is not satisfied with this
world, but continually points with longing and anticipation to a higher world,
so with the Gothic also, everything strives upwards. The main element of
every building, the firm mass of wall, is wholly set aside ; the whole building
is broken into separate parts, which, instead of being piled horizontally, grow
upwards vertically. Everything becomes more and more light and airy ;
and even when the growth reaches its termination in the arch, it still appears,
from the form of the pointed arch, which never returns into itself, to be
continued to infinity. This ideal law pervades all the members and
separate parts at the expense of the real conditions. The mass seems every
where to shoot upwards and to evaporate in air. Though it may thus often
happen that points, gables, and ornaments, far too delicate and light and
fragile, tower above; that the supernaturally bold structure can only be
maintained by the greatest expenditure and the most ingenious combination ;
that in obedience to the ideal tendency, even parts which should protect and
shelter, such as the gable, or the projection over the windows, or the pyramid
of the tower, are fashioned with fretwork, — though thus the Gothic structure

DECLINE OF THE GOTHIC.

is exposed to destruction, and has often, even during the building, been
abandoned to ruin, — though almost without exception it is never completed,
because it everywhere leads to infinity; — in spite of this, far beyond any
other creation of architecture, it compels our boundless admiration.
Yet no sooner had the spirit which produced the Gothic, the spirit of a
faith renouncing and subduing nature, been suppressed by the new develop
ment of mind, than the Gothic style itself passed away. Its system, with its
regardlessness of real conditions, could only exist by a constraining consistency
which carried to excess the ingenious combination, banished every personal
element under an iron law, permitted no independent play to the rich
ornament, and never allowed sculpture and painting, however much intro
duced, to express themselves freely. Nature and freedom now demanded
their right. All the emotions of the individual mind which rose against the
system of the ecclesiastical hierarchy began also to rebel against the system
of the Gothic. In Italy, the revival of classic culture was accompanied by
a renaissance of the arts, which drew their new law from the models of
antiquity ; and this was all the more possible, as the Gothic had here never
really taken root and the influence of the antique had never wholly subsided.
Thus, side by side with secular culture arose a secular art. As on the other
hand in Germany, the new religious movements had not taken place outside
the Church, but on the very basis of religious life itself, so here also at first
no foreign principle of art took the place of the Gothic, but within the Gothic
itself, within the Christian niedigeval art, the new element endeavoured to
assert itself.
After that with which we have become acquainted as the system of
the Gothic, this necessarily led to a rupture. The firm, constraining, and
despotic organization of the Gothic style was not compatible with the
vigorous life of the individual mind. Wherever this appears in Gothic
architecture, its degeneration is unavoidable. The separate part of the
building rebelled against the whole system., the strict laws of which were
insufferable to it, and it fell into wanton disorder and trifling. The various
forms of construction became weak, untrue, and cold ; exaggerated ornament
and capricious trifling were introduced, even in the midst of the rudest
adherence to nature. In the latest Gothic, rococo and bizarrerie gained the
ascendency to such an extent that the rococo and bizarrerie of the past
century fall far short in comparison. A complete rupture began. Only
in purely decorative works, such as pulpits, fountains, and the receptacles
for the sacred elements, does the architecture of that day exhibit the least
creative power. There are bravura works, the fantastic boldness and brilliant
fancy of which may dazzle, but the want of any higher feeling of style is rarely
to be overlooked. The more luxuriance displayed in these works, the more
sober, empty, and formal are the larger works. No technical skill can supply

PAINTING THE LEADING ART.

the want of mind and imagination. Thus the Gothic continued in Germany
until the middle of the sixteenth century. Though the breath of its life may
have been long ago extinguished, its principle was so mighty that it still re
tained its supremacy. Then, for the first time, the renaissance appeared also
in German architecture, but too late to share in the general revival of the arts.
The pause in national progress had already brought about a pause in the
progress of art.
The new life which at the close of the Middle Ages failed to penetrate
into architecture, made its way into the two other arts, which may, indeed, be
specially denominated as the arts of individual feeling. Everything now became
serviceable to them, even the revolution in religious matters. They were also
favoured by the mystical tendency, little as its followers cared for the external
pomp of worship. In architecture, indeed, the mystics would see nothing but
vain arrogance, but good pictures they held in high estimation, and even the
visions that influenced them were fashioned into charming paintings by the
enraptured fancy. Sculpture and painting now freed themselves from archi
tectural restraint and took their own path. No longer as heretofore was the
importance of the work of art exhausted in its ecclesiastical object; the true
artistic element passed into the foreground; genuine human interest took
precedence of sacred interest. It is true even now, that which the Church
desired was painted and chiselled, yet not as she prescribed it, but as the
individual artist felt it, deeply, freely, and personally, within his own heart.
To this individual effort was linked a striving after realism. Nature was now
no longer rejected as sinful. Ereely and joyfully the eye drank in all the
fulness of her beauty. Her laws were investigated, and her variety and
magnificence recognized and imitated.
In spite of the increased leaning to Nature, her right comprehension was
still difficult ; and the feeling for true physical beauty, long suppressed by
the Gothic, was only just on the point of awakening. Hard struggles were
therefore yet in store for the further advancement of art before she could
near her goal, and that art especially, whose task it is to represent the beauty
of the entire form, namely sculpture, was still hindered in its just develop
ment. It was not at first the beauty of the body that was understood and
represented, but the beauty of the mind, and thus deeper importance was
given to the countenance, as the revealer of its emotions, moods, and feelings.
This however was the task of painting, which henceforth appears as the
leading art.
The period at which, at the close of the Middle Ages, painting begins to
take her own course, may be designated simply by the fact that panel-
painting now appeared, a style which had hitherto played a very subordinate
part in purely handicraft works, coats-of-arms, and the like. As painting

10 IMPORTANCE OF CITIES. *¦
is specially the art of individual feeling, so is panel-painting the truly
individual picture. The miniatures by which, during the Middle Ages, the
art of painting was especially carried on, played even now an important
part, and reached a still higher degree of perfection ; .tut from henceforth
they stand no longer in the foremost rank. Tlie other styles . of painting
also receded, especially wall-painting, which had displayed great activity
during the Romanesque epoch, but during the Gothic, which had no walls,
it had become extremely limited ; also glass painting, which had been
debarred in Gothic buildings its sole opportunity for picturesque creations
in combination with architecture, but which naturally was insufficient for
higher artistic works. The panel picture which stood forth independently
and concluded all within itself, best met the object of painting so soon as she
felt herself an independent art. It was at the same time favourable to the
extraordinarily increasing demand. We have already seen how the growing
devotion of the people began to decorate the churches more and more
brilliantly. A donation of art treasures belonged to the good works which
obtained remission of sins. Thus religious interests became linked with
.esthetic. Painting was a trade carried on by a company, and it flourished in cities ;
for cities at that time, as in all periods" of healthy progress, were the
vehicles of culture. Everywhere, where the art has truly flourished, it has
been upheld by free citizen life. In classic antiquity, it proceeded from the
Hellenic republics ; in the Middle Ages and in modern times from the free
cities of Germany and Italy, — from Florence and Venice, from Nuremberg
and Augsburg. Throughout the whole of the Middle Ages, the national
element had been most purely preserved in the German cities. They had
constantly been the confederates of the Emperor against the Pope, and they
formed at the present time the best power of the land. They stood there
independent of the head of the Empire, whose power was weakened • the
princes and nobles came far short of them both in external and moral power.
Whether by themselves or in imposing league, the cities were capable of
opposition. Their interior life also exhibited a universal strivinc after free
dom. Active work produced a fresh and independent mind, intercourse with
others enlarged perception. Lastly, the manufacturing citizen demanded equal
rights with the commercial patrician, and gained his point either quickly or
by slow degrees. Usually, however, the advance proceeded quietly and
calmly ; it was rather a peaceful progress than a contest. ._Eneas Sylvius, who
had first been secretary to the Emperor Frederick III., and then ascended the
papal chair as Pius IL, and who was the introducer of literary culture into
Germany, praises, in a letter to Martin Meyr, the chancellor of Mainz, the
German cities beyond those of all other nations. They are subject, he says to
the Emperor alone, whose yoke is freedom, a freedom such as is nowhere else in

COLOGNE PAINTINGS. 11
the world. The so-called free states of Italy are just those which are most
enslaved, such as Venice, Florence, and Siena. A few rule there ; the rest are
slaves. Among the Germans, on the other hand, all are glad and cheerful. No
one is deprived of his possessions, every man is sure of his inheritance, the
magistrates harm the harmful alone. And thus party spirit does not flourish,
as in Italy. There are more than a hundred cities which enjoy such liberty.
Among the German cities, Cologne now occupied a conspicuous place.
Founded by the Romans, it could exhibit important monuments of art belong
ing to past ages. The old Romanesque churches and the choir of the unfinished
cathedral towered above the masses of houses. A powerful elector and arch
bishop resided there ; there were rich religious houses and an active body of
citizens, and a busy and brilliant life displayed itself. At the same time, from
every pulpit resounded the preaching of the most famous mystics, thrilling
through all hearts, and awakening not only personal piety but a delight in
sacred pictures. Thus from Cologne especially many beautiful paintings have
been preserved, belonging to the end of the fourteenth and the beginning of the
fifteenth century, and the style of art displayed in them was wont to be called
the Cologne style, erroneously indeed, as at the same time it had spread over the
whole of Germany and the adjacent lands. Although this advance in paint
ing was only possible on the decline of the Gothic, still the character of its
style was itself decidedly Gothic. The same principles of form prevailed in
its organization as in the Gothic architecture. The figures are exceedingly
slender and attenuated; a slight idea of aspiration pervades their bearing.
Long garments with close regular folds envelope the figures, so that their form
is scarcely to be perceived. The knowledge of nature was weak and faulty,
the form was still imperfect, the physical remained subordinate to the spiritual ;
it had no desire to assert itself, it would claim no value for itself, it wished but
to be the channel of the mind, which beamed forth from the graceful coun
tenances with their beautiful oval, from the delicate lips, from the large
straight nose, and from the expressive and feeling eyes, which only half looked
forth from their hollow lids. But the imperfect work was ennobled by the
depth of feeling it exhibited. The doubtful drawing was far surpassed by the
colouring, which is ever in art the true language of the soul. It was only laid
on thinly and delicately, but how full was it of cheerfulness and harmony !
And behind the figures stretched a golden ground, which throws them as it
were into a heavenly distance where all is pure and holy, and everything is to
be found which the heart can conceive of devotion and enthusiastic longing, of
tenderness and of grace.
This is the spirit which we meet with in that series of works comprised
under the name of Meister Wilhelm. The works produced by the next
generation at the beginning of the fifteenth century, exhibit an important
difference. Meister Stephan Lochner stands at the head pf these, as the

12 TENDENCY TO REALISM.

author of "the cathedral painting," representing the divine Mother and Child
receiving adoration from the patron saints of Cologne, the three kings from
the East, and Gereon and Ursula, with their companions. This work and
the other productions of this artist stand at the confines between two epochs.
They preserve the innocence, majesty, and calm sweet solemnity of the old
period. But we also find in them that joyfulness in the full, glad reality
of things, that characterizes the later period. That realistic conception
is aroused, which was speedily to prevail in Northern art. More and more
gladly and fully does the eye become absorbed in nature. Touches from
daily life were selected and cheerfully introduced. The feeling for the
physical form increased ; the slender figures became more compact, and
assumed an appearance of ease. The limbs became stronger, the counte
nances rounder and fuller, the eyes no longer cast down in humility and
embarrassment, but looking boldly and gladly out into the world. Men
and women from henceforth were dressed in the brilliant, but often indeed
fantastic fashions of the day. Velvet, silk, gold brocade, the most magnificent
materials, were selected ; in order to increase the variety, the mantle would
frequently exhibit, from the way in which it fell, the inside with its lining of
a different colour. The whole was in perfect harmony, and the colours com
bined in producing a splendid and cheerful effect. Frequently the new
tendency to the representation of the Real would fail to find the just medium;
a coarse and common type of organization appears among the men's heads.
But there is nothing more charming to be seen than the child faces of Meister
Stephan's women and maidens. Scarcely ever, even in the cathedral painting,
did the artist attain to a serious religious character; but he reveals his utmost
, charms in his idyllic scenes, such as the exquisite " Madonna in the Bower of
Roses " in the Museum at Cologne.
The Gothic style and nature stand nevertheless too rudely in contrast, for
the soft and gradual transition, such as we find among the painters of
Cologne, to prove sufficient. It was . not possible on this path to take a step
beyond that which Meister Stephan had accomplished. A complete breach
with Gothic idealism could alone enable sculpture and painting to stand on a
footing of their own. This breach was accomplished in the Netherlands at
this time. The whole character of the land favoured a vigorous revival of
the art. It was well-peopled and richly built over with important and
wealthy cities. There was a well-regulated government and not so much
discord as in the German empire. Busy industry was combined with flourish
ing commerce. Refinement and cultivation were to be found with the citizen,
the noble, and the brilliant court. This was the soil upon which a master
trod, who pioneered a path for others, — such a master as Hubert van Eyck,
who aimed at the true and exclusive representation of nature and reality, even
in their smallest details. His realism, which, as Dr. Waagen justly remarks,

HUBERT VAN EYCK. 13

has never been sufficiently valued, stands forth as the highest impress of
the Germanic mind in art, free from all foreign influence, and originating
in itself. No master of the Christian world had ever produced actual personages
such as Hubert van Eyck produced. They are characters drawn from top to
toe ; taken from life, just as he saw it before him. We see every class, every
age, and sex. Plainly and strongly, simply and truly, he exhibits each
exactly as he is. And not only in the features is the character expressed,
but in figure, gesture, and bearing. The drapery no longer flows down in soft
hues ; it is no longer, in order to produce effect of colour, left to the play of
chance, but it strives to suit the character of the material, and the movements
of the body. The monk's cowl and the simple citizen's dress, the splendid
priest's stole, the royal robes and the glittering armour, all are faithfully
represented to the utmost detail, although this is harmoniously subordinate
to the whole. And this refers not only to the figures, but to their surround
ings. The time was over now for the antique gold ground, which raised
everything into an ideal sphere. His incidents are transported into a snug
citizen's room, or into free nature. Every blade of grass and every leaf is
fashioned just as truly and specially as every person. In the soft sunshine
rest the lofty forest trees, the moss-grown rocks and the fruitful valley with
its broad silvery stream winding along, the cities, castles, and abbeys with
their evidence of prosperity, and the distant snow mountains in the horizon.
With all this truth and fidelity, the spiritual element is never lost, but
reveals itself with unexpected grandeur. The whole is pervaded by the
highest religious spirit. Devotion imbues everything ; devotion is stamped on
the humble and mild female countenances, on the grave and bearded manly
heads ; the bold youth and the meditative and worthy sire, the beautiful
woman and the vigorous man exhibit the same solemn enthusiasm everywhere ;
even in the quiet peace of nature, the presence of God is to be traced. Every
one is conscious of it and cannot escape its influence; the bold deed pauses,
the ebullition of passion is hushed, each retires into his innermost self to
present it to the Lord, before whom every heart bends adoringly. This
universal spirit of devotion imparts its high and peculiar character to the
art of Hubert van Eyck, while at the same time it fixes its limits. It
results as a natural consequence that in this truly finished style of art, one
thing, but only one, namely real action, is wanting. This we feel in the
master's principal work, which was indeed only finished in 1532, six years
after his death, by his younger brother Jan van Eyck, but which nevertheless
belongs to the elder brother, not only in spirit and conception, but in the
greatest part of its execution : we allude to the famous Ghent altar, six
folding panels of which, painted on both sides, are to be seen in the Berlin
Gallery, and the centre pictures are still in the Bavo Church at Ghent. As

14 HUBERT'S SUCCESSORS.

Hubert van Eyck aimed in his art at a totally different effect to any that his
predecessors had even imagined, he was no longer satisfied with the old
artistic means of expression. ' The use of oil colours had, it is true, been long
known, but Hubert was the first who really made them serviceable and applied
them to works of a higher kind. It was this new technical expedient which
enabled him to go so profoundly into the art, to depict the smallest detail with
such loving care and yet in such close connection with the whole, and to make
every touch radiant with fresh and vigorous life. His fame passed now from
land to land, and still more so that of his brother, who was his heir. Not
merely from the Netherlands, but from Germany and Italy, painters crowded
to learn from him. And yet the cleft between Hubert and his predecessors
was scarcely greater than the cleft between him and his successors. None of
these equalled the founder of the school in genius, profoundness, and grandness
of style. Even Jan van Eyck, however important he may have been as a
painter, however much more frequently than Hubert he may be mentioned by
his contemporaries and by posterity, is not to be compared in the remotest
degree with his elder brother. His figures lack that nobleness, that grandness
of appearance, even that natural fall of the folds, which is replaced by regular,
sharp, and pretty creases. His strength lies on the one side in an accurate
portrait-like conception, and on the other side in a tender and perfect execution
of the detail. He regards the smallest and most insignificant part and invests
it with special charm ; his gifts are observation and industry. He needs great
circumstances just as little as great ideas. In the smallest space, with the
simplest and most modest subject, he most of all exhibits his perfection and
accomplishes marvellous works in miniature-like execution. Among the
pupils of the brothers, several, it is true, approach nearer to Hubert van Eyck
than to Jan ; among others, Rogier van der Weyden, who has exercised more
extensive influence than any. But he, too, remained behind in greatness and
taste. His realism is more extreme, and not unfrequently violates all idea of
beauty. He drew his subjects still more decidedly from ordinary daily life.
Hence he exhibits still greater life both in expression and colouring ; but not
in action : here the calm, peaceful element ever preponderates.
One thing was wanting, and this was actual progress. Hubert van Eyck
had carried the art to a height which was not attained in the remotest degree
by the entire Italian painting of that period. But while Italian art speedily
overtook it and vigorously rose from step to step, Hubert's German and
Flemish successors seem to move as if in a circle within the limits he had
drawn. In many respects it was almost as if his chief creations were not
matters really existing and already produced, but as if they were only a, fata
morgana, the deluding vision of a goal still widely remote. His successors
had to struggle with impediments which his genius, in precedence as it was
of his age, had overcome without difficulty. They also startsd by graspin«

SWABIAN ART. 15

the actual and by penetrating nature to the utmost, but it was difficult for
them to find the true nature.
The reason for this lay in the same circumstances which had prepared such
a difficult position for Northern art generally. After the world had been es
tranged for centuries from nature, it required time and the utmost exertion of
power to find its way back to nature; and this all the more, as the Gothic
system, the offspring of ideas hostile to nature, still, although degenerated, con
tinued in architecture, and exercised its counter influence even on sculpture
and painting. Amid such reactions, which were constantly taking place in
Germany especially, it happened that sometimes, under the influence of the old
ideas, the desire for nature was checked, and sometimes from the exaggerated
weight given to the new ideas, hardness and coarseness increased. But as it is
the case everywhere that where there is no right progress, the life soon dies
away, so was it also here. Empty conventional mannerism was assumed and a
mechanical style gained ground. Diirer and Holbein were the first who raised
German art out of all this. This forms their great merit, but it forms also the
difficulties of their position, and naturally causes that they should only stand
at the beginning of progress, while in Italy perfection was already attained.
Diirer had to struggle with this Gothic reaction up to the very end of his
career ; Holbein alone was able at once to set himself free of it. He was the
first to retread the path which Hubert van Eyck had opened, and he may be
regarded as his true successor, of course with the changes which the progress
of the age demanded. In him, Germanic realism reached its utmost possible
perfection in all branches; by study and taste he formed a link with the
art spirit of Italy, where the real and the ideal had never stood in such sharp
contrast, but had been harmoniously balanced and blended according to the
model of classic antiquity.
In Germany and especially in Swabia, with which we have more
particularly to do, there are early traces of the tendency to realism. In this
district, where the love of building seems to have fallen short of the love of
pictures, we find, as early as the year 1431, a work such as the Magdalen altar
in the church at Tiefenbronn, near Pforzheim, which with its thin superficial
colouring and the mild tenderness and fervour of Gothic painting, such as has
become familiar to us in Meister Wilhelm, combines such a peculiar freshness
of conception, such an attentive regard to the real both in movement and
action, and such an idea of comfort in the delineation of daily life that at this
early period it cannot fail to surprise us. Flemish influence is scarcely at that
time to be supposed, especially not in these remote South-German districts,
particularly as the inscription designates the master as " Lucas moser, painter
of Wil," the unimportant little free city, Weil. This also marks the master to
be touched by the spirit of a new epoch, that he specifies his name and has
already a feeling of artistic self-reliance, which was not the case with the

16 GERMAN PAINTING.

painters of Cologne at that period, who, with the modesty of mere handicrafts
men, allowed their personality to disappear behind their works.
If Swabian painting was inclined to realism even before it felt the influence
of the Flemish masters, it all the more regardlessly resigned itself to it after
wards. One thing, however, distinguishes all German painting under the
influence of Flemish art, and that is, its abundance of imagination. Wherever
there is much imagination there cannot be that calmness of style, or that
withdrawal from outward things. The artists represent real action, they
find interest in the events themselves ; they rarely allow themselves time to
follow out their ideas with the same assiduity, fidelity, and consistency as
the Netherlander. Not the execution but the conception is their delight.
One design follows another. They feel themselves restlessly impelled to new
ideas, new forms. Thus it happens that instead of painting another art is
cultivated, which renders it possible for them to perpetuate their ideas with
less expenditure of time and work ; and at the same time, so soon as these are
realized, to render them enjoyable, not only once in one place and for one
circle of spectators, but as a common property for the whole world, capable of
transmission hither and thither, and of delight to everyone.
Thus arose the arts for multiplying works, namely woodcuts and engraving.
These accustomed the artists to careful outline, and thus it becomes easily
conceivable that even in paintings the drawing would be the predominant
matter. In this they took precedence of the Flemish artists, just as much as
they did in skilfulness of composition, owing to their far more numerous pro
ductions. But in taste, as well as in colour and picturesque execution, they
remained almost universally inferior to them. They never attained to that
transparency, combined with glowing colouring, which belonged to the Flemish
painters ; and the endeavour to produce so much effect by colour, and to render
the details true, natural, and pleasing, was utterly foreign to them. Thus, in
the first place, they placed but little importance on surrounding objects, often
returning to the old golden ground, or introducing it at any rate instead of
atmosphere, while the landscape with its high horizon was treated only
cursorily and entirely without grace. No handsome building, towered cities
and castles, no glimpses of picturesque churches, or of apartments filled with
the most various household furniture, appear in their works ; and even the
gay-coloured figured dress, the glittering armour, and the sparkling jewel are
but little delighted in by them. These could easily be painted by those who
sat for long months and years over one and the same work, bestowing on the
finish of this work all the labour they could, but it was not for those who
were driven from work to work like our German masters. This small delioht
in execution results indeed in the evil, that constantly much is consigned to
assistants, and hence the works are extremely unequal and mechanical in
their character. This is increased by the fact that at this time the principal

THE ART OF ENGRA VING. 17

i

works of ecclesiastical art were limited to the large panelled altars which in
other lands only rarely appear, but which spread universally in Germany in
the latter part of the fifteenth century. Painting was here called upon to
work in combination with sculpture, which usually claims the first place for
itself, and it thus saw its task limited to mere decorative effect.
A far more important part is played in the art-life of Germany by the
technical arts for the multiplying of works, for Germany while it was the
land of book-printing is also the land of picture-printing. Indeed, wood
engraving, which preceded the invention of book-printing, prepared the way
for it, and only left one step more necessary for it. Book-printing and
picture-printing have both the same inner cause for their origin, namely,
the impulse to make each mental gain a common blessing. Not merely
princes and rich nobles were to have the privilege of adorning their private
chapels and apartments with beautiful religious pictures, the poorest man
was also to have his delight in that which the artist had devised and pro
duced. It was not sufficient for him when it stood in the church as an altar
shrine, visible to him and to the congregation from afar ; he desired to have
it as his own, to carry it about with him, to bring it into his own home. The
grand importance of wood engraving and copper-plate is not sufficiently
estimated in historical investigations. They were not alone of use in the
advance of art ; they form an epoch in the entire life of mind and culture.
The idea embodied and multiplied in pictures became like that embodied
in the printed word, the herald of every intellectual movement, and conquered
the world.
Especially active as an engraver is the master who appears as Germany's
greatest artist at this period, and the teacher of the following one, namely,
Martin Schongauer, a painter held in such high esteem by his contemporaries
that they designated him as pictorum gloria, " the glory of painters." His
family came from Augsburg, but he subsequently settled in Kolmar, where
he exercised his art until his death, on the second of February, 1489.1 From
this city his influence spread over the whole of Southern Germany, and in
Swabia especially none remained unaffected by it. Among those who intro
duced Flemish art into Germany he occupies the highest place. He was
himself a pupil of Rogier van der Weyden, a fact expressly stated in a
letter from the Liege painter, Lambert Lombard, to Vasari, and which is
also decidedly to be traced in Schongauer's works.
But all the differences between German and Flemish art with which we
have become acquainted, apply most especially to him. He too is rather a
designer than a representor, rather a draughtsman than a painter. But a
characteristic quite peculiar to him, and at the same time thoroughly national,
1 E. His-Heusler. Das Todesjahr M. Schongauer's. Archiv. fiir die zeichnenden Kiinste,
; 1867.
J J c

18 SCHONGAUER.

is the soul-breathing purity of feeling which glorifies everything he produces.
It is as if the excellencies of Rogier had combined with those of Meister
Stephan. In spite of his Flemish school, the old native idealism with all its
advantages and disadvantages is awakened in him. However much he may
have imbibed of the new realistic mode of art, however much he may have
attained by its study to great accuracy of drawing, so that the limbs, especially
the hands, are generally too thin, and his drapery, otherwise happy in its
arrangement, exhibits the angular and ugly creases of the Netherland style ;
still we find in his figures that high ideality which belonged to the German
art of the former epoch. There is in them a sweet unconstrained loveliness,
a calm joy and sense of the Divine presence, and a depth of feeling, such as
in the great Cologne painters. And yet his conception is different in its very
foundation. There is no childlike expression in his works as in those of the
Cologne masters. We might designate the character of his figures in contrast
to these, as well as to the grave manliness of Hubert van Eyck, as that of a
gentle womanhood, and of pure maidenliness.
In harmony with this his figures exhibit a sweet modesty, which conceals
within still more beauty and significance than is outwardly revealed. The
best Italian masters could not make their angel and' Madonna faces more
noble, pure, and full of feehng, and in Schongauer's works they are at the
same time so transparent that the eye penetrates to the very heart itself.
But not only tenderness, warmth and depth of feeling, but a bold inclina
tion to the fantastic is exhibited in Schongauer's works, qualities often combined
in the German character as well as in German art. The greatness of his
power of imagination is most brilliantly seen in the temptation of St. Antony,
the most magnificent of all his engravings. In the fantastic figures of the
eight demons, who, endowed with all the terrors that can be devised, have
carried the hermit into the air, all idea of a certain timidity and uncertainty
in the movements, elsewhere exhibited in the artist's works, is here completely
conquered; the spectator here finds a boldness so unfettered, and a power so
entrancing, that even Michael Angelo, as is well known, felt himself tempted
in his youth to copy this plate. But from a less favourable point of view this
fantastic element exhibits itself in the scenes from our Lord's Passion In
such scenes, Schongauer, like most of his countrymen, took especial delight
while the Flemish painters generally prefer more peaceful subjects, and only
rarely select those in which contest and passion predominate. When the
stealthy traitor approaches, when the wild troop seize the Saviour, when dis
sembling priests condemn him, and loud scorn and insolent abuse from old and
young break over the Son of God, throughout in order to depict the coarseness
and depravity of the opponents, he makes use of the utmost ugliness and dis
tortion. Hideousness of mind he represents as hideousness of form. In spite
of this, he often attains to an astonishing grandeur in the composition, as for

SCHONGAUER. 19

instance in his grand Bearing of the Cross, and side by side with the most
caricatured figures there appear touches of the most exquisite tenderness
and feeling, as in his numerous representations of the Saviour on the Cross.
Schongauer, moreover, is one of the first who selected subjects from actual
life as the independent object of artistic representation. Among his engravings
there is a peasant's family going to market, a miller with his ass, and a
couple of goldsmith's apprentices pulling each other's hair.
But though Martin Schongauer displayed such versatile and imaginative
power in his engravings, the full importance of his ability and individuality
rests in those few paintings which may be regarded as the productions of his
own hand ; namely, the altar panels from the Issenheim Monastery, now in
the Museum at Kolmar, and the " Madonna in Rosenhaag '' in the sacristy of
St. Martin's Church in the same city. This is a beautiful and deeply poetic
subject, already a favourite one with the Cologne masters, and harmonizing
entirely with German feeling. The countenance of the Holy Virgin here
expresses a truly personal character. Not only purity and feeling beam forth
from her features, but a consciousness both of her own mission and of the
destiny of the Holy Child clinging to her. Her noble gravity, mingled with a
touch of sadness, is an evidence of this. The work indeed falls far short of
the creations of a Hubert van Eyck, but nothing since him has been painted
in the North which can rank with Schongauer's Madonna in majesty and
devotion. The greatness of his style is exhibited also in the noble though
hard delineation of form, and in the grand fall of the drapery. Such a work
explains Schongauer's intellectual superiority and his influence far and near ;
it shows the utmost that was attainable by the German art of that period ;
it is the point from which the further progress of art until Holbein takes
its start.
While Schongauer may thus be regarded as the teacher of Germany, and
of Swabia especially, we must not forget to mention a second artist who
likewise exercised considerable influence upon Swabian painting; namely,
Fritz Herlen, who was appointed town painter at Nordhngen in 1467. His
style spread to France on the north and to Swabia on the south, and while
Schongauer influenced the mind, he influenced the hand. He cannot even
remotely be compared with Schongauer. Both in depth of feeling and
imagination, he is far behind him. His importance lies in the technical
skill with which he adopted the Netherland style, which he had studied on
the spot. He especially imitates Rogier van der Weyden. Although in
expression and outline he may be more feeble than his model, and may
be inferior to him in colouring, although subsequently removed from the
impressions of his youth and surrounded by clumsy Upper German art, he
may have grown more and more coarse; still, he was at that time the only
artist in Germany who strove after Flemish depth and richness of colouring,
c.

20 ZEITBLOM.

who delighted to delineate drapery of magnificent texture, who indulged
in carefully executed detail, and who brought landscape background to
perfection. Under the influence of Schongauer and Herlen, Swabian painting reached
a height which left far behind it the other schools of Germany. A more
delicate feeling for the beautiful here stood side by side with the realistic
conception. It affords an agreeable contrast to the Franconian style especially.
There the bizarre, the terrible, the distorted, were far more familiar without
being combined with such charming qualities as Schongauer possessed, or
being occasionally modified by them; frequently the greatest coarseness of
feeling was expressed in rude, ordinary, and indifferent execution. In
Swabia also, colouring attained to a perfection never elsewhere reached. All
these are the very qualities which subsequently placed our Hans Holbein, the
younger, as the true son of his country, at the head of German painting.
Uim and Augsburg are the principal seats of Swabian art. The first master
of Uim at the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth century,
is Bartholomaus Zeitblom, distinguished for the simplicity, truth, and purity
which pervades his works. In this respect Dr. Waagen has styled him the
most German of all pamters. Indeed, a true German character is stamped on
his figures, in all of which we find the same style of countenance, with the
prominent and slightly curved nose, regularly recurring. The fidelity, honesty,
and sincerity expressed in every countenance is thoroughly German; the
modest, gentle, sensible nature is German ; and German also is the absence
of all energetic action, all resolute and spirited power, which throughout
marks the weaker side of Zeitblom's art. Much too of the genuine Swabian
nature is betrayed in him in a certain shy awkwardness, in an incapability to
exhibit his own excellence. It is alone to be traced to this, that his position
is not still more distinguished. In his best works, such as the Annunciation
and the figure of St John in the altar at Eschach in the Stuttgart Museum,
the scenes from the history of the Baptist in the altar at Blaubeuren, and the
pictures from the legend of St. Valentinian in the Augsburg Gallery, — all the
figures testify to the high artistic perfection of the master. The limbs are
well formed, although they lack suppleness, the proportions are o-0od, the
outline is certain and full of knowledge. A rare taste and nobleness prevails
in the simple fall of the drapery, and Zeitblom is distinguished by a colouring
in which he far surpasses most of his German contemporaries. He combines
depth and warmth with transparent brilliancy, with extraordinary delicacy in
his flesh-tints, and with agreeable harmony. Nothing is wantinc for a free
and finished style of art but bold certainty and self-confidence. A certain
degree of Swabian obstinacy may also be to blame. Conscious of his deeper
and intrinsic value, he is so bent upon being more than he seems, that he
allows himself to despise as tinsel all that belongs to externals.

SCHONGAUER'S SUCCESSORS. 21
That which lay in embryo in Schongauer's art, was developed in two
wholly different styles by his Swabian successors. Calm sublimity and reli
gious feeling were cultivated by Zeitblom and the artists of Uim ; a striving
after truthfulness to nature and lively action were cultivated by the Augsburg
masters. But before we take a glance at the Augsburg painting and the
Holbein family, which here appear on the scene, we must first contemplate the
soil on which they stand.

CHAPTER II.
Augsburg at that period and at the present day. — The city of German Renaissance and the
painter of German Renaissance. — Position and character of the city. — Democratic reform
of the Commonwealth. — Augsburg reflecting in miniature the movements that agitated
all Germany. — Outward insecurity. — Hereditary hostility with Bavaria. — War, suffering,
and calamity of every kind. — Increase of religious oppression and quarrel with the clergy.
— Bias to reform and to humanistic literature. — Emperor Max. — The citizens in festivity
and work. — Trade and commerce. — General innovations. — Intercourse with Italy. —
Stimulant to artists.
AuGSBUEG presents to those who visit it at the present day, a more decided
character than most other cities of Germany. At every step we are met by
the remembrances of a grand past. We are not perhaps reminded, as in
1 Nuremberg, of the Middle Ages, but of the period which followed the Middle
Ages. A clever writer who has published his charming researches respecting
the life and culture of the venerable city,1 has called Augsburg the German
Pompeii of the Renaissance. Indeed the one word Renaissance comprises
everything which strikes us even at the present day as the character of the
city. Renaissance made its way here more speedily and more completely
than it did in other parts of the Empire ; it gained a footing here with such
decision and continuance, that its culture and art soon asserted its supremacy,
effacing almost all traces of past periods, defying all the influence of later
times, and still as vigorous and well-preserved as if here also the covering of
ashes had been protectingly thrown over it. If we wander through the streets,
we feel ourselves insensibly transported to a time which we plainly perceive to
have been Augsburg's greatest period, when she ranked above all other famous
and powerful free-cities. Scarcely anywhere are we reminded of the Middle
Ages, not even in her great ecclesiastical buildings, for these have little
prominence compared with modern and secular structures. There, indeed, on
the highest point of the city, St. Ulrich is enthroned, slender, proud, and
spacious, commanding the whole neighbourhood, and in the valley below lies
the Cathedral, in which so many centuries tried their architectural power, with
its double choir east and west, partly Gothic and partly Romanesque, with
its famous bronze gates of the eleventh century, and its glass paintings, which
1 W. H. Riehl, Culturstudien aus drei Jahrhunderten.

AUGSBURG. 23

belong to the oldest in Germany. But even these buildings do not disturb
the Renaissance aspect of Augsburg. Neither in position nor execution
possessing any special originality, they are not important enough to make
themselves conspicuous. The towers also of all the churches are never
crowned by pinnacles. These fell a sacrifice to the modern taste which
endeavoured to make everything suit and replaced them by bulb-like domes.
This was the work of Elias Holl, the greatest German architect, one of the
most active champions of the new world-transforming taste.
We shall especially perceive his influence, if we look thoroughly into the
heart of the city, and ascend to the Perlach tower, which so majestically
towers above it. Beside, grandly and imposingly, rises the town-hall, which
Elias Holl erected between the years 1615 and 1620, a period unexampled
for shortness at that time. Few creations of post-medi_eval architecture can
rival the Augsburg town-hall, and the great Golden Hall in the interior
is worthy to compete with the most splendid festive buildings in the world.
Nothing more beautiful can be imagined than to look from here towards
St. Ulrich, along the magnificent Maximilian Strasse. Not so straight,
uniform, and tedious, as our modern streets, but in light, elegant curve, it
stretches away : our ancestors better understood picturesque charm and poetic
effect. Palace stands on palace, and each is a work of Renaissance. For the
only mediaeval patrician house, the remnant of a period in which families built
their fortresses in the centre of the town, is the house of the Imhofs, which
fell a sacrifice to modern industry a few years ago, and has been replaced by
a large barrack. Otherwise the cheerful splendour of the sixteenth and seven
teenth centuries is everywhere to be seen. Everything exhibits broad and well-
adjusted proportions, strongly projecting forms, and rich energetic ornaments,
full of luxuriant life. Here and there, there is still a house adorned with
the frescoes, which at that time ardent imagination and a reflective love of
splendour produced on the broad wall surfaces : allegory and mythology con
fusedly jumbled together ; above and below wanton cupids, and a sparkling
Olympus teeming with sensual and beautiful forms, full of movement and
intoxicating life. Once, according to the beautiful custom borrowed from
a happier zone, the whole city was made one gay picture-book by these
paintings, but every year and every decade has disturbed and spoiled them,
and those which remain diminish day by day. Burgkmair's military pictures
in the St. Annengasse are gradually becoming ruined ; Matthaus Kager's
splendid pictures on the Weberhaus are devoted to destruction ; there is little
in so perfect a state of preservation as the facade of the younger Pordenone
in the Philippine- Welser Strasse. Once, however, in the beginning of the
sixteenth century, the first masters, such as Hans Burgkmair and Albrecht
Altdorfer, tried their best powers in such paintings. Subsequently, in periods
of decline, the artists whose formal religious easel pictures disgust us

24 A UGSBURG.

exhibited here, it is true, fantastic and bizarre works, but at the same time
bold, grand, and imaginative. And the cheerful, festive effect remains spoiled,
it is true, but not effaced.
The monuments of the glory of different families are rivalled by the public
buildings, monuments of citizen public spirit, and side by side with patrician
dwelling-houses appear the magnificent guildhalls of the weavers, the bakers,
and the butchers, many of them also the work of Elias Holl. The arsenal at
the back of St. Maurice was one of his earliest creations. Immense guns,
elaborately executed and ornamented with carving, are placed on each side of
the entrance. On one of the cannons are inscribed the words : " Will
niemand singen, so sing' aber ich, uber Berg und Thai, hort man mein
Schall."1 On another a sleeping lion is depicted, and beneath stand the
words : " Week mich nit auf." 2 Undisturbed, indeed, is the repose of these
cannon, which once, when the towers and fortresses of the knights fell before
them, helped to usher in the dawn of a new age. Their practical importance
has disappeared, but their artistic value still remains. Over the portal of the
arsenal stands the bronze statue of the divine warrior, the archangel Michael-
hurling his sword against the fallen Satan. "Belli instrumentopaeisfirmamento,"s
is the inscription on the facade : the citizens knew that prosperity, power, and
progress depended alone upon ability for defence and independent power.
Hence Augsburg also stood defiant and well-fortified against all external
foes. Her ramparts and fosses, her half-fallen walls and mighty towers, form
even now the grandest ornament of the city, rich as it is in picturesque views
and old romantic recollections. Among the most beautiful old monuments,
we must, however, not forget to mention the sculptured fountains, which are
to be seen in almost all the streets and courtyards. The largest and most
splendid are the three brazen fountains in the Maximilian Strasse, executed at
the close of the sixteenth and the beginning of tbe seventeenth century by the
Netherland sculptor Adrian de Vries and Hubert Gerhard ; they are adorned
with the statues of Mercury, Hercules, and the Roman Emperor Augustus, at
whose feet rest the divinities of the four Augsburg rivers and streams, and who
extends his hand in blessing upon his colony, which has risen to such glory
and such greatness. That she owed her origin and her name to him, was
' never forgotten by the old Augusta Vindelicorum. She alone, of so many
cities called after Augustus, retained this name through centuries, and when
tlie spirit of antiquity began to be awakened on the other side of the Alps, she
remembered that she was herself a Roman city ; she, the true city of German
Renaissance, was the first in all Germany to open wide her gates to the new
culture flowing forth from Italy. It was only from the city of German
Renaissance, that the painter of German Renaissance could come forth. And
1 " If no one will sing, yet do I sing, my voice is heard over mountain and valley."
2 " Awake me not." 3 " The instrument of war, the bulwark of Peace."

AUGSBURG. 25

as such, Hans Holbein the younger stands out in the history of art ; as
such we must regard him in the course of our reflections, him whom we have
already designated as thoroughly modern beyond any of his contemporaries in
his own country. In this lies his peculiarity and his greatness, that he
ventures as no other German artist, not even Diirer, has done to free himself
completely from mediseval tradition, and to tread a new path. He thus plays
the same part among artists that Augsburg plays among cities. Riehl l has
strikingly remarked that it was not the Middle Ages but the breach with the
Middle Ages which gained for Augsburg her profoundest originality. The
turning-point of her whole history lies in the transition period from the
Middle Ages to modern times. At this era she left all other German cities
far behind her ; she had a distinct historical vocation to fulfil for her whole
country. Not merely with respect to architecture, not merely in its outward
physiognomy, is Augsburg the city of the Renaissance, but in its entire
historical position. And thus it is not superfluous for us to cast a glance
upon the advance of culture in Augsburg at that time. We shall thus obtain
a background for the picture which we are about to sketch of the great
Augsburg painter.
The importance and the vocation of the Imperial city were presaged by her
position. The height on which she stands, the gay Buhl, as it is called in
Merians's Topography,2 is one of the last spurs of the Bavarian Highlands,
and makes the town an important military point, commanding the lands
watered by the Lech and the Danube. But it is only to the enemy that she
stands thus defiant and enclosed ; gladly and hospitably is she open to the
friend, and within her walls there is unceasing intercourse. Two neighbouring
districts, Swabia and Bavaria, here join each other; the highway to the Alps
and to Italy passes here. Augsburg rises above no fertile and richly cultivated
land ; the plain watered by the Lech is a desolate and poor country, but active
effort obtains all that is requisite from the deficient soil. Added to this, she
boasts, as of old, a healthful and fresh air, an extensive pasturage, a rich
clayey soil, and pleasant fields surrounded with beautiful forests, the favourite
resort of birds and various kinds of game. Everything, it is said, which man
may require, or imagine, or desire, is to be obtained here. And thus Augsburg
in times past has ever been sung and extolled as a "beautiful, agreeable,
elegant, well-built, and clean city, conveniently paved, possessing a merry
population, especially beautiful women, and ingenious artisans."
The chief advantage of the situation is its extraordinary wealth of water.
The Lech, which joins the Wertach below Augsburg, is no navigable stream
favourable as such to commerce. But industry in all its branches is aided by
the great natural fall of water of these two rivers, which, uniting with two
smaller streams, intersect the whole city with countless branches. Augsburg
1 Culturstudien, p. 258. 2 Topographia Helvetia., Suevife, &c, 1642.

26 DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT.
is devoted to industry, and it is this which, practised with zeal, power, and
knowledge, has raised her to the position she holds, and from this alone could
the brilhant commerce arise which ever follows in her train.
Thus all political progress 1 also must take the same direction ; and upon
those citizens who are truly belonging to the manufacturing classes, devolves a
preponderating share in the government. It was not until the great democratic
reform in the civil constitution had taken pjace that Augsburg gradually rose
to the position which belonged to her. Until the year 1368, the council and
municipal offices were filled, by the gracious permission of the Roman
Emperors and their governors, entirely by nobles. Then, however, it occurred
to the common men that the nobles regarded their private advantage too
much, and there was moreover unceasing strife and discord among the
patricians. Long had they grumbled in secret, but at length they broke out
into loud complaint. They appealed to Strasburg and Zurich, where years
before the power of the nobles had been limited. At last it came to action.
On the thirtieth of October the plot was unexpectedly carried out. Before the
dawn of day the people, or, as the chronicles written by patricians say, " the
mob," had filled the streets, and stood early in the morning in armed masses
in front of the Town-hall. Full of alarm the burgomasters and the quickly con
voked council were of little avail; in a friendly and even officious manner they
asked the ringleaders what they desired, and with due modesty and respect the
answer was returned, " they were to have no care at all for themselves and
their possessions, the advantage of all and the better maintenance of peace
were alone to be regarded ; civil jurisdiction and civil offices were to be shared
by all." As no other course was open to them, the council consented to their
desire that in the first place the whole body of citizens should be divided into
guilds, or corporations, and that the heads of the corporations should have a
seat and a voice in the council ; and secondly, that of the two annually
elected burgomasters, one should always be chosen from the guilds. This was
decreed and solemnly confirmed by oath for one hundred years and a day,
which, according to German law, signifies for ever. When, in consequence of
this, the uproar which had assumed so strange and alarming an aspect unex
pectedly ended quietly, the Mayor was so delighted that he presented the
citizens with a handsome gift of wine. It was drunk on the same evenino- with
1 The sources used for the history of the city are Marx Welser, " Chronika der Weltbe-
riihmtenReichs-StattAugspurg," translated byEngelbert Werlich and supplemented by Wolf
gang Hartmann's careful translation of A. P. Gasser's "Annales Civitatis ac Reipublic-S
Augsburgensis," 1595. Also, " Handschriftliche Chronik nach Burkhard Zink " 1565 in the
royal library at Berlin, and the histories of Augsburg by P. v. Stetten, E. v. Seida, and
Gullman ; David Langmantel's " Historie des Regiments in Augspurg," 1725, and Paul von
Stetten 's "Erlauterungen aus der Geschichte der Reichstadt, Augsburg," 1765 ; " Die Chroniken
der Deutschen Stadte vom 14 bis 16 Jahrhundert," edited by the historical commission of
the Royal Bavarian Academy of Science, vol. iv.p. 5, Augsburg. Leipzig, 1835, 1866.

CHANGES IN THE CONSTITUTION. 27

merriment and good cheer, and friendship was cemented anew on both sides.
Even the Emperor, Charles V., who was notwithstanding a most judicious
prince and a great friend of the Pope's, had nothing to bring forward against
this change in the government.
Augsburg's nobles had not acted counter to their own advantage, although
they had given up a part of their privileges. What they had lost internally
they gained outwardly from the position which their city now more and more
decidedly assumed. Augsburg had been a free Imperial city ever since the.
time of Conradin, under whom it had, at a high price, purchased its redemp
tion from the sovereignty of the Swabian dukes. It had also held a tolerably
free position with regard to the Emperor, although capital punishment and
criminal courts were in the hands of his magistrates until 1447. The Emperors
Louis of Bavaria, Ruprecht, and Sigismund resigned this with many other
privileges. By these changes in the constitution the first step was taken
towards a further advance to liberty.
The course which this advance from henceforth took is the mirror, on a
smaller scale, of that which was agitating at this time the whole of Germany.
It is an advance amid constant struggles, called forth by the sad condition of
the empire, tyie powerlessness of the Emperor, and the insecurity and disorder
eveiywhere. It was nowhere a mere personal strife. Princes and nobles were on all
occasions opposed to the free citizens, whose wealth, culture, and activity were
ever a thorn in their eye, and who were compelled to stake life and property
to obtain their independence. Until strength was fully exhausted on both
sides, until both parties after manifold calamity and misfortune were weary
of this existence, the war ever endured, to be concluded by a complete and
lasting peace, which, however, never lasted long.
Nevertheless, however much trade in general had been disturbed, the state
of things was not without its good : it obliged the citizens to take their stand
for freedom in their own power, and not merely to allow themselves to be
defended by mercenaries, but to wage war for themselves. At first they were
tolerably clumsy in disposing the order of battle, and marched two and two to
the field like schoolboys " in a long, childlike, and incongruous file," so that
strangers derided them. Subsequently, however, they made use of every
moment of peace to learn all that belonged to warfare, and they appointed
an experienced officer to be their head. Meanwhile, however, in the year
1487, at the desire of the Emperor, the Swabian league was formed by the
princes and prelates, the counts and knights, and the free and Imperial cities
of the district, in order to preserve peace by a vigorous, and armed coalition.
On the 3rd of December of the following year, the council and the com
monalty of Augsburg desired to enter into this league, in which they soon
held a distinguished position, and which afforded them the best protection

28 CALAMITY OF EVERY KIND.
against their Bavarian neighbours. Not long afterwards, in the year 1492,
the first great military undertaking of the Swabian league took place, when
they marched against Duke Albrecht, of Bavaria, who was under the ban
of the Empire. It must have been a splendid sight when the combined forces
marched through Augsburg, the men of Uim the strongest and most dis
tinguished of all, for they had 77 horse and 400 foot, and moreover "the
greatest piece of artillery of all, weighing 70 hundredweight, and named the
Little Kate of Uim."
As however the whole German nation was visited not alone with the
calamities of war, but with various other misfortunes, so was it also wTith
Augsburg. Fear and excitement never quitted the minds of men. One
evil was no sooner surmounted than perhaps a comet would appear in the
heavens, seeming to proclaim new woes, and again something would occur,
appearing as the fulfilment of the Divine menace. Reports of earthquakes
and great scarcities occurred incessantly. And then, as in June 1474, there
came a great storm, which passed throughout the whole land, but committed
special ravages in Augsburg, throwing down the newly built Ulrichskirche and
burying 35 men under its ruins, blowing away roofs, uprooting trees, sweeping
bleaching linen into the Lech, and rescuing the thief from the gallows.
Pestilences appeared with their fearful ravages : the plague of 1420 carried
away 16,000 inhabitants ; that of 1462, 11,000. In the midst of the confusion
of war, this misfortune appeared, and, like all similar events, was regarded as a
chastisement from above. " That we men should not alone be destroying one
another, the Lord- God has sent this pestilence also among the people : " thus
speak the old records regarding it.
Events such as these have everywhere the same psychological results.
Every mind became violently agitated; piety and devotion increased;
religious resignation, longing, and contrition were more ardent than ever
before. And with increase of religious feeling arose the greatest disreo-ard
and rooted hatred of the priests, who afforded such little satisfaction to
their religious needs, and excited the greatest scandal by their avarice and
their vile course of life.
This internal discontent had reached an especially great extent, at the
beginning of the fifteenth century, at the time of the ecclesiastical schism
which called forth the council of Kostnitz. Like the anti-popes, there were in
Augsburg anti-bishops, and the clergy as well as the citizens were divided
into two parties. Such a state of things naturally allowed insubordination
to reach to the utmost extent ; the infamous lives of the ecclesiastics increased
more and more ; they utterly forgot their true vocation. The prebendaries
were always quarrelling with each other, and repeatedly came to open
violence. Priests and monks appeared in reality, just as they are described in the

HUMANISTIC LITERATURE. 29

satirical popular literature of the day, and in the numerous caricatures, both
woodcuts and engravings.
The strong religious impulse of the people, which so rarely found satis
faction in the Church, must have naturally inclined at times more feebly, and
at times more decidedly, to the opposition. Wickliffe's doctrine had had many
adherents in Augsburg ever since the close of the fourteenth century. How
ever quiet, respectable, and retired might be their life, the grand inquisition
pursued them, and consigned them to the flames. The doctrines of Huss also
found many followers, who were never wholly exterminated. And when ,
Luther at length appeared, the Reformation gained universal footing, not only '
among the lower classes, but among those who were regarded as especially
intelligent and learned, among those belonging to the council and the highest
circles in the city, and even among the clergy and the prebendaries.
The preparation had been made for that tendency which stood side by side
with the Reformation, and which, in union with it, undertook the struggle
against the old system ; namely, the humanistic tendency, which had here
taken footing more decidedly than in many parts of the empire.
The humanistic tendency found especially its support in the Emperor
Maximilian, who was a particular friend to Augsburg, and sojourned in it
more gladly than in other towns of the empire. He was a popular appear
ance, ever since he had made his entry for the first time as King of Rome.
It was on April 23, 1473, late in the evening, amid heavy rain, when he rode
under the silken canopy by the side of his Imperial father, a well-grown
young man. Frederick ILL had loved the city and was beloved within it ;
at this period of extreme confusion the larger cities generally adhered faith
fully to him. Only once had he a conflict at Augsburg, when he incurred
there too great expenses for living, and on his departure the unpaid artisans
would not allow his carriages to follow him with his kitchen and chamber
furniture. In other ways he improved and increased the privileges of the
city, and was always gladly received. His son, however, was qualified by his
whole appearance to increase in a still higher degree the popularity which the
representative of the Imperial power could so readily gain. Although this
adventurous and knightly personage was scarcely suited to the altered and
significant times, which might have demanded a more strict stamp of character,
still he ever appeared more worthy and more regal than his predecessors; and
however little his half-fantastic, warlike enterprises abroad were favoured by
fortune, at home he succeeded in gaining greater consideration for himself
and greater order in the empire. He was a bold and romantic personage,'
with taste for science and art; he knew how to attract important people to
himself, and by his affability he won the hearts of the common people.
Most of the art-creations which he called into life, must have arisen at
Augsburg, although the Emperor was not so ready with his payments as he

30 EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN.
was with his orders. Here lived Hans Burgkmair, his court and battle
painter, who made the drawings for his triumphal procession and for his
biography the " Weisskunig." Here Jost Dinecker carved these and many
other pictures in wood. Even the publication of his poetical production the
"Theurdank," was begun here by the Augsburg Schonsperger, although
subsequently the work appeared at Nuremberg, whither the printer mean
while had moved.1 Here he had his metal portraits moulded, and the splendid
suits of armour prepared, which were his special delight ; he purchased his
jewels of Augsburg merchants, and even in the old history of the city he
showed a lively scientific interest, especially in his intercourse with Peutinger.
Ever again we find him here for longer visits, received as usual by the
burgomasters with great respect and submission, accompanied to his lodgings
by the noblest lords of the council amid the rejoicing of the people, and
splendidly regaled. When he succeeded his father in the Imperial dignity,
and three years after, in 1496, received the homage of the council and com
monalty at Augsburg, we are expressly informed that the city was commended
to his Imperial Majesty from this time forward to his special favour, with the
promise that on her side she would prove always ready to serve the Emperor
with the utmost subjection and obedience. He frequently resided there with
his second wife, Maria Blanka, of Milan. In the year 1501, in order to have a
constant place of residence there, he ordered Konrad Peutinger to purchase for
him the Meutinger House, in the neighbourhood of the Cross Church. When
this proved insufficient for him he wished to add Fugger's house, but the town
council, who did not care for their powerful fellow-citizen to gain too firm a
footing, prevented this, and the Emperor established himself and his house
hold in the house belonging to the provost of the cathedral. " The Burgo
master of Augsburg," Maximilian was scornfully styled by King Louis XII.
of France. He lived with the citizens just as if he were their equal. His
intercourse with them was cheerful and merry. He took part in their
festivities with great humility. He joined in their processions and in the
funerals of worthy personages ; and if all this had failed to win for him
universal affection, he must have obtained it from the magnanimity with
which he met satire directed against himself. When in the year 1508, he
intended to remove to Rome and only reached Trent, Ulrich Gasser the
keeper of the keys of the city, attached some ironical verses to his house.
It was regarded by everyone as shameful and insulting, but the Emperor
Max only laughed as he rode past.
By the constant visits of the Emperor, it was more festive and jovful in
Augsburg than ever before. They were on all occasions accustomed to a
merry life in the Imperial city.
1 Th. Herberger, E. Peutinger in seinem Verhaltnisse zum Kaiser Maximilian. Aucsburw
1851. 6 °'

AUGSBURG BUILDINGS. 31

The rapid and uniform progress of Augsburg, which belongs especially to
the period of Frederick III. and Maximilian, is exhibited by nothing more
distinctly than by the repeated records of public buildings of every kind.
Indeed, the further we pass into the fifteenth century, and throughout the
sixteenth, we find all that had before formed the main subject of the chronicles
— the narration of wars and internal commotions, of misfortunes, of remarkable
crimes and other matters — vanish more and more into the background. Many
buildings especially were raised for religious objects, and these for the most
part, "by the assistance and contribution of the citizens." The cathedral, St.
Maurice, and other churches were enlarged or renewed in different parts ; other
churches and monasteries, such as those of St. Anna and St. Catherine, the
Dominican monastery, and the Cross Church, were newly built ; the magni
ficent works in St. Ulrich were begun, especially the building of the choir, the
foundation stone of which was laid by Maximilian himself; and in 1512,
the funeral chapel of the Fugger family was erected in St. Anna, the first
great work in the modern style. But not merely were buildings raised for
ecclesiastical purposes, but also for civil interests. The Perlachthurm was deco
rated in 1437 with a leaden roof and with wall-paintings ; in 1450, a splendid
addition to the Town-hall was completed, the material for which was furnished
for the most part by the demolished schools, and the cemetery of the expelled
Jews. In 1456, the same building received a small tower transparent on all
sides, and soon after it was adorned on the outside with gay paintings. In
1501 the great arsenal was built, and in 1505, the corn-magazine at the back
of St. Maurice, on whose site the present arsenal stands. Guilds and nobles
arranged clrinking-rooms. The dining-halls of the patricians were built and
again rebuilt after they had been burnt down, and in 1508 the first public foun
tain was designed in hewn stone by the architect Burkhardt Engelberg.
This is indeed the period to which the chronicles refer, when they say that
at this time great wealth was to be obtained here, and Augsburg was considered
the most noble and famous city in Germany for grand business undertakings
and great trade. The merchants who were at that time, from their factories
abroad, the sole medium through which passed all the news of the day, received
from the Netherlands various tidings, such as that of Vasco de Gama sailing
round Africa, and Christopher Columbus discovering America, or, in the words
of the chronicler, " exploring the paths of the Atlantic by the permission of
Ferdinand, king of Spain." To the curious and the simple this appeared a
strange and unheard-of wonder, which wise merchants knew how to use to their
¦ advantage. The Augsburgers were the first Germans who themselves equipped
vessels to take part in the East India trade, — they, inland dwellers as they
were, whose city did not even lie on the banks of a navigable river. Gossen-
brot, Fugger, Hochstetter, and others, joined the Portuguese in the spring of
1505, and returned in the following year with costly merchandise, gaining 175

\

32 INTERCOURSE WITH ITALY.
per cent. The Fuggers, who sprung from the most powerful guild, that of
the weavers, which in Maximilian's time reckoned 160 masters, were the first
bankers in the present sense of the term. In order to justify in the public
opinion the still unwonted practice of receiving interest, they made Dr. Johann
Eck, of Ingolstadt, a man well known in the history of the Reformation, hold
debates in all possible universities, at their own expense, upon the allowing
of usury. The fame of the Augsburg merchants was universally acknowledged in all
great questions with regard to trade ; the Emperor and assembled princes at
the diets desired to hear their opinion, and they always expressed their con
viction in favour of perfect free-trade. Even at that time they urged with
determination for the same weights and measures, the same money, suitable
roads, and the setting aside of the inconvenient barriers of duty throughout
the empire.1
The main importance however of Augsburg, which was at that time the
commercial metropolis of the whole of Southern Germany, lay in the fact
that it was the medium of communication with Italy. Its very position, as
we have before seen, indicated this. With Venice especially it stood in
constant relation. Every merchant must have been there if he was to be
esteemed at home. They were especially Augsburgers who played a part in
the famous commercial hall of the Germans in Venice. The best known
members of the Fugger family spent a long portion of their youth there.
And not only southern fruits and Italian wine were carried across the Alps to
adorn many a patrician's table at home, not only foreign goods and produc
tions were exchanged for native gold and silver, but the old Swabian free city
was also the medium for the intellectual wealth of Italy. The new spirit of
the Renaissance must have here first found entrance, transforming everythino-
in every sphere of life, of science, and of art.
During this epoch of grand progress, Holbein first saw the light in
Augsburg. His birth occurred just between the years in which Africa was
circumnavigated and America was discovered. The return of the Auo-s-
burgers from their grand commercial expedition to the East Indies must have
been among the earliest tidings which sounded in the boy's ears. The oreat
shooting festival in 1509, the various diets which the Emperor held there,
must have been numbered among the first glad and brilliant impressions of
his youth. Here was a soil better than aught that could have been desired
for him. All around him was stirring. There were grander relations which
afforded a wider range of view beyond commonplace local interests. Much
of that which exercised such a decided influence in the fate of the entire
empire, had its scene of action at Augsburg, or at any rate was shared there.
Important personages, both native and foreign, were to be seen there. It was
1 Tagebuch des Lucas Rehm. Herausg. v. Greiff, 1861, Preface.

STIMULANT TO ARTISTS. 33
a busy population, active and skilful in trade and commerce, and valiant even
to arms, when the defence of their own and the common weal was concerned ;
at the same time fresh and vigorous, accustomed to resign themselves without
reserve and restraint to pleasure, and to the enjoyment of life. Rich and
splendid stood the churches and monasteries, and yet, from their struggles and
experiences, the citizens had acquired more independent religious sentiments.
A worldly spirit which made them sons of the new age, was developed here
more than in other places. The splendour and life were increased by the
constant sojourn of the Emperor and his court in the Imperial city, which
was nevertheless spared the disadvantages of being really the residence of
the sovereign, and ever remained a free city in every sense. There was
everywhere delight for the eye and food for the imagination; the gay
and varied existence was influenced in its character by Augsburg's grand
mercantile position, which always rendered it lively, and brought it into
contact with distant countries. And from afar could be seen the snowy heads
of the Alps, towards which merchants repaired, and from which they returned
richly laden from Italy, whence came all that was beautiful and ¦ new.
Augsburg was the city from which that artist was to proceed, who alone of
all his German contemporaries succeeded in casting off all fetters, who alone
rid himself from ecclesiastical restraint and from his country's littleness and
coldness, who with his very first step entered into life more freely, boldly, and
unreservedly than any other, and who could delight in feeling himself a new
man in a new age.

CHAPTER III.
Hans Holbein the father.— Appearance of the name Holbein in different plapes.— The
Holbein family in Augsburg. — Authentic documents. — The supposed " grandfather Hans
Holbein." — Course of training experienced by Hans Holbein the father. — His works. —A
picture at Basle. — Madonna in the Moritz capella. — Pictures in Augsburg Cathedral. —
Works of 149.9. — The master abroad. — Altar at Frankfort. — Altar at Kaisheim. — Sketch
book. — Pictures for the monastery of St. Catherine. —Basilica of St. Paul. — Portraits of
the artist and his sons. — Accounts of St. Moritz. — Drawings. — Later works. — Portraits. —
Position and influence of the artist.
The name of Holbein has been tolerably spread throughout Southern Germany ;
at Ravensburg (not far from Lake Constance) it appears in the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries. The family were engaged in the paper manufactory, and pro
duced the famous paper bearing the water-mark of a bull's head, which also
firms the Holbein arms. At Griinstadt, on the Hardt (in Rhenish Bavaria), the
name is to be found in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and the records of
a family of this name extend still farther in Basle, the house " Zum Papst " in
the Gerbergasse being in their possession.1 Whether at all, and how remotely
the artist family Holbein was allied with the above mentioned, is not to be
ascertained. A connection with the Holbein in Basle is not improbable. A
link of this kind may have contributed subsequently to allure members of our
artist family to settle in Basle. But in Augsburg also many persons of this
name appear even as early as the middle of the fifteenth century. A Michel
Holbain (this is the constant Augsburg orthography of the name) appears in
1454, and he is once spoken of as a leather-dresser. He lived at first beyond
the Kreuzer-gate (" hi Kreuzer Thor extra "), where he possessed a house, a
fact which may be inferred from the notices of " Michel Holbain's Hus," or
" Domus Michel Holbains." He subsequently appears in other parts of the
city : "Bilgrimhus," " Salta Zum Schlechtenbad," and in the "Bredioer Garten,"2
all of them places within the neighbourhood of the Lech canals, where the
retail trade of Augsburg was established ; he is mentioned for the last time
in 1486, and he must have died soon after. His wife, the Michel Holbainin
a native of Schonenfeld, a place in the neighbourhood of Auo'sbur", is first

o>

1 Hegner, H. Holbein der jiingere, p. 29. " " Prediger " signifies Dominican.

THE HOLBEIN FAMILY.

spoken of in 1469, and is mentioned again long after her husband's last
appearance. In the year 1481, Michel Holbein seems to have been absent for
some time, for under the name of the wife there stands the words : " Ir Man
nit by Ir " (her husband not with her). His whole family is often summarily-
designated as " Pfleg Holbains."
In 1494 the painter "Hanns Holbain" appears; he lived in the same
quarter of the city as that in which we have before found Michel Holbain ;
namely, " Salta Zum Schlechtenbad " and " Von Diepold." This and the fact
that Michel, the leather-dresser, was for thirty-two years the sole male repre
sentative of the name in the city, renders it highly probable that Hans was his
sou. We frequently find his mother mentioned after him, as living with him ;
the widow therefore of Michel. In the years 1505 and 1509, there stands next
to Hans' name, that of " Sigimund his brother." This confirms the statement
of Joachim von Sandrart, who in his " Teutsche Akademie " " mentions the
two painters Hans Holbein the elder and Sigimund Holbein as brothers."
But the family was still larger; in 1478 " Ir Tochter" (her daughter) appears
by the side of the " Michel Holbainin," evidently the same person, as appears
soon after, as Anna Holbainin. She is probably identical with "Anna
Holbainin, Biirgerin Zu Augspurg, who in 1486 sold to the convent at
Oberschonefeld for herself and her brother Conrad Holbain, convent-
brother at • Deckingen, their hereditary right to a field in the Wollisshauser
district." 1 In 1502 we meet also with a Gret or Margaretha Holbainin, and
this again accords with other records respecting the family; Anna and
Margaretha were the names of two of Sigmund Holbein's three sisters,
whom he mentions in his will, to which we shall afterwards allude. In 1488
an " Endlin Holbainlin " is also mentioned, but she cannot be identical with
the Anna named above. The diminutive seems to imply that Endlin and
also an " Ottilia Holbainlin," who appears in 1493, were still little children,
and thus they may both have been daughters of the painter Hans Holbain.
An Anna Holbainin occurs subsequently until 1522 under the heading, " St.
Anthonino." In 1499 we find mention made of " Holbein's kind " (Holbein's
children) ; under this collective designation,2 the famous Hans Holbein the
younger may be included. He had an elder brother, Ambrosius, and both
devoted themselves to the profession of painting, as their father and uncle
had done. A third brother of the name of Bruno is once mentioned, but the
notices respecting him are so uncertain, that we may even doubt his existence.
In the record of the Basle jurist and art-collector Remigius Fesch, we find the
following passage : — "In the August of the year 1651, when I was allowed to
visit the Amerbach Museum, I learned from the heir, the widow of Basilius
i Notice of this was given to the author by Herr Steichele, Canon of Augsburg Cathedral.
2 " Kind " is also plural according to tbe language of that day, and even now in poetry it
not unfrequently occurs.
D 2

36 THE HOLBEIN FAMILY.
Iselin, who came from the Anierbachs on the mother's side, that it is to be
gathered from the Amerbach papers that Holbein had three brothers, all
painters, the famous Hans, Ambrosius, and Bruno." Beyond this later notice
there is no trace left of this Bruno, beyond two drawings in metallic pencil,
both of which bear the monogram BH and the date 1515. The drawings
exhibit great similarity with works of the same kind by the younger Hans,
and still more so with those of Ambrosius. Another interpretation of the
monogram is, however, possible. In the picture of Hans and Ambrosius
Holbein, taken in their youth by Hans Holbein the younger, Ambrosius'
name is abbreviated and written Prosy, the change from b to p being at that
time almost universal throughout Germany, as it is in the present day in
Saxony. The artist may thus have at first formed his monogram from the
abbreviated name Brosi, and afterwards have altered it into one composed of
A and H, and probably this monogram may have given rise to the idea that
there was a painter of the name of Bruno Holbein. Paul von Stetten1 states
that Hans Holbein the father married a daughter of the old painter Thomas
Burgkmair, and sister of the famous Hans Burgkmair. But no confirmation of
this is to be found. The Burgkmairs lived in the same quarter of the city,
" Zum Diepold," as that in which we occasionally find the Holbeins, but not
in the same house, as P. von Stetten says, who merely on this presumption
seems to base his supposition of a relationship between the two families.
Much as the artistic affinity between the younger Hans Holbein and the
famous Hans Burgkmair might tempt us to see in Burgkmair the uncle of our
painter, still we must not conceal from ourselves, that this supposition rests
on no solid basis.
During two generations, therefore, the art of painting belonged to the
Holbein family. In recent times however the attempt has been made to
trace the art even in the third generation, and the existence of a grandfather
called Hans Holbein and also a painter has been asserted and generally
believed in ever since Passavant wrote respecting him for the first time in the
" Kunstblatt '' of the year 1846.2 In our idea, such an individual has never
existed ; all authentic documents contradict it, and the genealogy, which we
gather from the registry of rates, is wholly opposed to it. In the painters'
book, preserved in the Maximilian Museum at Augsburg, and in which after
the year 1495 the death of every painter is recorded, there only appears one
Holbein, namely, Hans Holbein the father. Now this alleged grandfather is
said to have been painting in 1-199.
The belief in Holbein's grandfather arose at a time when nothino- was
known of these authentic records, and the supposition was based solely on
the fact of two pictures bearing the name of Hans Holbein, and which, it was
1 Kunst Gewerbs und Handwerksgeschiehte von Augsburg, ii. p. 185. 2 P. 182

THE SUPPOSED "GRANDFATHER HANS HOLBEIN" 37
imagined, could not be attributed to the father. According to the date of the
inscription, an interval of forty years lies between their execution, and they
thus mark the beginning and end of an artist's career, the intervening period
of which we know not. One of these paintings, formerly in the possession of
Herr Samm of Mergenthau, is now to be found in the Maximilian Museum at
Augsburg. Passavant, who was the first to write respecting this picture, had
not even seen it himself, and only spoke from the communications of its pos
sessor. According to his statement, it was originally ordered by the Fugger
family for the St. Annen Kirche, but it was removed at the time of the
Reformation, and came into the possession of the order of Jesuits, who
placed it in the palace chapel at Mergenthau, from whence it subsequently
passed with the palace and the property into the hands of Herr Samm. It
represents the Holy Virgin and Child sitting on the grass by a wall. In the
composition, the picture reminds us of Schongauer's Madonna in the Garden of
Roses, which is not indeed exactly copied, but which served as a model. The
physiognomy also accords with that of Schongauer, but the expression is not
beyond the common. The figures are larger than life. Instead of the hedge
of roses and the golden ground, the background is formed by an elaborate
landscape. On the left, on a wall, partly covered with leaves, there stands in
gold letters almost an inch in length, the following inscription, which came to
light at the restoration of the picture : —
HANS HOLBEIN.
C. A.1
1. 4. 5. 9.
A Hans Holbein who painted in 1459, cannot indeed certainly be Hol
bein the father, whose active work does not begin until more than thirty
years later.
The second picture is to be found in the Augsburg Gallery, and was painted
for the very place in which it is now to be seen, namely, the Augsburg convent
of St. Katharina, where the royal collection of pictures is now so beautifully
and successfully arranged. It belongs to a cycle of pictures, representing on
six panels the principal old churches of Rome, and its subject is the Basilika
Santa Maria Maggiore. The nuns of this convent, upon the solicitation of
their father-confessor, Doctor Baitholomaus Ridler, received permission from
Pope Innocent VIII. in the year 1484, to participate in the remission of sins
promised to the frequenters of the seven old churches in Rome, without having
visited them themselves, provided they performed the prescribed devotions in
the three parts of their own convent set apart for this purpose.
In the year 1496, some convent ladies ordered these six paintings of
1 C. A. : Civis Augustanus.

38 THE BASILICA SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE.

the best Augsburg artists for the decoration of these places in the chapter
house. The Basilica of Santa Maria is, like the other panels, in the form of a broad
pointed arch, corresponding with the vaulting of the apartment in which they
are placed. It contains a great variety of separate scenes, in three separate
sections. The centre is occupied by a view of the church, made according to
a description pretty generally adhered to. A pious pilgrim is kneeling at the
altar within. A tombstone exhibits the monogram HH., and on two bells there
.stands the inscription, HANS HOLBEIN, 1499. Gold decorations in the style
of the late Gothic divide the separate parts of the painting. The upper arched
compartment contains the crowning of the Virgin by the Trinity, three figures
entirely alike, with countenances approaching the Byzantine type of Christ.
The compartment on the left contains the adoration of the new-born Holy
Child by the parents and the shepherds. While the patroness of the church
was here thrice done honour to, the compartment to the right was assigned to
St. Dorothea, the patroness of the donatrix, Dorothea Rolinger. The latter,
smaller in size, is kneeling in prayer behind the saint, who, cheerful and
composed, is awaiting the stroke of death. The sw ord of the executioner who
is to behead her, comes somewhat into confusion with the gold ornament, into
the midst of which he is striking. On the other side the Infant Christ is
approaching the saint, in a transparent garment, with a little blue coat covered
with stars, and is bringing her a basket of roses. On two scrolls gracefully
intertwined, and passing from mouth to mouth, stands inscribed the dialogue
held between them both :
"Dorothea, ich. bring, dir. da.
Ich. bit. dich. herr. bringss. Theophilo. dem. schreiber."
" I bring thee this, Dorothea.
I pray thee, Lord, to take it to Theophilus the secretary.''
The latter, as the legend says, had promised to become a Christian, if she
sent him roses from Paradise. An angel with a lute, and two others with a
cloth to receive the soul of the saint, are -hovering above. Similar anoels
making music are also introduced above, in the left compartment.
It is not to be overlooked that the whole mode of conception in this
painting exhibits traces of that older idealistic tendency, which had spread
universally in Germany, before the influence of the Van Eyck school had
exclusively obtained the ascendency. This is to be seen in the first place
in the slender proportions of the figures, among whom the Holy Trinity
especially far surpass the ordinary measure of physical proportion. The
movements are indeed for the most part rightly understood, but the fioure is
often not expressed with sufficient decision behind the masses of drapery.
The limbs, especially the feet, are somewhat feeble, and hence, intentionally,

THE BASILICA SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE. 39
are often concealed under the garments. The hands, delicate, slender, and
without any prominence given to the joints, are rightly designed. The fall
of the drapery is usually arranged as befits the figure and the action ; it is
at the same time flowing and free from all sharper folds ; sometimes, how
ever, as in the mantle of St. Dorothea, or the wide and curious inflated scarf
of the executioner, there appears the antique predilection for long ends of
drapery. As in Schongauer's works, the female heads, the two Madonna
countenances, and Dorothea, are tender and pleasing ; the male heads are
undecided and feeble. In the colouring, a brown tint prevails ; even the
shadows of the gold ornament, usually produced by black lines, are here
brown. In the female figures, the flesh tints are transparent and delicate in
their transitions. Strong colouring prevails in the costumes, in the fur-edged
figured dresses and wide mantles. The style of execution, which sometimes
exhibits a broader treatment, is delicately blended, and becomes effective
from the just laying on of the colours. The want of strong effect of light
alone gives somewhat a monotonous character to the whole work.
Certain differences, when compared with the later works of Holbein the
father, undeniably exist, yet the painting is indisputably considered to be his
work. It appears as such also among the earlier writers : Sandrart mentions
it in his " Teutsche Akademie," although only cursorily and from a superficial
remembrance of it. " There are some pieces," he says, " from the old Hol
bein's hand at Augsburg, one of which was purchased for some thousands by
the art-loving Herr von Walberg. In the St. Cathrinen-Closter there is a
large painting of the Salutation by him, and in another picture the Life and
Doings of the Apostle Paul are depicted with figures half life-size ; it is painted
with the utmost care, and is inscribed with these words, ' Praesens opus com-
plevit, Johannes Holbein, civis Augustanus.' In another subject, containing
a bell, there is inscribed, 'Hans Holbein, 1499.' "
The painting with the life of the Apostle Paul is that most famous pic
ture of Holbein's, of which we shall presently speak more particularly, the
Basilica of St. Paul, but there is no picture of the Salutation in Augsburg
among the works of the elder Holbein.1 We can only imagine that Sandrart
intended by this the Basilica of Sta. Maria Maggiore, in which St. Dorothea
with the Holy Child especially strikes the eye. A divine boy, approaching a
kneeling virgin, had remained in Sandrart's mind as a remembrance of the
picture, and with his well-known inaccuracy he made out of it an angelic
salutation. He remarks that he had only seen it in a very large panel, where
1 According to Horace Walpole, a picture of this kind was sold by the monastery ; this
rests, however, only on a misunderstanding of the passage in Sandrart : " His father was a
painter of Augsburg, and so much esteemed that the Lord of Walberg paid 100 florins to the
monastery of St. Catherine for a large picture of the Salutation painted by him."— A nee dote
nf Pai utiii g, p. 103.

40 THE BASILICA SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE.
many other things may therefore have been introduced. In accordance with
this we find hiin immediately afterwards speaking of the Basilica of St. Paul
as another large painting, for this was similar in size to the Basilica of Sta.
Maria. Still more unequivocally does Sandrart's concluding notice of the
other subject, with a bell in it, point to our picture, in which the inscription
quoted by him stands on the bell itself. Sandrart, the child of an academic
age, had neither leisure nor desire to enter truly into the creations of the old
masters. He had never considered and never troubled himself about that
which Holbein's painting represented. To him it was just another subject,
of which he only remembered an external, the bell, and perhaps a group,
which reminded him of the familiar representation of the Salutation, of which
however he seems not even to have known that it was in the same picture as
the bell.
If some authors refuse to assign to the artist a picture which was formerly
regarded as his certain work, even by the statements of earlier writers, we
must demand sufficient reasons for so doing. And when these authors join it
with another painting, in order merely from these two pictures to assume the
existence of a hitherto wholly unknown painter, we must indeed look for
the greatest similarity between tliese two pictures, and so many common
peculiarities that a distinct artistic individuality may be inferred. It is,
however, just this affinity which we entirely miss in these two paintings.
In those points in which the Basilica of Sta. Maria differs from other certain
pictures of Hans Holbein, it would be likely to accord with the Madonna in the
Maximilian Museum ; but this is not the case. The Madonna must have been
executed forty years before the Basilica of Sta. Maria, and yet the latter is far
more antique in its whole character, and the former is far more realistic in the
portrait-like head, in the sharpness and thinness of the limbs, and lastly in the
landscape. All this seems to point to a far later period than the year 1459,
the date of the inscription.
But for a second, aud this is a wholly external reason, the work awakens
suspicion. In all other Augsburg paintings which I have ever seen, and in
all documents there, the name Holbein is without exception written with ai;
it i3 the Augsburg orthography and the custom of the language, in accordance
with which ein, hcilig, and Freiheit, were written ain, hailig, and Freiliait. In
the Madonna of the Maximilian Museum, however, Holbein is written with ci
after the modern fashion, and this is certainly not without suspicion. We
might assume, perhaps, that this arose from an oversight at its restoration.
But if "Holbein" was made out of "Holbain," "1459 " may just as well have
been made out of 1499. All credibility is lost. The form also of the letters
and cyphers is different to any occurring at that period, and the whole
inscription is immoderately large, and thoroughly intended to be seen, which
would scarcely have been the case with an artist, of the fifteenth century.

THE ANNALS OF THE MONASTERY OF ST. CATHERINE. 41
Whether it is wholly or only partially spurious, whether the date only is
false and the name correct, and the picture thus perhaps the work of Hans
Holbein the father, I cannot venture to decide ; it possesses no convincing
similarity with his works, but it is an able Swabian production.
If possible, still more doubt exists, respecting another evidence adduced
with regard to the painter's grandfather, an evidence upon which Passavant
lays especial weight. This is a notice which is said to be taken from the
annals of the Monastery of St. Catherine, compiled by the nun Dominica
Erhardt from old records and documents. Waagen and Passavant received
information respecting it from the copy of an extract, and the former printed
the notices of old pictures in the second volume of his "Kunstwerke und
Kiinstler" in Germany. The passage which treats of the Basilica of Sta. Maria
is the following : " Item Dorothea Rolingerin has ordered of the old Hans
Holbein a panel-painting of our dear lady for the sum of forty-five gulden."
The designation "the old Hans Holbein," Passavant thinks can only apply to
the grandfather in the year 1499, because the grandson is out of the question
as too young a child.
The original of these annals was said to have been taken to Munich after
the abolition of the monastery, and was regarded as lost. After long and vain
inquiries respecting it, I succeeded in finding it in the episcopal library at Augs
burg. The extracts which had passed through many different hands differ much
from the original, and this in such a manner that not a mere error but a fabri
cation seems to arise, by which the two famous art investigators were deceived.
The passage respecting the Basilica of Sta. Maria is as follows in the original :
" Item Dorothea rolingerin hat lassen mahen Vnser liebn frauw taffel die
gestatt, oder stett 60 gulden." Here there is no mention made of an old
Hans Holbein, or of an Holbein at all. With all the pictures the donators
and the price, but never the artists, are mentioned. It is only a later hand
that has added the name Burgkmair at three places, and has written Holbein's
name on the edge of the Basilica of St. Paul ; it is the hand of the well-known
Augsburg ecclesiastical writer, Placidus Braun. In this passage, however,
there is not even such a notice ou the margin.
Thus all external evidence of an artistic grandfather conies to nothing, and
the only grounds for the supposition rest in the evident differences between the
Basilica of Sta. Maria and the other works of Holbein the father. Yet tliese
differences do not strike us with regard to all his other pictures ; they appear
especially noticeable in comparison with the Basilica of St. Paul, which hangs
in the Augsburg Gallery close by the Basilica of Sta. Maria. Compared with
this unrivalled masterpiece, it is certainly far inferior. In the picture of the
Basilica of St. Paul a new epoch seems to have found expression. Barriers,
imperfections, the mannerism of the fifteenth century, are all effaced. The
movements are free, lifelike, and decided ; the limbs are formed with know-

42 DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES
ledge ; the proportion of the figures is shorter ; the fall of the drapery is finer,
more just, and more understood. Every head is a portrait, drawn truly,
exactly, and strikingly from life. Truth and life have asserted themselves
both in expression and action. The landscape and whole scenery are treated
charmingly. But beyond all, the colouring in its power, freshness, depth, and
warmth, is worthy of admiration.
But do these differences demand the supposition of two different artists,
one of whom must be created for this distinct object ? May they not mark
stages of progress in one and the same artist ? Only a few years can indeed
lie between the two works ; but then, it was an age in which all circum
stances moved with unceasing rapidity, especially in Augsburg. Why should
not such an age carry the artist with it also ? especially as, during the years
which lie between the two basilicas, we shall presently see he was tra
velling, and was thus unceasingly receiving new impressions. The Basilica
of Sta. Maria is itself a picture of struggle and transition. The antique golden
ground was already forsaken, but the artist had not yet ventured to place in
its stead a finished landscape distance ; the dark starry heaven, which he
spread behind his subject, formed a transition. But the church in the centre
of the panels is finished in its details, its vistas, and its ornaments, with the
same faithful and intelligent care as the graceful scenery in the Basilica of St.
Paul. The figures are more slender than was usual at a later period, but they
are no longer wholly enveloped in that long mass of drapery which was con
ventional in the Upper German School. Schongauer's influence is still often to
be seen in the heads, but his enthusiastic religious feeling is supplanted through
out by a more worldly conception ; and especially in some child angels, as well
as in the Infant Christ with the basket of roses, there appears a fresh grasp
ing of reality, and a rude adherence to life, which must surprise us. The
female heads also are very similar to those child-like and lovely countenances
which we see in the pictures of the life of the Virgin by Hans Holbein the
father, both at Augsburg and Munich.
One thing, moreover, is worthy of remark. The original drawings of two
parts of this picture are in the Basle Museum,1 and so perfectly accord with
other drawings by Holbein the father, that no doubt as to their origin is
possible. They are cursorily done by the pen in a few certain touches. ° The
first sheet represents the Crowning of the Virgin ; the second the Death of St.
Dorothea, over whom two angels are hovering. We see the donatrix, and by
her side a tablet bearing the inscription, "anno d. 1499;" she is not as in the
painting smaller, but of the same size as the saint herself, and the ribands
also are wanting. Consequently, the most antique touches are here omitted,
and this in the very place in which the artist could allow himself to be most
S;ul der Handzeichnungen, Nos. 99, 100.

BETWEEN THE TWO PICTURES. 43
original and unfettered, namely, in his sketch. What is added or altered
in the painting, may therefore have arisen at the desire of the donatrix.
So much for the conception generally. With regard to the execution in
the detail, there is, however, still another point to be taken into consideration,
the difference of the price paid to the artist for the two pictures. This is a
point upon which greater weight should be laid in art-history, than has been
the case hitherto. It depended on the extent of the payment how much the
artist himself worked at a picture, and how much he consigned to his assistants.
Sixty gulden were paid for the Basilica of Sta. Maria. The Basilica of St. Paul,
on the contrary, was ordered with another picture, executed by Hans Burgk
mair, by the rich Veronica Welser, who paid one hundred and eighty-seven
guldens for the two. This on an average was ninety-three guldens and a half
for each. Hence the master here would feel himself stimulated to exert all
his powers. He executed this work with the most devoted love, he tested in
it his whole power, and he imprinted on it, even in the smallest details, the
impress of his mind.
There are also pictures which stand between the two paintings, and
combine the style of the one with that of the other. Thus, for example, there
is a panel in the Augsburg Gallery, with the Crowning of the Virgin, and
scenes from the Passion, painted in the same year as the Basilica of Sta.
Maria Maggiore, namely 1499. Most authors attribute them to Holbein's
father ; Herr Ernst Forster,1 however, to his grandfather. Even this differ
ence of opinion is a new proof on what weak footing rests the supposition
of two older painters of Hans Holbein's name.
When Hans Holbein the father was- born, we know not. It is generally
supposed that it was in 1450, but this is far too early a date. The works of
the artist which have been preserved, do not go further back than 1490 ; and
in a picture of him, drawn by his son Hans in the year 1515, and which
we shall presently discuss, he seems to have been not much over fifty.
If, for lack of othei1 information, we may judge by this, we must date his birth
somewhat soon after 1460. With regard to his teacher, also, we are not
informed. Augsburg possessed many able masters, from whom he may have
acquired the rudiments of his art. He experienced also, however, influences
from another place, which we have already seen was the central point of all
artistic doings in the surrounding neighbourhood. We have before alluded to
Schongauer's influence, while speaking of the Basilica Sta. Maria. We con
stantly find traces of it in the elder Holbein's works, in the manner in which
he forms the figures and arranges the drapery. Acquaintance with Schon
gauer's types of countenance is shown in his faces of an ideal character, —
for instance, in his heads of Christ ; and his acquaintance with Schongauer's
1 Geschichte der Deutschen Kunst., ii. p. 212.

44 THE MADONNA IN THE CHAPEL OF ST. MA URICE.
compositions appears especially in his representations from the Passion. We
must rest satisfied with this fact. Whether Holbein was incited by his
engravings, or whether he knew Schongauer personally, and perhaps studied
for a time in his atelier, is a point upon which we are not likely to be
enlightened. It is possible, for travelling was at that time the order of the
day, and painters especially delighted in it. We shall even presently find
intimations that Holbein the elder was once in Alsace. The atelier of Martin
Schongauer, surnamed "hiibsch Martin" (Pretty Martin), on account of his
art, was at that time, to a certain extent, the first school for painting in South
Germany. We know that even Albert Diirer 's father was only prevented by
Schongauer's death from sending his son there for a time.
The earliest certain work which we possess of Holbein's, bears the date
1490. This date is placed on the halo surrounding an apostle in a picture
representing the death of the Virgin. The ATirgin is sitting by the bed, with
the consecrated taper in her hand; her countenance wearing a mild expression
as she expires. The apostles are full of character, especially St. Peter and St.
John, who are engaged in prayer. The whole strikingly harmonizes with the
style of Holbein's later works. Little importance is placed on the scenery,
on the background of the apartment with its furniture, and on the glimpse of
landscape; golden ground represents the atmosphere, and the colouring is
brilliant and clear.
In the Chapel of St. Maurice at Nuremberg, there is a small painting on
which the date 1492 seems to stand after the name " Hans Holbon." The last
figure of the date is not quite distinct. It represents the enthroned Virgin
and Child, surrounded by two angels who are offering flowers to them.
Gothic architecture forms the background, and rich Gothic rails enclose the
whole, leaving spaces at the corners for two coats of arms. This work
stands unique among all the productions of Holbein, who never a^ain
exhibits such delicate miniature-like execution and such admirable tender
ness of perfection.
Among the Italian painters we perceive the greater the scope afforded them,
the greater the height of their art. When they have to master mighty wall-
spaces, their mind and their ability are most revealed. Amono- the northern
artists, however, the opposite state of things prevails. In works of oreat
extent, whether wall-paintings or panel-paintings, the mechanical character
universally appears. Everything is designed for purely decorative effect; the
treatment is superficial ; the execution is consigned to assistants, sometimes in
great part, and often even entirely. There are only rare occasions on which
the master exerts all the artistic love which he possesses, with the truest
devotion, and achieves his utmost entirely with his own hand. This happens
here and there, when some prince or noble, or some rich and art-loving citizen,
orders a small jewel of painting, not generally as an object of °reli<rious

SCENES FROM THE LIFE OF THE VIRGIN.

devotion, but for some domestic apartment and for his own personal gratifica
tion. Such an order never passes beyond the most moderate proportions ; the
smaller it may be, the more perfect. Carefully then, and with his own hand,
the master prepares the panel ; he selects the most beautiful and brilliant
colouring, the most costly ultramarine, the purest gold. No other hand may
touch it ; he covers it with one delicate tint after another, and expends so
much power upon it, that, as Diirer once expressed it, he could have made a
whole heap of " gmeine gemahl " (common paintings) in the time. Here he
rests from all the mechanical productions which circumstances have rendered
necessary. Such a jewel is this picture of Holbein's. It is executed in the
same manner as the paintings of the Van Eyck school, and the influence of
this school is unmistakeable in the excellent outline of the figures, the delicate
tint of the colouring, and the well-arranged drapery. Unfortunately the heads
have somewhat suffered. Although Holbein was never himself in the Nether
lands, as we have no trace of such a journey, still the sight of Flemish works
may have been possible to him in his own home, and he may have learned
something of Netherland art and manner of conception from Fritz Herlen, who
resided at Nordhngen, not far from him.
To the year 1493 belong two large altar panels painted on both sides,
formerly part of an altar in the Imperial Abbey of Weingarten in Swabia ;
they only came to light a few years ago, and now divided and restored by
Herr Eigner, the well-known keeper of the Augsburg Gallery, they adorn four
altars in the Cathedral of Augsburg.
The whole work was in all probability an altar to the Virgin, for the four
paintings refer to the history of our Lady.1 Outside, Joachim's Sacrifice and
the Virgin's Birth are represented ; and inside, her own and her Son's presenta
tion in the Temple. Probably the centre of the shrine was filled with carved
work. Whoever is acquainted with the earlier German engravings, will find
nothing new in the composition of tliese four pictures, for some similar ones
occur in a series from the life of the Virgin, engraved by Israel von Meckenen
(Bartsch, Nos. 30 — 41). But we must not gather from this fact that Holbein
had borrowed from these. Israel von Meckenen, the goldsmith of Bocholt,
who died in 1503, was not an artist of any invention, but he occupied himself
principally in copying the works of all the masters possible, among them
sheets of Diirer's and Schongauer's. Nevertheless it may be perceived that
many differences occur. The principal features are, however, i'or the most part
faithfully retained, only that the imitator cannot follow the master in that
which was his best characteristic, but frequently changes the characters and
generally weakens them. Many of his additions are a little clumsy. Thus in
the first painting there is a pretty little white dog ; to this the engraver has
1 Taken from the Apocryphal "Evangelium de Nativitate S. Marife," formerly ascribed to
St. Matthew..

46 CHANGES IN HOLBEIN'S ARTISTIC PROGRESS.
added a second, which, sitting on its hind legs, is handing a bone to its com
panion with its left fore foot. It deserves notice that Israel von Meckenen's
series consist of twelve sheets ; from this we infer that the Weingarten altar
was a grand work with still more folding panels, which have perhaps perished
and perhaps may yet come to light. If this were not the case, still Holbein's
drawings form the basis of the entire series of engravings, for unmistakably
one common mind pervades the whole.
The four pictures generally exhibit Flemish influence ; not merely in the
pure and thorough treatment of the separate parts, but in the entire conception
itself, in the holy dignify and quiet peaceful ease which are the distinguishing
characteristics. Costume and scenery are treated with greater exactness and
study than was elsewhere the custom at that time in Germany. The fall of
the drapery is full of style and justness, and is not spoilt by the tastelessness
of most of the Germans of the period. Everywhere the male heads have a
portrait-like character, and the female exhibit the most charming loveliness.
The colouring is warm and luminous, a fact upon which I can all the more
certainly decide, as I saw the pictures previous to their restoration. An
especial excellence appears in the noble demeanour, which is never lost sight
of, even when a genre-like style is introduced, while in the painter's later
pictures, it is just this whieh is only too often missing.
Indeed, if we compare with these paintings most of the subsequent
works of this artist, we can but perceive in them rather a step backwards
than an advance. It is true, this is only apparently the case, for while
Holbein in these paintings is still strongly under Flemish influence, we see
him appear far more independently in his subsequent works. It is easy to
imagine that in these he at first betrays a certain hesitation before he is able
to stand freely and securely on his own footing. The next certain paintings
by him belong to the year 1499. In them we see a more idealistic tendency
revived, a tendency which once lay deeply rooted in the German nature, and
which unceasingly appears in Schongauer's works. -It is especially to be seen
in the Basilica S. Maria Maggiore, a painting which we have already fully dis
cussed, but which was executed at this time. The artist soon returns to the real
istic style, and this all the more decidedly, but he does so in a manner wholly
different to that which he had adopted hitherto. His dependence on Flemish
art was once for all overcome. His feeling for reality was not satisfied with
true portrait-like conception. There is no longer any trace in his works of
that demure and noble bearing, that quiet, kindly, and bourgeois character,
which marks the pupils of Van Eyck. More and more we find evidences of
a more active imagination, a more substantial life, and a striving after the
representation of actual action. But even still there appear unceasingly in
his works, and this in a manner never to be found among the Flemish

THE PAINTER ABSENT FROM HOME.

painters, personages of an ideal character, such, for instance, especially, as his
figures of Christ and the Virgin, figures of sublime beauty and undimmed
purity of feeling, and which produce a kind of strange surprise, coming as
they do amid all the roughness and bold action of his representations. In
short, the changes which the German art of the fifteenth century had to ex
perience, Holbein the father experienced also in himself.
In 1499, a painting in the Augsburg Gallery was also executed ; it corre
sponds in a great measure with the Basilica S. Maria Maggiore, but it is far
inferior, and the execution is careless. We can scarcely be astonished at this,
as from the annals of the monastery of St. Catherine we learn that the painter
received only 26 gulden for it. From these, and from the inscriptions on the
panel itself, we see that the work was ordered by the nun Walburg Vetter, as
an epitaph for herself and her two deceased sisters Veronica and Christina,
who had lived in the convent with her for sixty years. Corresponding with the
vaulting of the cloister, it has the same form of broad pointed arch as all the
basilica pictures : the arched top of the painting contains the Crowning of the
Virgin, and beneath, in two rows, there are six tolerably rough scenes from the
Passion, in which Pilate with his red attire and pointed cap plays a feeble
part, and three repulsive executioners recur again and again. Below, in the
corner, the three donators of the picture are kneeling, and teUing their beads.
The original sketch of the painting is in the Basle Museum.
Holbein seems at this time to have quitted his native city for some time,
and to have pursued his art in other places. While he appears in the rate
books every year between 1494 and 1499, he is not mentioned in them in
1500 and 1501. He may have left even at the end of 1499; the first trace
which we find of him elsewhere, belongs to this year and points to no great
distance, namely, to Uim. In the Augsburg archives there is a document
dated "Mittwoch vor Sannt Mattinstag" (Wednesday before St. Martin's
day, the 6th November), 1499, in which there is mention made of " Hannsen
Holbain dem Mailer, jetzo Burger zu Uim." (H. H. the painter, now citizen
of Uim.)1 It is the contract of a purchase of an Augsburg house, from the
proceeds of which Holbein received interest. As the artist had obtained
even the right of citizenship in Uim, he seems to have prepared for a longer
residence in this city. But there are no traces of his artistic works there.
Soon after, in the year 1501, he was occupied for Frankfort-on-the-Maine
in painting an altar for the Dominican convent there. So far as we can judge
at the present day, with our utter lack of record, our master was at that
time not sufficiently famous in Germany to make it probable that an order
from Frankfort was despatched to his atelier in his native city. It is far
more probable that he received and executed the work at the place for which
1 Communicated by Prof. Hassler in the " Verhandlungen des Vereius fiir Kunst und
Alterthum in Uliu und Oberschwaben," ix. x. 1855, p. 79.

48 ALTAR FOR THE DOMINICAN CONVENT IN FRANKFORT.
it was intended. The convent was secularized at the beginning of the present
century, and the paintings, which experienced various fortunes, are now for
the most part again in Frankfort, but in different places. Two large panels,
originally forming the back of the central shrine, are in the town library,
though not publicly exhibited. The first contains the genealogy of Christ in
two divisions; the second, similarly arranged, contains the genealogy of the
Dominicans, beginning with St. Dominicus ; the Holy Virgin is presenting
the Saint with the scapulary. On the first panel there is a Latin inscription,
stating that the work was executed by Hans Hollbayn of Augsburg, at the
order of the Superior of the Dominican convent, T. W., in the year 1501.
Of eight paintings containing scenes from the Passion of our Lord, formerly
the front and back sides of the folding panels, which were once regarded
as lost, seven are now to be found in the gallery of the Stiidel Museum. The
original drawings, which accurately accord with them, are to be found in the
Basle Museum, a fact discovered by their former possessor, Dr. Schafer
of Darmstadt. The whole work was a figurative representation of Passion plays, for the'
paintings adhered entirely both in subject and arrangement to the religious
dramas and mysteries. J And thus the separate representations do not so
much depict real actions as scenes from a drama, in the beautiful but
burlesquely exaggerated manner that custom and popular taste demanded.
It was a custom of the period, which the artist could not avoid, but in
many respects an independent observation of life already betrayed itself,
and a fine and noble feeling appears in the delineation of sacred personages.
Holbein's figures of Christ approach Schongauer's pictures of the Saviour in
their air of gentleness and noble mildness, but they surpass them in intellec
tual grandeur.
The foUowing year, 1502, takes us again to the artist's native city, and is
especially rich in interest. The most extensive works remaining from it, are
sixteen pictures in the Munich Pinakothek, the divided front and two back sides
of two folding-doors of a great altar-piece from the monastery of Kaisheim (or
Kaisersheim) at Donauworth. The buildings of this famous Imperial abbey,
the first settlement of the order of Citeaux in the diocese of Au^sbur^-, are
now transformed into a penitentiary ; in old times, however, the monastery
was famed in the first place for its piety, and in the second for the splendour
that reigned in it. Much was expended on the endowment of the orand
Gothic church, especially in the time of the Abbe" Georg Kastner from 1490
to 1509. We read respecting him in the old MS. chronicle of the monastery,2
the following passage: "The Abbe Georg having especial pleasure in building,
1 See Mittheilungen der K. K. Central Commission. Wien, 1860.
2 See Steichele's Eeschreibuag des Bisthums Augsburg, vol. ii. p. 667.

ALTAR OF KAISHEIM. 49
particularly in ornamenting the house of God, ordered in the year MCCCCCII.
a costly altar-piece to be made, which was done by three masters of Augsburg,
who were the best masters far and near, the joiner Adolf Kastner of Kaisheim,
the sculptor maister Gregori, and the painter Hans Holpain. These panels
cost much money." The neglect of later times allowed these old works of art
to be removed and replaced by modern tawdry. Holbein's pictures were
selected in the year 1671 by the Duchess of Neuburg as a birthday pleasure
for her husband, Duke Wilhelm. Thus they came into the possession of the
Bavarian family.
This altar is not merely a passion-play represented in pictures like the
Frankfort altar. There are also religious dramas of another kind : Christmas
plays, with the history of the childhood of Christ ; dramas, the heroes of
which were various saints ; and Advent plays, with the representation of the
Last Judgment. Just as these pieces were performed at suitable times, the
altar also was often constructed to meet the necessities of the various sections
of the ecclesiastical year. The innermost part often contained the life of the
Virgin, or the history of the childhood of our Lord ; the outer sides of the
folding panels represented scenes from the Passion; and the back of the
shrine constantly portrayed the Last Judgment. An arrangement of a
similar kind is to be found here. In the inner pictures, which begin with the
Virgin's offering in the Temple and end with her death, we find the rich
Gothic ornaments which enclose the panels, executed in gold ; and in the
outer sides which contain scenes from the Passion, sandstone colour is used
in the ornaments. The whole treatment shows the same differences ; in the
outer sides, the hand of the master has done little or nothing ; mechanical
production, mere journeyman work, which we usually find in old German
ateliers, here predominates. The prayer on the Mount of Olives is the most
tolerable, and at any rate is harmonious in its colouring. Some genre-like
additions are perhaps too simple. While the band of watchmen are pressing
and creeping through the gates,1 in order to be at hand more quickly, one
of them scrambles under the hedge, and another over it. In the Betrayal,
the combination of incidents is not entirely happily conceived: Judas is
kissing, Peter is striking, and Christ is on the point of healing the ear
which Peter has yet to cut off. Christ before Caiaphas, the Scourging and the
Crowning with Thorns, are aU very rough ; and in the last the unpleasing effect
is increased by the confusion of the arrangement. If the figure of Christ is
feeble throughout, in the Ecce Homo it is truly miserable. In the Bearing of
the Cross, an extremely tasteless composition is added to all that is elsewhere
bad. The procession is advancing from the background: a horrible execu
tioner's myrmidon takes the lead; a small boy is throwing stones at the
1 Three panels are authenticated by the name or monogram of the master.
E

50 ALTAR OF KAI SHE IM.
Saviour. Whatever of caricature was exhibited in Schongauer's pictures, is
here surpassed, and is still lower and more disgusting than with him. But
let us not fear to look closely into such pictures ; let us rightly understand the
tastelessness and distortion of feeling which prevailed even in the ateliers of
so talented an artist, and then we shall rightly conceive the greatness of the
younger Hans Holbein, who was alone able to rise above such errors ! The
last picture of the series, the Resurrection of Christ, ranks entirely with the
others, from the weakness and feebleness of the principal figure. This series
of scenes from the Passion is not to be compared with those painted for
Frankfort. What a difference, on the other hand, is at once seen in the first picture of
the interior, the Presentation of the Young Virgin in the Temple of the Lord,
a magnificent Gothic buUding! What excellent portrait-like figures are
Joachim and Anna 1 What a chUd-like grace lies in the three young girls
who are standing behind them! The whole conception is sustained and
severe. How charming is the Virgin's head in the Annunciation, a scene
represented in an apartment extremely happily designed ! In the Visitation,
the attitude of the two women may not suit the taste of the present day ; in
the painter's time, no harm was seen in it. The architecture, with the
columned portal, at which they both meet, is executed with especial care.
The Birth of Christ, and the Presentation in the Temple, are both beautiful
compositions ; in the latter, the high priest in his splendid dress, with his
fine-bearded head, the pretty female faces in the train, and lastly, the lovely
Infant Christ, show the master from his best side. The same excellence,
combined with lively and vigorous effect of colour, distinguishes the Circum
cision, with its life-like portrait of the donator, the Abbe" Georg; also the
Adoration of the Kings, in which the kneeling old man is kissing so touchingly
the little hand of the Child ; and lastly, the Death of the Holy Virgin. This
is the most beautiful piece of the whole, far surpassing the representation of
the same subject at Basle, in the tenderness of the Madonna, and in the
expression of pain in the apostles. These are manifestly heads almost entirely
drawn from life. Several heads appear in the sketch-book of the elder Hans
Holbein, at Basle, authenticated by the sketch of a Latin inscription for a
painting, which bears the artist's name, and the date 1502. Besides portrait
studies, there are also in it some studies of animals, figures, and feet • on
Plate 12 there is a naked old man embracing a girl; and on Plate 19 the
last, there is a charming representation of children playing, bathino-,' and
romping, cleverly executed in metallic pencil.
Nine panels representing the martyrdom of the apostles, now scattered in
different Bavarian galleries, in Schleissheim, in the Moritzkapelle, and in the
citadel of Nuremberg, must have also come from Kaisheim. The colouring is
vigorous, the action lively and strong, the heads fuU of expression, but often

THE MONASTERY OF ST. CATHERINE. 51
very rude. They belong to a somewhat later period, and were probably
painted for the most part by the hands of pupils.
According to time, some pictures in Augsburg now immediately follow.
They were executed for the monastery of St. Catherine, a place of great
importance in the history of Augsburg art, as it ordered numerous works of
the first artists of the city, and now possesses within its walls the royal
picture gallery. A few historical notices respecting this monastery may
therefore not be out of place here.1 It was probably founded not long
before 1239, as in this year King Konrad IV. took the nuns and their
possessions under his special protection. In 1251, the unsafe position of
the establishment outside the Goppinger and Rothen Thor induced Bishop
Hartmann to build a convent for them in the city itself, in the parish of
St. Maurice. The nuns originally belonged to no distinct order, and led a
quiet religious life without adhering to definite rules ; subsequently, they
belonged to the rule of St. Augustine. Their superior was the prioress whom
they had received permission from the Pope to select. Daughters of the
richest and noblest families were found among them. Their rules were not
strict until the year 1440 : and when at that time the bishop endeavoured to
enforce certain restrictions, the nuns resisted them so strongly that he could
only do so by the help of the magistrate, who ordered high walls to be raised
around them. Many, however, preferred to escape, for they did not like " to
be buried alive." Subsequently, also, the old love of liberty was roused in the
convent, and the Augsburg chronicles record a pretty story respecting it. In
the year 1516, when the convent was on the point of being buUt anew, the
nuns fell into dispute with the builders appointed by the town council.
They wished to place merely a flat roof to the church, but this was not
enouo-h for the rich nuns, who urged for a vaulted roof. When the authorities
endeavoured to persuade them, their female voices were not sufficient, and they
determined to produce eounter-evidence. All together they proceeded at two
o'clock in tbe night from their convent to the Dominican church, to try
whether the echo in the vaulted choir impeded them, and there they chanted
their horary prayers in sueh a manner that the whole city assembled to hear
the unusual singing. The punishment was subsequently not omitted, but they
accomphshed their desire.
Until the sixteenth century they were entirely free in their administration ;
until 1619 they were bound by no strict vows of poverty, and thus it was
possible that even some among them could order at their own expense works
of art for the ornament of their convent. Especially since the year 1496,
when it was decreed to pull down the old convent and erect a new one, the
plan of which was made by the famous architect Burkhardt Engelberg, a noble
i See MS. History of the Monastery of St. Catherine, by Placidus Braun, lent me by
Provost Steichele. Welsersche Chronik. K 2

52 THE WALTHER PAINTING.

emulation began in the presentation of paintings. The prioress at that time
was Anna Walther, whose administration is recorded as brilhant. The bene
ficence of her opulent family towards the convent is famed, and an artistic
monument of it is preserved to us in a panel for the cloisters, which the
honourable Ulrich Walther, father of the Prioress Anna and of a nun named
Maria, who was sextoness at the time, ordered to be made "to the praise
of God and to the honour of his two daughters." It is a work of Hans
Holbein the elder, bearing the date of the year 1502, and, according to the
annals, the expenses amounted to 54 gulden and 30 kreuzers.
Ulrich Walther was a man well known and respected in his native city.
When he died in 1505, at the age of 86, the chronicle says that he left behind
him his wife, with whom he had been united for 60 years, and 133 living
children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. A part of this numerous
famUy is here depicted. Had the painter had to represent all, a picture three
times the size would not have been sufficient. They are all depicted as
kneeling at the bottom of the broad panel, which, of similar form as the last,
is divided into a central and two side compartments.
To the left, at the head of the men, the aged donator himself appears, with
grey hair, fur and rosary, without a beard, and with a dignified, intelligent,
and somewhat keen countenance ; four pairs are behind him, men, youths, and
boys. On the opposite side, to the right, are the women ; precedence has been
given, even by the mother, Barbara Riedler, to her reverend daughters the
prioress and the sextoness ; four pairs of young and pretty girls, and two
female attendants, are kneeling behind them. The lower part of the central
compartment is filled between these portraits of the donator's family with the
arms and an inscription. These portraits, among which we may especiaUy dis
tinguish those of the lovely boys and of the naive young girls, are the most
beautiful in the whole painting. All are praying ; not merely externally with
folded hands and bended knees — their hearts are truly engaged in prayer ; but
the expression of devotion varies in each according to age, position, and sex.
He who understood how to portray in so small a compass, and with so
much power and significance, these numerous portraits, certainly deserved
to be the father of the greatest German portrait painter.
The Transfiguration of Christ forms the subject of the central compartment.
The figure of the Saviour, who is standing on the mount, is insignificant, but
noble and mild. A glory radiates behind him ; his raiment is white as the
light; and those also who are transfigured with him, namely, Moses and Elias,
are attired in bright and luminous garments. The three apostles are less suc
cessful. The effect of the surprise at the transfiguration of their Master is not
skilfully produced ; it is life-like, it is true, but distorted to caricature. In St.
James, who is shading his eye with his hand, and especially in St. Peter, who
is resting with his left arm upon his knee and his right arm upraised, the

THE BASILICA OF ST. PAUL. 53
movements are throughout constrained, the fluttering drapery is far from
graceful, the countenances are life-like, but ugly in the form of nose and chin.
The head, nevertheless, of the Apostle St. John is lovely, and is only rendered
less so by the receding chin : he is looking down, and his right hand is
dreamily grasping his long fair hair. The healing of a possessed boy, a
speaking incident, is represented on the right side, and the feeding of the
four thousand on the left : here especially the variety of physiognomy is
surprising. The background here is rocky; in the other sections the back
ground is a pleasing landscape, with glimpses of a city and distant mountains.
The master's principal work is the Basilica of St. Paul in the Augsburg
Gallery, which accords with the last-mentioned works of 1502, though it is far
superior to them. In compendiums of art-history, the year 1504 is generally
mentioned as that in which the picture was executed; it has been even
alleged that it bears this date. This is untrue, and the old frame, on which
the inscription of the name is stated by Sandrart to have stood, has been long
done away with. That the picture was executed at that time is possible, but
not certain. The monastery annals only state that Veronica Welser ordered
two panels, one of the Crucifixion, and the other of St. Paul. The former, a
work of Hans Burgkmair, now, at any rate, bears the date of 1504.
Veronica Welser, daughter of the burgomaster Bartholomaus Welser, was
certainly one of the most zealous of the many friends of art in the convent.
She possessed also the means of pursuing her inclination. At her entrance,
she brought to the convent the estate of Waltershofen and two farms. She
was secretary until the year 1503 ; at that time, after the resignation of
Anna Walther, she was chosen prioress and held the office until 1530.
At the period of the building of the convent she especiaUy distinguished
herself; she gave 200 gulden to it, and ordered many pictures. At a
subsequent period the younger Hans Holbein also painted at her order.
The Basilica of St. Paul is in the form of a broad pointed arch, as we have
already heard. It is divided into a central and two side compartments;
golden Gothic ornaments in the latest degenerate taste frame the separate
parts. The upper arched section of the central division contains the Mocking
of the Saviour. The great series of events from the life of St. Paul begin on
the left side, and proceed onwards towards the right, for the most part in
chronological order.
Holbein the father here exhibits extraordinary skill in the combina
tion of so great a series of separate scenes in the same picture. The painter
has felt all the poetry which the narrative possesses. Most of all, however,
our interest is excited by a group which is introduced at the Baptism of St.
Paul. It consists of a man with two boys, in whom tradition, and this
tradition is confirmed by authentic portraits, recognizes the painter and his

&

54

THE BASILICA OF ST. PA UL.

two sons.

The father, dressed in a long fur coat, has long brown hair and
a long beard, falling down under the
chin, while the upper lip is free from
hair; in expression he is simple and
honest and charmingly modest. Just so,
though somewhat older, we find him in
a drawing by his son dated 1575, in
which his name appears ; it is in the
possession of the Duke d'Aumale, and
Sandrart in his " Teutsche Akademie "
has published a very characterless en
graving of it with the addition of
a moustache. An artist alone could
have introduced himself in so fantastic
a manner, an example of which we find
also in Albert Diirer's portrait of the
year 1500, in Munich. Other respect
able citizens wore either long hair and
smooth chin after the fashion of the fif
teenth century, or a full beard and short
hair after the fashion of the sixteenth
century. The two boys also accord with
the heads of Hans and Ambrosius in
the Berlin Museum ; the younger espe
cially, our Hans, has just the same
couutenance as the boy of fourteen in
the Berlin drawing. In the painting,
he cannot at the most be more than
eight or nine years old; he is robust
and healthy, with a round face, looking
true-hearted round him, with his hand
on his breast. Ambrosius, or " Prosy,"
the taller boy, dressed like his brother
in a grey smock, clumsy shoes and
gaiters, pen-case and ink-bottle, all of
which mark him as a schoolboy, is
holding him with his left hand, and
placing his right hand on his shoulder.
But the father has already perceived
from which of the two he may expect
the most : the younger is his whole
upon his head and is pointing to him

HOLBEIN, THE FATHER, WITH HIS TWO YOUNGEST
sons. (From the Basilica of St. Paul, in the
Augsburg Gallery.)
delight; he is placing his hand

ACCOUNTS OF THE CHURCH OF ST. MAURICE.

oo

significantly, as if he would prophesy to us even now what is one day to
become of the boy. A slender woman in a lace Burgundian cap, who is
standing opposite, has so much similarity with Ambrosius, that we may
perhaps regard her as the mother. That an artist should introduce himself
in such a manner in his painting, is not unusual in Northern art. In the
altar at Ghent, we see the heads of the brothers Van Eyck ; Peter Vischer
placed himself on the base of his tomb of St. Sebald ; Meister PUgram is
looking from his pulpit in St. Stephen's at Vienna, as from a window. Adam
Krafft has represented the Tabernacle of St. Lawrence as borne by himself
and his companions. Albert Diirer appears in all his most famous pictures,
the " Rosenkranzfest," the " Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand," the " Adoration
of the Trinity," either alone or with his friend Pirkheimer. Hans Holbein
the elder was well entitled to a similar feeling of self-confidence. He had
accomplished his masterpiece in this painting. Important progress is evident
also as regards form, although the nude parts are still often poor, and the feet
especially are often weak. Great improvement is exhibited in the fall of
the drapery, which, without paltry trifling, is arranged grandly and naturally.
Above aU, however, the painting is distinguished by the power, life, and
clearness of the colouring in all parts, in the figures as well as in the land
scape, and by the uniform care pervading the execution, a care combined
with freedom.
Not long after, the artist was frequently occupied for the St. Moritz Kirche
in Augsburg. The works exist indeed no longer, but authentic records
respecting them are preserved in the accounts of the church administration.
They seem to refer especiaUy to the panels of two large altars, the first of
which was executed in the years 1506 and 1507. On the 28th October, 1506,
the agreement was concluded, and 10 gulden were paid to " Maister Hansen
Holpain," upon 100 gulden pledged to him for his four altar-panels. But he
receives subsequently various small advances of the sum fixed, which he
obtains at his urgent request and complaint. Even from the warder's wife
he once borrowed 3 gulden, which does not give us a very favourable idea of
his worldly position. Smaller works appear incidentally. At one time he
receives 32 gulden, at another time 40 gulden " upon one account." For the
panels of a second altar they agree on the 16th March, 1508, for the sum of
325 gulden ; a high price, showing that the work was a very large one, and at
the same time testifying that the master was held in tolerable repute. Yet he
does not receive the whole sum; 74 gulden were paid to Meister Thoman
Freihamer, " so man jm schuldig ist gewesen von Hans Holpain wegen " (the
same being due to him on Hans Holbein's account). The wife of the painter
however received 5 gulden over and above the fixed price, " Zu Leikoff,"1
1 Leikauf is really earnest-rnonej". Cf. the municipal order against Leikauf money in
Birlinaer's " Schwabisch-Augsburgischem Worterbuch," p. 311. " Und dieweil das Leykauf-

56 VARIOUS WORKS.

and his son, probably Ambrosius, received a gulden. The payment of such
gratuities to the wives and assistants of painters was usual at that time.
Even Albert Diirer's housewife was not ashamed of demanding drinking-
money from the merchant Jacob HeUer, for whom he had painted an
altar-piece. Regarding other works of Hans Holbein the father, it is difficult to decide
the date, yet they probably belong to a later epoch. We may mention a
smaU altar in the Augsburg Gallery, proceeding from Kaisheim, in the centre
of which is the Crucifixion, and on the side panels the Descent from the Cross
and the Entombment. This latter scene is the most important. In the body
of Christ the adherence to nature is almost too great, but the psychological
element, especially in our Lord's mother, appears most touchingly, and at the
same time there is much softness and beauty in the expression. The name of
the artist is inscribed on Mary Magdalene's box of ointment. — An Entomb
ment in the Gallery at Darmstadt, attributed without reason to Sigmund
Holbein, accords entirely with this painting.
Herr Ahorner, of Augsburg, possesses a Bearing of the Cross, powerfully
executed, in which, as is often the case with the artist, we find on one side
an extraordinary mixture of coarseness and even rudeness, and on the
other a supernatural softness. Among the ideal figures, Veronica with the
handkerchief is especially beautiful. The National Museum at Munich pos
sesses a pleasing painting of the Visitation of the Virgin, bright in colouring,
and marked with the monogram " H." A picture of the same subject and
marked in the same manner is in the Hospital church at Dinkelscherben, near
Augsburg, but the author has not seen it. Excellent works, painted indeed
merely in grey and not uninjured, are two altar-panels in the Gallery of the
Stater at Prague. On the outer sides there are four saints, three-quarter size
and entire figures : St. Thomas and St. Augustine, and at their feet, in accord
ance with the legend, a pretty sturdy boy who is pouring water from a scoop,
and St. Ambrosius and St. Margaretha, richly dressed, with the dragon at her
feet. The two bishops, on the edge of whose garments the artist's name is
inscribed, are genuine priestly figures, similar to many heads in the Basilica
of St. Paul. On the inner sides, which are divided in the middle, three saints
occupy the upper compartment, namely, St. WUibald, St. Lucia, and St. Katha
rina in the one, and St. Barbara, St. Apollonia, and St. Rochus in the other.
Below is the favourite subject of the painter, namely, the Death of the Virc-in,
and a scene stiU unexplained. A man and a woman are placing a large tree
upon a trestle, and aside from this group kneels a woman who with fervent
prayer is rescuing the soul of a king, a smaU naked, crowned figure, from the
trinken fiir hochnachteilig und schadlich erfunden wird, sol hinf iiran kain Leykauf urn ainicherlei
Waar oder kauf getrunken werden aber einen ziemlichen Leikauf mit Geld zu geben und zu
nemen sol hiemit unverbotfen sein " (der Stadt Beruf. 1541).

ALTAR-PANEL AT OBERSCHONEFELD. 57
flames of purgatory. The landscape in the background is unusually pleasing; it
is a city rich with towers and surrounded by hills. The architectural frame
work, between which the figures of the outsides stand, is entirely late Gothic
in spite of the circular arch ; it is ornamented most naturaUy with bramble-
berries and grapes. The separate figures of the interior, however, stand
between niches with spiral columns and cherubim heads in the pendentives ;
an evidence of the dawn of the Renaissance.
Similar characteristics we also find in two altar-panels from the monastery
of Oberschonefeld, which contain on the inner sides, richly ornamented and
painted with gold, four scenes from the history of the Virgin ; namely, the
Annunciation, the Birth of Christ, the Death, and the Crowning of the Virgin.
In the last scene, the sketch of which is to be found at Basle, we see in the
throne on which God the Father and Christ are seated, evident marks of the
new style, while the stone-coloured framework of the outer sides, which
portray the prayer on the Mount of Olives, is more allied to the Gothic. The
execution of these pictures may partially belong to the hand of a pupil, who
works ably, but is somewhat harder in his style and sharper in his outline.
On the whole, it must strike everyone that the productions which can be
with certainty ascribed to the artist's later period, are not numerous. We
must impute this rather to the fact that few of his works have been preserved,
than to a decrease in his activity. The iconoclastic rage which subsequently
plundered many of Augsburg's most beautiful churches may also have de
stroyed paintings of the older Holbein. The very works of this later epoch,
in which he was most famous and in which he was employed in painting for
the finest churches of his native city, may have been just those affected by it.
His works for St. Moritz, we know only through the notices of them. Of
works for St. Ulrich, the largest church in the city, which especially suffered
under the iconoclastic storm, we possess no record, and yet it is more than
probable that the elder Holbein worked also for this rich establishment, the
monks of which, as we shall presently see, were so often delineated by his
voungest son. Of all his works that are preserved, with the exception of that
executed for the monastery of St. Catherine, scarcely one can be pointed out as
having been painted for an Augsburg church.
But far richer activity than that shown in the paintings preserved, is evi
denced in the sketches of the elder Holbein, the greatest coUection of which
is to be found in the Basle Museum. In the inventory of the Amerbach
coUection (Cf. Chap. XII.), which formed its basis, there appear, besides two
" Biichleen mehsteil mit stifzen " {i.e. two little books containing for the most
part sketches), fifty-six drawings ; almost as many can be authenticated with
certainty at the present day, and they are for the most part marked with
the letter " H." We find there the sketches for many well-known paintings,
and, besides numerous sheets with the figures of different saints, two large

SKETCH-BOOK.

series of Passion scenes, one of which contains the sketch for the Frankfort
pictures, before mentioned. Among the most beautiful drawings there are two
sheets of Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the WeU, with a landscape dis
tance, a large Adoration of the Kings, also on two sheets, and a sketch for an
altar-panel representing the Death of the Virgin, and dated 1508. Two studies
are in the possession of Mr. Robinson in London. At Frankfort-on-the-Maine
and at Leipzig there are some excessively beautiful studies for heads, and also
some sketches for two altar-panels, containing a representation of all the
saints according to their due rank, martyrs, apostles, popes, bishops and eccle
siastics, kings and princes, patriarchs and prophets, women and maidens. The
central picture was probably an Adoration of the Trinity.
Lastly, however, we know of a couple of portraits, which may be traced
with the greatest probabUity to the elder Holbein, although they are not
marked either with his name or his monogram. There is a painting in
Hampton Court bearing the date 1512, containing the half-length portraits of
a respectable bourgeois couple ; the man, according to the inscription, fifty-two
years old, and the woman thirty-five. He is dressed in a fur coat and fur cap ;
she wears a large white cap. The picture is now regarded as the work of the
younger Hans Holbein, and is aUeged to be the portrait of his parents. The
beardless and somewhat pedantic-looking man does not bear the slightest
similarity with the authentic portraits of Hans Holbein the father,1 and the
treatment does not accord with the works of Holbein the son. The aUeged
tradition is also only of recent adoption. The picture was in the possession of
Charles I., and is described in the catalogue of his coUection, but without any
mention of the name of Holbein : No. 22.
Item. A picture in a black frame of a German in a furred cap and habit, together with
his wife, in one piece, dressed with muslin (this is an erratum for much linen) about her head
in a landskip, half-figures, less than the life, painted upon the right light. At the margin :
" Brought out of Germany by Sir Hen. Vane, treasurer of the household, and given to the
king ; done by some good German painter."
Nevertheless, the assumption seems to us by no means so utterly removed
from the truth, and at any rate the right family appears to have been hit upon.
The painting is certainly a work of the Swabian school, and possesses a decided
similarity with the works of the elder Holbein, in the simple life-like concep
tion, the thin bright colouring, the whitish lights, and the somewhat feeble
hands, which do not correspond with the excellent heads. The distance with
its villages and mountains, with a castle near the water, with swans and a
bridge, entirely accords with the landscape of the Basilica of St. Paul.
Lastly, the half-length portraits of the Augsburg merchant, Anton Rehm,
knight of the Holy Sepulchre, dressed in fur, with a black hat, and holding in
1 Cf. p. 54.

POSITION AND INFLUENCE OF THE ARTIST. 59

his hand a foreign plant, in the library of St. GaUen, painted in 1522, exhibits
much affinity with the works of the elder Holbein. Here, too, there are very
white Ughts, and a somewhat exact characterization. There is a better re
petition of the same subject in private possession at Augsburg.1 Some
portrait studies, probably the work of the artist, we shall discuss in the next
chapter, when we shall have to speak of similar works by his son.
Hans Holbein the elder may also, in his later period, have been employed
beyond his home. We have authentic information that he painted an altar-
piece for the famous monastery of St. Anthony, at Tesenheim in Alsace, a
place once rich in works of art, and from whose treasures some paintings by
Martin Schongauer, and a grand high altar by Hans Baldung Grien,2 are still
to be found in the Museum at Colmar. The assertion, that the artist in his
later life entirely quitted his home, and repaired with his sons to Basle, is, as
we shall see, groundless. He must have ended his days at Augsburg, for his
name is in the painter's book among those who died in 1524.
We have seen Hans Holbein the father originaUy imbued with Schon
gauer's feeling, and then submitting himself to the Flemish influence, which he
could experience in his native city. He is at first constrained by the forms of
the Upper German art of the fifteenth century, the utter imperfection of which
we have already discussed. But with care and energy, he gradually worked
his way out of it. His great gift of observation, which made him succeed
especiaUy in portraiture, the freshness and livehness of his conception, which
rendered him skilful in the representation of more exciting scenes, his
splendid sense of colour, and his refined taste — all this enabled him to do so.
He was thus ready to meet the demands of his advancing and changeful age,
and he stands forth in his prime as one of Germany's best artists.
Hence his influence is important in the adjacent cities. To follow this out
further would be here too lengthy a task. Traces of this influence are,
however, to be seen throughout Swabia, where at this time none, with the
exception of Zeitblom, left such lasting remains behind them.
Most important, of course, is the influence of the elder Holbein upon his
son. Much of that with which Diirer had yet to struggle, was set aside for
Holbein by his father, whose entire labours aimed at overcoming the earlier
style of art. His heir and successor could at once, at his very first step, enter
upon a soU hitherto untrodden.
1 1864, in the possession of Herr Herberger, keeper of the archives, Augsburg.
2 From an old confusion of names ascribed to Matthias Griinewald. Cf. the paper by the
author " Ein Hauptwerk deutscher Kunst auf franzosischem Boden." Zeitsehrift fiir bildende
Kunst. vol. i. Leipzig, 1866.

CHAPTER IV.
Hans Holbein the younger. — The year of his birth. — The Augsburg inscription. — Opposing
statements. — Portrait of him at Berlin when fourteen years old. — Portrait and age of
Ambrosius Holbein. — Sketch-book of the young Holbein. — His father's share in it. —
Portraits of the artist's family. —The Emperor and his court. — The Fugger family. —
Citizens and artisans. — The monks of St. Ulrich. — Unknown portraits. — Sketches of
another kind.
In England, in the year 1861, from the finding of the wUl of Hans Holbein
'the younger,1 the important discovery was made that he had died in 1543,
j and not, as had been supposed hitherto, in 1554. Shortly afterwards I
endeavoured, myself, to gather together evidences of another year for the
birth of the artist. This is not so important by far as the discovery of
the year of his death, but the concurrence of both statements is interestino-.
If the artist's life ended eleven years earlier than was supposed, it begins
also two or three years earlier, and thus appears, as it were, enclosed in a
new frame.
The confusion, and the lack of authorities, in the history of German art, is
extraordinarily great ; the simplest biographical notices are usually wanting.
The earliest biographies which we possess of German artists, Carel van Man-
der's " Schilderboeck," which appeared in 1604, and Sandrart's "Teutsche
Akademie," which appeared in 1675, have no value as regards historical tra
dition, and are only of the greatest interest when they speak from personal
experience, and notice works of art which they have themselves seen. As
regards Holbein, Mander himself complains of the inadequacy of his infor
mation, and imputes it to the disobligingness of Dr. Iselin of Basle, who
would only, for pecuniary indemnification, procure him better material.
Sandrart has here, as ever, reaUy only copied his predecessor, and added a
few additions. As regards Holbein, we have also the Biography of Charles
Patin, which was issued in the famous Basle edition of Erasmus Laus
Stultitia., of the year 1676. Patin gathered from some Basle authorities,
especially from the notes of Remigius Feesch, but even this source is of
i Becensionen und Mittheilungen iiber bildende Kunst. Wien. 1863. No. 7. Cf. my
dissertation. De Joh. Holbenii origine, adolescentia, primis operibus, Breslau 1863 and the
English paper, " The year of Holbein's birth," in No. V. Fine Arts Quarterly Review.

THE YEAR OF HOLBEIN'S BIRTH. 61

recent date, and Patin does not stand higher than his predecessors as a critical
writer. We know for certain, regarding Holbein, only that which the latest
authentic researches in Switzerland, England, and Germany, have pro
duced. We must, for a time, use the notices of biographers, but none of
them hold their ground, unless otherwise confirmed, so soon as facts rise
against them.
In many points of biographical interest, the earlier writers differ. Mander
and Patin assign Basle as Holbein's birth-place, Sandrart speaks of Augsburo-,
and Matthis Quad, a writer of the same period, — in his works " Memorabilia
Mundi," and " Teutscher Nation Herrlichkeit," in which, in a chapter upon
German artists, he gives a short notice respecting Holbein, — adds : " This
Holbein was born in Griinstadt, in the Palatinate." We know authentically
that the artist went to Basle as an Augsburger, and there received the
freedom of the city ; we know further, that this was held in memory at Basle
even at the end of the sixteenth century. The earliest notices respecting
the painter, recently discovered by Herr His-Heusler, and the records of
Ludwig Iselin, style him expressly Augustanus. In Augsburg, the history
of his family and of his own earliest works can be distinctly traced. There
is no longer any question as to Basle or Griinstadt, as there was at the
end of the last and the beginning of the present century,1 a question based
on no other grounds than that people existed there bearing the same family
name. Respecting the year of Holbein's birth, Mander, and Sandrart who follows
him, give the year 1498 ; Patin opposes this and gives the year 1495, and the
authors referred to in note2 waver between the two statements, while Horace
Walpole* and Hegner4 assert themselves in favour of the former.
No document, no baptismal register in which Holbein's name appears, and
which would remove all doubt, has yet been found. On the other hand,
another authority which may be regarded as equally authentic, has come to
light. In the Augsburg Gallery there are four paintings, formerly the front
and back of two altar-panels, which were once regarded as the work of Hol
bein the father, untU Waagen5 with just discrimination recognized them as
that of the son. On one, which represents the death of St. Catherine, the
Christian and surname of the artist stands on the whole frame, and on a votive
tablet, above a prayer to the saint, is the date 15.12. The former reverse side
1 Seybold, Deutsches Museum, 1778, and Fr. Chr. Matthias, refuted by Hegner.
2 H. H. Fiissli, Allgemeines Kiinstler Lexikon ; Zurich, 1779—1814. J. C. Fiissli,
Geschichte der besten Kiinstler in der Schweitz, 1769. Fiorilla, Geschichte der Zeichnenden
Kiinste in Deutschland, &c, 1815—1820, vol. ii., &c.
3 Anecdotes of Painting in England.
4 Hans Holbein der jiingere ; Berlin, 1827.
6 Kunstwerke und Kiinstler in Deutschland, ii. ; Leipzig, 1845.

62 THE YEAR OF HOLBEIN'S BIRTH.
of the picture, the Holy Child between Anna and the Virgin, was separated,
cleaned and restored in the year 1854, and the foUowing inscription, in a
book lying open on St. Anna's lap, then came to light : " Jussu venerabilis
pieutissimaeque matris Veronicae Welser, H. Holbain Augustanus aetatis
suae xvii." (" By order of the worthy and most pious mother Veronica Welser,
executed by Hans Holbein, of Augsburg, at the age of 17.") If the artist
painted the pictures in 1512, as a youth of 17, he must have been born, as
Patin asserts, about 1495. l
We must, in the first place, have some test as to the genuineness of this
inscription. In spite of an attack1 recently made against it I must maintain
my former conviction of its truth, and this after accurate examination of the
original, and I am glad that this opinion is shared by the first authorities
upon art matters in Germany. Dr. Schnaase has expressed this by letter to
the author, and Dr. I.iibke has expressly undertaken another examination of
the inscription, and has publicly declared himself in favour of its authenticity.2
That the inscription was not apparent until after the picture had been cleaned,
must not surprise us. It does not follow that it was before altogether hidden,
but the writing in the book was regarded as indifferent so long as the
spots were obscure. Doubts have also been raised as to its authenticity from
the fact that it deviates wholly in character from the inscription in the lapi
dary style on the former reverse side, but this is just a proof of its genuineness.
It is in exact imitation of an old manuscript in majuscule characters, and with
larger initials in red, and it is only in manuscripts, and not in lapidary docu
ments, nor in print until subsequently, that the rare form of the majuscule U
appears, a form which no forger would have used. Nothing, however, can be
urged against the wording or purport of the inscription. It is not the single
original Latin inscription, which we find on paintings of the younger Holbein,
and it corresponds with his whole character that he should here so naively
make much of the fact of having painted such a picture at 17 years of age.
The suspicion that the inscription may be a forgery committed at the restora
tion of the picture in order to support Waagen 's supposition that the pictures
were the work of the son and not of the father, is therefore scarcely credible,
because the restorer of the painting could in no wise have completed his task
alone, but must have had the assistance of a scholar weU instructed in the art
of palaeography ; and further because nine years had elapsed since the appear
ance of AVaagen's book and eight years since Passavant3 had written a paper
of a similar purport, before the restoration was executed, and even afterwards
in Augsburg no fuss at all was made about the matter. Herr G. Forster
i H. Grimm, Holbeins Geburtsjahr : kritische Beleuchtung der von den Biographen
Holbeins gefunden Eesultate. Berlin, 1867. Literarisches.
2 Allgemeine Zeitung, Augsburg, 1868, No. 202. Outlines of History of Art. Preface.
3 Kunstblatt, 1846.

THE YEAR OF HOLBEIN'S BIRTH 63

mentioned the inscription incidentally in his " Denkmaler deutscher Kunst,"
without pursuing the subject further. He forebore to investigate the relation
of this statement with regard to the year of Holbein's birth to the other state
ments on the subject, and he preferred to remain true to the former supposition.
When I first examined the matter accurately, eight years had elapsed since
the restoration.
It remains therefore for us to inquire what there is in contradiction to the
statement of this inscription, and how far we may give importance to these
contradictions. We know that the statements of older biographers cannot be
taken as a standard, neither as regards Patin, whose statement accords with
this inscription, nor Mander and Sandrart, who are opposed to it. Mander,
who gives a wrong statement respecting Holbein's birthplace, who has upon
his conscience eleven years respecting the period of his death, and who,
according to his own confession, was unable to obtain any material from
Basle, is himself not quite to be relied on in his statements : " So far as I
have been able to trace " (voor zo verre ik hab sonnen naspeuren) is his own
addition. Sandrart here expressly mentions Mander, a matter he neglects for
the most part, as his authority, and adds a " probably " to his statement.
Carl von Mander was of opinion that this artist was born at Basle, probably
in the year 1498. But Patin also says only " about 1495," giving no authority
for the date, and only adding, " Those who make him three years younger seem
to come less near the truth, as he manifested even in the fourteenth and
fifteenth year of the following century that experience in art, which testifies
to a ripened judgment and practice in these things." He assigns therefore only
internal reasons for his assumption, and it is not perceptible that he possessed
any external ones. The manuscript of Remigius Feesch, his well-known
authority, says nothing on the subject, and quotes as biographers only Mander
and Quad, and the recently discovered earlier notices of Iselin assign no date
for the year of Holbein's birth.
We might therefore regard Patin as the representative of the views pre
vailing in Basle, where, in opposition to Mander's opinion, the artist seems to
have been considered as somewhat older. At any rate, by the historical critic,
the two opposite statements of the writers can only be regarded as indications,
but can in nowise be conclusive. It would be otherwise if we actually knew
the authorities of Mander and Patin.
There are certainly some things which accord with Mander. For instance,
there are the statements on two engravings of a portrait of Holbein's executed
by himself at a later period. Both are half-length pictures of a circular form.
The one engraved by J. Vorstermann has the following inscription on the outer
margin : —
JOANNES HOLBEINVS PICTOR REGIS MAGN-_E BRITTANLE SVI S-ECVLI
CELEBERRIMVS. ANNO 1543. -ETAT. 45.

64 THE YEAR OF HOLBEIN'S BIRTH.
The second, an etching of Wenzel HoUar's, has the following inscribed on
both sides, inside the margin enclosing the head : —
HI
AN° 1543. M. 45.
That these portraits represent the artist himself, is not in the least doubt
ful ; in spite of the difference of years, their accordance with the authentic
pictures of him in his youth is plainly evident. No original of these engra
vings is, however, to be found. In Mander's time there existed two. He thus
speaks respecting Holbein's works in Amsterdam : " At the house of Jaques
Raget, the fine arts amateur, I saw Holbein's portrait, painted by himself very
prettUy and neatly, in miniature, with a small margin round it ; and in the
possession of Bartholomaus Ferreris, I saw a second, about the size of the palm
of my hand, excellently and neatly executed in flesh tints." Sandrart, who
was in Amsterdam some time between 1639 and 1645, presented the amateur
Le Blois, who resided there, with a very artistic portrait of the master painted
in a smaU margin, and this must have been one of these two. Hollar's etching,
executed in the year 1647, was, according to the inscription, taken from an
original in the Arundel CoUection, which is certainly identical with one of the
portraits mentioned by Mander. Vorsterman's engraving is somewhat older
than Hollar's, and evidently is taken from the same original, as Vorsterman
has engraved other paintings of the Arundel Collection. Both engravino-s, in
which the countenance is turned to the right from the spectator, are from the
opposite side to the original, which we learn from a notice of Walpole's, that
Holbein in his portrait in the Arundel Collection holds his brush in his right
hand. In Vorsterman's engraving, who has reversed the matter, he holds it
in his left hand, and Hollar, in order not to fall into a similar inconvenience,
chooses rather to omit the painting-hand. In the great drawino- also in
Florence, evidently the original sketch from which Holbein painted the small
pictures, the face is turned to the left and not to the right as in the
engraving. Many unimportant and subsequent paintings appear, with the same direc
tion as the engraving ; these are consequently copied from the engravino-, and
their inscription possesses no importance. A small miniature painting on
the other hand, in the possession of the Duke of Bucci euch, represents the
artist painting with his right hand, and turning to the left. But this also is
no original, although a good old copy after one ; and besides, the inscription
here, written in gold on a blue ground, is no longer discernible as regards the
last figure of his age.1
1 The author has not seen the picture himself, and therefore he follows Mr. Wornum's
statements in his book (" Some Accounts on the Life and Works of Hans Holbein " p. 82)
also written communications and a drawing from Mr. Scharf. Mr. Wornum mentions other
late and bad copies in the same position.

THE YEAR OF HOLBEIN'S BIRTH. 65

H. H.
AN°. 1543. ETATIS SVE 4. . . .
Lastly, without value, being evidently a modern work, there is an
inscription on a drawing in Florence, which has been greatly retouched and
enlarged all round. IOANNES HOLPENIVS BA-
SILENSIS M : XLV.
SVI IPSIVS EFFICIATOR.
The inscription apparently on Hollar's etching would weigh a good deal
in the balance, if it could be. proved that it was to be found on the original,
and that it could thus have been the authority for Mander's statement with
regard to his birth. But in this case, one would suppose that Mander would
not have expressed himself with such uncertainty on the matter, as he has
done. He also mentions two original copies, which he had himself seen, but
he mentions no inscription on them. The same is the case with Sandrart,
who has even himself given away an original. Had he here found the date
and a statement of the painter's age, he would not have spoken with such
uncertainty respecting the period of his birth, and have referred his authority
expressly to Mander alone. It is only, however, by a notice of Walpole's
that we know that the original bore the date of 1543 ; l there is no mention
of any statement of the painter's age.
Vorsterman's engraving, also, does not show that there has been any
inscription of the painter's age in the picture itself; for as the inscription on
his engraving is only on the outer margin, we are not justified in regarding
anyone else but Vorsterman himself as a guarantee for the age. He may
only have added as regards the age what he knew from Mander's book, which
had appeared long before, and which was thus the general opinion of his time.
Hollar may subsequently have done nothing else than convey what suited
him from the inscription, which in his predecessor's work stood on the
margin, to the picture itself, and have combined it with the genuine date.
The engravers of the seventeenth century had no idea of diplomatic fidelity, as
regards inscriptions. Even Hollar himself boasts of increasing the notations
of originals by his own additions. An example of this is afforded in
Holbein's picture of Dr. Chamber at Vienna.2 Hollar here gives the age
inscribed on the original itself, now in Vienna, and adds besides this the
name of the person represented, which has been placed on the back in ink by
some subsequent possessor, and completes the whole with the words " Holbein
pinxit," which are added like an original inscription, though they entirely
belong to the engraver.
1 " In the Arnndelian Collection," says Richard Symons, " was a head of Holbein, in oil,
by himself, most sweet, dated 1453." 2 Parthey, No. 1372.
F

66 ENGRAVING AT BERLIN.
This is sufficient to demonstrate that so far as our present material goes,
Hollar's and Vorsterman's engravings are not able to disprove the inscription
of the Augsburg picture.
Before, however, the Augsburg inscription came to light, a drawing of the
younger Holbein had been noticed, as likewise affording information respect
ing the year of his birth. We allude to the sheet in the gallery of engravings
at Berlin, a photo-hthograph of which forms the frontispiece of this book. It
was considered to be a picture of Hans Holbein the younger and his father,
until I deciphered the name to the left, and proved that it depicted not the
father, but the brother Ambrosius (Prosy). The age placed above this name
is whoUy effaced ; the number 5, which I imagined I discovered, is not to be
seen on the photo-lithograph at all. The name " Hanns " and the number 14
above the head to the right, and the name of " Holbein " between the two, are
perfectly inteUigible ; the date heading the whole seems to be 1511. From
this, Passavant1 and Ernst Forster2 inferred that the year of his birth must
have been 1497, a year differing from both earlier statements.
Waagen3 expresses himself, on the other hand, more cautiously even in
the year 1845. "If the date on the portrait of the Holbeins is to be read
with certainty as 1511, the year of the younger Holbein's birth would
be decidedly 1496. Unfortunately, however, the second half of the date is
too much effaced for anything certain to be gathered from it."
In the year 1863, I doubted the correct reading of 1511. The two first
figures are perfectly distinct, but the stroke of the third is inclined to the left,
and this I felt could not be 1, and I felt it incumbent upon me to apply here
that fundamental rule of diplomatic science, not to judge according to general
impressions, but to inspect narrowly every separate mark. I started the
question whether another manner of reading were possible, and I believed I
could prove that it was 1509 instead of 1511. The first oblique stroke would
have suited a 7 very well, which was at that time written slopingly, but this
was out of the question for chronological reasons. It suited, however, no
other numeral sign but a 0, and this written in a lozenge-shaped and not in an
oval manner ( () ). This is a Gothic form which appears in lapidary inscrip
tions, and occasionally also in inscriptions on pictures. On the paintino- of
Meister Stephan Lochner, at Darmstadt, there appears, for example, a four in
its old form of half eight, not, however, oval in its upper half (£), but
rhombic (£).
Not only the oblique position of the stroke corresponds with the supposition
of the 0, but the proportionally greater distance between the second and third
numbers seems to imply that something more than 1 stood here. Below the
i Peintre Graveur, vol. iii.
2 Geschichte der Deutschen Kunst, vol. ii.
3 Kunstwerke und Kiinstler in Deutschland, Leipzig, 1845, vol. ii. p. 260, observation.

AGE OF AMBROSIUS.

4th number, however, there is a little mark to be seen, which is drawn under
it, and then upwards. In the original, it is quite distinct, but in the photo-
lithograph it is less perceptible, yet still it does not appear to be accidental.
In this case it can have formed, in combination with the other stroke, no other
figure than a 9. If we read the numbers as 1509, 1495 becomes the year
of Hans' birth, then 14 years old.
This proposed manner of reading the date was partly disputed, and partly
considered possible by those who had seen the original, but was at any rate
regarded as uncertain. This it is indeed, and though it has ever seemed to me
probable, it can in no wise be proved. But even if the reading of it as 1511
be just, it cannot be made to coincide with the inscription of the Augsburg
painting. We should then have to assume that MT. SV.3- XVII. on the
latter intended the year not yet completed, and therefore was not to be read
" at the age of 17," but "in the 17th year of his age," both of which readings
would be possible, and numerous other instances of which may be given. On
the drawing, however, 14 would imply the year already past, but the birth
day in the year 1511 not yet over. Both of these readings would give 1496 as
the year of his birth. Hans Holbein the younger was born in 1495 or 1496 :
— with this fact we must rest satisfied, at least so long as we are witliout
archival records respecting the date.
That one of these two dates, however, is proved by the Augsburg inscrip
tion, must be welcomed as an important result. Waagen imputed to him
those Augsburg altar-panels, although he was obliged to assume that he had
executed theih in his 14th year. Now we know that he was at that time 16
or 17. Holbein's development of mind was thus extraordinarily early, but he
was at least not a wondrous child in the strict sense of the word, as Lucas van
Leyden was ; and if even now we think to possess among the portrait studies,
the works of a boy of 14, yet there is still a great step to be made from such
a striking and acute transcript of nature, as we find in his portraits, to
compositions so studied, and to execution so finished, as that displayed in the
Augsburg panels.
The age of Ambrosius in the Berlin drawing is, as we have seen, almost
effaced. If, however, the second figure, which I believe can still be traced in
the original, is 5, he may indeed have been 15 years old, and thus one year
older than his brother. This accords also with the difference of age, which
seems to exist between the two boys in the Basilica of St. Paul. I was
formerly of opinion that the elder boy in the painting of the father was that
Bruno whose very existence is doubtful, and that Ambrosius in the Berlin
drawing was at least 25 years old. His appearance is indeed older, and hence
before the name was deciphered he was thought to be the father, and not the
brother of the young Hans. But the more familiar I became with the drawing,
the more I became convinced that the older expression was only given by
f 2

68 SKETCH-BOOKS.

some spots on the cheek, which had produced an unintentional shadow,
giving the face a more haggard and emaciated appearance. The similarity
with the boy in the Basilica of St. Paul is perceptible, although not in quite
so striking a manner as it is with Hans.
The drawing in the Berlin Museum belongs to a series of sixty-nine simUar
portrait-studies in metallic pencil, parts of one or several former sketch-books.
Twenty-six sheets of a similar kind, containing other studies besides portraits
all of which have appeared in photographs, are to be found in the cabinet of
engravings at Copenhagen. Here, as in Berlin, the merit of having drawn
attention to these works is due to Baron von Rumohr. This distinguished ama
teur was the first to discover their real author, for hitherto in both places they
had been regarded as sketches by Diirer. Eleven sketches still lie under this
name in Heller's Diirer Gallery in the Bamberg Library. Isolated instances
of the same error also occur at Weimar, Munich, Erlangen, Bernburg, Vienna,
and lastly a whole series are to be found in the Museum at Basle.
Many sheets in this latter collection serve as a basis for our more certain
knowledge of the master, especially those which are the studies of some of
Holbein's undoubted works, such as the sketches of the burgomaster Meier
and his wife, which were painted as half-length pictures in 1516. StiU it is
pretty probable that all these sheets are not to be ascribed to the younger
Holbein alone. In the Basle Museum, we possess drawings by two other
members of the family, by Hans the father and by Ambrosius, — draw
ings in the same style, showing great affinity with his own. Those of Hans
Holbein the elder are usuaUy sharper and harder; those of Ambrosius are
softer and without the sparkling life of the younger brother. Nevertheless it
is often almost impossible to distinguish the different hands from each other,
and we openly confess that we have not in all cases arrived at any distinct
certainty regarding the author, and therefore prefer to discuss them all
generally. Among the sheets at Berlin and Copenhagen, there is a certain group of
studies which appear still harder, sharper, and coarser. These may probably
be regarded as the father's works. Respecting our frontispiece of Ambrosius
and Hans, it is difficult to decide whether it belongs to this group or to others ;
stUl it seems attributable to Hans, the son. The greater number of the
sheets accord perfectly with the indubitable drawing of the latter, and
manifest an almost unexampled freedom and life both in conception and
execution. Holbein, the greatest Northern portrait-painter, appears as such in his
earliest attempts. Masterly in his technical skill, he adds to the accuracy and
delicacy which drawing in metallic pencU entails, a rare power and richness.
He often increases the liveliness of his picture and produces a brilliant

AUGSBURG SKETCH-BOOK. 69

effect by the introduction of white lights and by the use of red chalk.
He adheres to life with wonderful certainty, and observes character in its'
finest touches. There is nothing artificial, nothing formal, no one seems to
know that he is being depicted. His people disdain to cast a glance on the
spectator ; they know not that they are observed. They show themselves in full
unvarnished truth as they are ; and when we see them before us, it is as if we
could now fully understand the age in which they lived. " Ces AUemands du
xvi. siecle," says Biirger,1 " etaient de fameux hommes."
They all belong to the life and doings at that day in Holbein's native city ;
they are all taken down from Augsburg sketch-books. Many a simple citizen
and homely artisan is among them, of whom nothing further is preserved ; but
many also are there whom history knows, or whose names at least recur when
we search the city chronicles or the monastery annals. In a great number,
the names are written at the side, partly indeed by the artist's own hand. A
part of the world in which the painter lived, stands before us in the people
he has depicted. In no gallery of painted portraits could this be the case
to the same extent. It would be rash and unwarrantable to inquire as to
the relations between the represented and the artist. These would soon be
exhausted in the order and its recompense. But these drawings are not
executed like great pictures on order. The young artist places them in his
sketch-book only for his own practice, and for his own study. He has immor
talized their features because they were people of importance in the Imperial
city and thus fascinated attention, or because he met them in personal inter
course, or because their physiognomy struck him. As he saw them, near or
afar, once or frequently, he sketched them, generally in hasty touches and with
quick hand, but always perfectly portrayed to the life. So they stand there
before us as the actors of a drama played long ago; and especially when those
who lived together in the same place and time, and had intercourse with each
other, are now placed side by side, does it seem as though they were animated
anew, and the whole is awakened freshly and distinctly before us, as though
it were to live and to be lived over again.
And from all who appear and pass before us, the mind ever reverts as to
a necessary central point, to the artist himself, who also stands among them.
Let us look fixedly and accurately into the round face of the boy of 14, as it
is preserved on the sketch we discussed above. The smooth hair hangs down
over his brow, and is cut at the top in a straight line. The lips are full ; the
brow projects . considerably over the eyes. According to phrenologists, this
indicates a strongly developed power of observation, and this Holbein cer
tainly evidenced all his life. The countenance cannot be called exactly
beautiful, but it is pleasing and agreeable, because we see in it such a
thoroughly healthful nature ; genuineness, frankness, and infinite repose and
1 Tr.sor d'Art en Angleterre, p. 143.

70

HEAD OF SIGMUND HOLBEIN

serenity lie expressed in every feature. Ambrosius too, at his side, attracts
us with his curly hair and nobly formed mouth, a youth of quick perception.
A second sheet introduces us to another member of our artist's family;
namely, Sigmund Holbein. This is one of the best drawings of the whole
series, excellently executed, with a slight use of red chalk and a few white
lights introduced. His profile head is already well known in the history of

-- •¦• t — ; — "":-'. ¦¦¦-¦¦¦ -. — — •¦¦- ., ¦ ¦¦¦ ¦ ¦ ¦¦ -¦..-; ^ ¦ •¦

ph?

SIGMUND HOLBEIN.
(Sketch in metallic pencil. Berlin.)
art. Sandrart gave an engraving of it in his " Teutsche Akademie " from a
drawing by the young Hans Holbein in the year 1512, which he himself
possessed.1 Yet not the Berlin copy, but a second, now in the possession of Mr. T. C.
Robinson, in London, and hkewise original, was his. It contains the date
and an inscription, which is identical, as far as one can discover, with
i Part II. Book III. p. 279. " Das von dem jungen Hans Holbein gezeichnete Contrafat
seines Vatters, und desselben Bruders, der auch einguten Mahler gewesen (die ich originaliter
beyhanden habe, und in der Kupferblatte E.E. samt des jungen Holbeins eigener Hand 1512
datirt, dem grossgunstigen Liebhaber mittheile) als bey dem erstem diese Wort zu finden :
Contrafat von Hans Holbein dem alten Mahler : Bey dem andern aber Sigmund Holbein.
Mahler und Bruder des iiltern.''

HEAD OF MAXIMILIAN. 71
that mentioned by Sandrart, " Sigmund Holbain maler Hans(en) pruder
des alten."
In the engraving of the seventeenth century, the head is naturally
modernized ; it is only in the original that we really become acquainted with
the master, who, in spite of the little that we know of him, yet possesses an
interest for us, — a noble artist countenance, with a full beard and long hair
fantasticaUy waving over his forehead, a countenance in which great ability is
joined with mind and refinement, and great firmness of character is combined
with great modesty. The original of the corresponding picture mentioned
by Sandrart, containing the portrait of Hans Holbein the father, is at
Twickenham, in the gallery of the Due d'Aumale. Above in the photo
graph, though not perceptible in the original, stands the date 1515; to
the left are the words " Hans Holbain maler," and to the right " Deralt "
(the elder), which thus also essentially accords with Sandrart's statement.
The notice " Holbein Junior fecit " is on the other side, and is of somewhat
later origin ; but in this particular sheet, the hand of the son is unmistake-
able. The head, which is looking up, is equally charming in expression, and
perhaps still more intelligent and refined than the artist's countenance in the
Basilica of St. Paul.
Belonging to the family, in all probability, is also a young girl in the
dress of a citizen, with a headband and her hair hanging down in plaits
behind ; her head, which is bent forward, is resting against her right hand.
The modern inscription, " Agnes Albrecht Diirers Schwester," belongs to the
period in which the whole series was ascribed to Diirer ; and we may suppose
that a former notice in which the artist named the girl as his sister, lay at the
root of the designation.
Of all the other sketches, precedence is due without hesitation to "the
Great Emperor Maximilian ; " he is identified with the Augsburg of that day.
This we have seen already, when we cast a glance at the historical develop
ment of the Imperial city. We saw him residing there, coming there, and
returning there, for pastime and for business, gladly mingling with the rest as
a citizen amid citizens. Seated on horseback, almost a full face portrait, we
see him in his long coat, helmet, and sword, a staff in his right hand. The
artist had seen him thus in the distance riding through the streets of
Augsburg ; the features are only cursorily given, and it is rather the general
appearance which with rapid hand he has put to paper. But he is no longer
the bold knightly adventurer ; his bearing already betrays age. The Imperial
city had known hini thus during the later period of his life.
The man who in life was the Emperor's friend and constant companion,
his merry adviser, Kunz von der Rosen, is also among those around him. He
it is who was the truest to his master amid all his people, and who, when the
Emperor was taken prisoner by the rebels of Bruges, endeavoured to liberate

72

HEAD OF KUNZ VON DER ROSEN.

him at the risk of his life. He was also known as a brave, courageous man,
who often exchanged the fool's cap for the helmet and sword. It was just in
Holbein's time that great noise was excited throughout Swabia, and in
Augsburg also, when in 1512 he conquered with the aid of Georg Frunds-
berg the castle of Hohenkraken in Hohgau, which had become a haunt of
robbers, and had been deemed impregnable. AU that is preserved to us of
his wit does not exactly give us a high idea of it. It consisted for the
most part of very coarse jests ; the age was not so particular. But his
nature was fresh and healthy, and his heart was in the right place. The
broad German face, with its military beard, is perhaps somewhat coarse in its
outline, but it is at the same time resolute, good, and honest. Behind the

yvwtj'Wj^ %i]lv) >'.

.

KUNZ VON DER HOSEN.
(Sketch in metallic pencil. Berlin.)
great beard and contracted brows, there lurks irrepressible humour. Besides
the sheet represented in our woodcut, there is a second, which exhibits the
same head in three different positions. On the reverse side there are a couple
of verses in the national dialect, written it is true in ink, but still in old
handwriting, perhaps in that of the artist himself: —

" Der allt
neid macht krieg
der neid macht krieg.
darumm dich sieg : fridlich
zv sein. So beleibst bey gut
vnd eren dein.

HEAD OF CHARLES V

Der allt
krieg macht wider ar(m)
krieg ist nit gut. vor
.iber mut. Du dich bewar(en)
durch krieg. So wirt du
wider arm.
Durch aygin Sin ....
in. der ich vor was . . da
zu brach mich neid kr. . . "'
Old grudges
kindle strife,
they kindle strife ;
take heed then all thy life
at peace to be.
And thus may wealth and honour
be for thee. Old strifes
make wealth depart.
Strife suiteth not
a merry lot, so guard
thy heart from strife. Else
will thy wealth depart.
We can well imagine that " Eigensinn " is followed in the third verse with
the rhyme " koinmt kein Gewinn :"
"A stubborn mind
Small gain may find,"
&c. &c.
The rest of the verse is difficult to divine.
A young man with long smooth hair, in the dress of a noble, with bonnet
and golden fleece, with a falcon on his left wrist, and a staff in his right
hand, is designated as "Duke Karl von Borgondy." He is the grandson of
MaximUian, the future Emperor Charles V., who bore this title until the
beginning of the year 1516, when, at the age of sixteen, after the death of
Ferdinand of Castile, he assumed the title of King of Spain. The still child
like features remind us distinctly of his later portraits, in the projecting chin
and the Hapsburg under-lip. The prince, however, was not in Germany in
his youth, and the artist, probably in this instance Holbein the father, did not
paint him from life, but from another picture. In the Ambraser Collection at
Vienna, there is a portrait of Charles when he was seven years of age (this
also was not an original, but a copy of a Netherland painting), entirely
according with our sketch both in bearing and expression, and also containing
a falcon. On the back of our sketch, the left hand with the falcon appears
again on a somewhat larger scale, and the words " Emperor's falcon " are

74

THE FUGGER FAMILY.

inscribed at the side. This seems to prove that the artist was not satisfied
with the imitation pf the painting, but studied from nature the Emperor's
falcon, which he could see in Augsburg.
The youth Gorg Schenk zum Schenkenstein, with the curly hair and
heavy chain, may also have belonged to the Imperial court. In the portrait
of a stately individual with a fuU face and a soft curled beard under his chin,
and attired in a rich furred and courtly dress, no more can be deciphered than
the Christian name Gorg, and the notice of his position, prdbst des hardinal's
secretary (provost and secretary to the cardinal).
Among the men of Augsburg, and the patricians of the Imperial city, the
famous Fugger family especially attracts our attention. There they are, man

. -^&Ap 'P^jAAAlJ^ pv*:Y/,.'lii^At'

JACOB FUGGER
(Sketch in metallic pencil. Berlin.)

by man, at that time the first and the best known, not only in the famUy
itself, but among all the Augsburg merchants. Jacob Fugger, surnamed "the
rich," justly stood at the head; for, to use the words of the " Ehrenspieo-el," he
was "the foremost in the elevation of his race." He it is who founded the
true greatness of his family, and brought " the Fugger name and lineage so

THE FUGGER FAMILY

to

IS

high in honour, commerce, and wealth," as an old chronicle says of him.1 H
father, with his large family, had at first obliged him to study ; he had entered
the Church, and had already reached the rank of prebendary. When, how
ever, four of his brothers died one after another, he was summoned to
Augsburg on account of the business, and was induced to rehnquish his
dignity. The affairs now fell into the right hands. He gave up the old
trade in groceries, woollen, and silk goods, and undertook the working of
the Hungarian and Carinthian mines, which were very lucrative. Thus he
became the great banker to royalty, the most wealthy and noble of those
whom, in spite of their unimpeached Christian origin, the Emperor Max was
wont to call his Jews. Large estates devolved upon him, as pledo-es for
the sums which he had advanced to the Emperor. He was appointed the
Emperor's adviser, aud he and his family were raised to the rank of nobles.
He expended his princely wealth in a princely manner, employing it in
gratifying his love of splendour as well as his beneficence. He built chapels
and palaces, ordered pictures to be painted for rehgious and secular objects,
and raised a monument to himself in the " Fuggerie," that valuable district for
the poor which he established in the Quarter Sanct Jacob, in the year 1519.
His contemporaries boast that he was no miser, locking up his wealth in
chests, but that he was lord of it, and not merely keeper of it. Two sheets, at
Berlin and Copenhagen, contain a full-face portrait of him, wearing a hat.
But still more intelligent-looking is the profile of him at Berlin, given in our
woodcut. It possesses great affinity with the splendid chiaro-oscuro woodcut

1 "Cronica Wie die hern Fugger in die Stadt Augspurg eingetreten," &c, MS. in the Royal
Library at Berlin. See also J. J. Fugger^ "Spiegel der Ehren des Hauses Oesterreich,''
notices regarding the family genealogical table.
Hans, the first Fugger in Augsburg, == Elizabeth Gfattermawn.
emigrated thither in 1370.

1
Andreas (1406 — 1456), line of Fugger

1
Jacob (1412—1469) — Barbara Gas-

vom Reh.

1 singer.

1 j 1 1 1
Andreas, Anna, Ulrich Hans, Marcus

1
Peter,

1 1
Barbara. Walburg,

1
Georg Jacob

died mar. (1443- died (1448-

died

mar.

(1453- the rich

early Miilich. 1510), early 1478),

1473

Rehm.

1506), (1459-

at mar. at preben-

at Nu

mar. 1525),
Venice. Veronika Venice, dary.
rem
Regina mar.
Lauinger. 1
berg.
Imhof. Sib.
1
r r-
Ulrich Marcus
.1
Raimund
~1
Anton
the younger (1482 (1488—1511),
(1489—1536),
(1493—1560),
— 1527), mar. prebendary at
mar. Katharina
mar. Anna
Veronika Gassner. Ratisbon.
Thurzon of
Reh linger.
Betlensdorf. 1
Counts of Kirchberg and Weissenhorn.
76 THE FUGGER FAMILY.

from Burgkmair's drawing,1 but it is far superior in its more delicate outline
and greater refinement about the mouth.
We find also Jacob's nephew among the portraits; and when he died
childless in 1525, the head of the house appears in Baimund Fugger, the son
of Georg Fugger and Regina Imhof. In his youth, he had gained information
by extensive journeys ; he is said to have been " strong in mind and body, and
not only a great merchant, but a friend of art and science, having founded a
fine library and valuable collections, in which antique statues and Venetian
paintings were to be seen." 2 These were certainly not entirely strange to the
young painter, who here depicted him. Raimund's profile, with the nobly
arched nose, and the well-formed, intelligent and thoughtful eyes, does not
intimate only the wise, calculating, and business-like merchant, but also the
refined man of the world, the bright cultivated patrician, and shows that the
"Chronica'' did not wrongly style him "a handsome, tall, and very jovial
person." His brother Anton, who was subsequently raised, like Raimund, to be
Imperial councillor, and to share in his dignity as count, was born in 1493,
and was therefore stUl a young man when Holbein took his likeness. The
rather ordinary head with the long smooth hair, scarcely leads us to augur
the subsequently distinguished man who tore asunder the bond with the
Emperor, and assumed such a position that Guicciardini caUed him "the
prince of merchants."
The portrait of his cousin, Ulrich Fugger the younger, who belonged to
the elder branch of the family, attracts us especiaUy. His name is heard no
longer in history, but in his time he was regarded by many as good and
worthy ; his pleasing personal appearance may have contributed to this. He
possesses a slender figure, high forehead, noble eyebrows, soft whiskers, and a
distinguished demeanour, " a refined and polished gentleman," as the chronicle
calls him. He is certainly worthy of such a woman as another portrait
introduces to us as his wife, in a simple domestic attire, but with a rich cap,
and a heavy chain round her neck. Her name was Veronica Gassner, the
only daughter of the honourable and distinguished Jacob Gassner, councillor
of Augsburg. On the 23rd of May, 1516, the wedding took place. Unfor
tunately this sheet is disfigured by subsequent retouching.
" Martin der Fuckher Diener," a young man with long hair, is probably
a commercial clerk belonging to the house. "Her Jorig Dorssi," a noble
figure with a grand forehead, which we twice meet with in Berlin, is the
Hungarian Count Georg Thurzon, Raimund Fugger's father-in-law.8 His wife
1 See copy in R. Weigel's Holzschmtte beriihmter Meister. Book xiv.
2 Paul von Stetten, Kunst- und Handwerks-Geschichte, i. p. 362. A letter of Beatus
Rhenanus affords information respecting him.
3 Proved by Gutzhow, Hohenschwangen, vol. i. p. 320, observation.

AUGSBURG SKETCHES. 77
also, the " Dorsinn," appears, the daughter of the elder Ulrich Fugger. A
young man in the Bamberg sketches, marked as " Her Kristoff Dors," may
also belong to the family. As belonging to the Fugger family we may lastly
mention " Burgermeister artzet jez desz gantzen, bund oberester Havptman," as
the inscription1 calls him, his daughter Sibylle having married Jacob Fugger
the rich. He was one of the most important personages in Augsburg at that
time; he repeatedly held the highest office of the city, and was appointed
Captain of the Swabian League in 1511. He has a significant profile, with a
very aquiline nose. The large fur cap reaches to his very eyes, and beneath
it appears his long hair. The enormous beard increases the stateliness of his
appearance, which indicates a man who knows what he is about. Cumprecht
Banner, with his snub nose and feathered cap, belongs also to a well-known
family of Augsburg.
There are also the haggard and elderly " Hans Nell," the young " Hans
Ptteger," the respectable and bourgeois-looking " Hans Herlins," all four of
which were probably drawn by Holbein the father.
A very young man, with large eyes and a child-like though refined and
thoughtful countenance, is introduced to us as "Hans Schwartz Stainmetz."
The same youth seems to be somewhat older in the second drawing ; it is a
full-face portrait of him, and as before he wears a cap on his head; his
features are calm, grave, and manly. Now Augsburg produced a famous
carver named Hans Schwartz, who subsequently worked at Nuremberg, and
was famed in the Neudorffer records as "der beste Conterfaiter in Holz"
of his time. He also became distinguished among the workmen of Nurem
berg, by the very same qualities as Holbein possessed ; namely, by a more
free conception of nature, by a taste for the beautiful, and by a more
delicate feeling for life. Thus our Steinmetz may perhaps be identical with
him, and the idea suggests itself that Hans Schwartz may have been a youth
ful companion of Holbein. Respecting his genealogy we know indeed
nothing accurately, but we can trace his works from 1516 to 1538, so that he
may have been about the same age as Holbein. This hypothesis is not
rendered questionable by the fact that Steinmetz (stone-cutter) and Bild-
schnitzer (carver) are really different trades, and that the latter belonged most
to the Painters' Company. Both arts were however constantly combined, and
we know of_ masters, such as Georg Syrlin and Veit Stoss, who worked in
stone as well as in wood.
In another .instance, however, it does not rest on mere supposition that we
see before us one of Augsburg's first artists. In a Copenhagen drawing we
find " Mayster Burgkart Engelberg Stainmitz werkma(ister) s. vlrich kirch
hie,"2 a name already often mentioned by us. It is an expressive profile.
1 On the sketch at Berlin. A repetition of it is at Copenhagen.
" The inscription is the same, but in ink by a later hand.

78 SKETCHES.

Strongly-marked brows project under the great fur cap ; the nose is hooked,
the glance of the eye is untroubled, the lips are closed. Benevolence,
gentleness, and a power of observation are expressed in the pleasing
countenance. This justifies entirely what was written of him in Brother
Wilhelm Wittwer's chronicle of the Ulrich monastery, in which he was
not only extolled as an excellent architect, but also as a pure and upright,
a respectable and pious man. In 1477, the further building of the
splendid church of St. Ulrich was consigned to Burchardus Politor, and he
gloriously earned on his task. Whenever, at that time, there was anything
to be built in Augsburg, he was the right man to do it ; on the enlargement
of the Monasteiy of St. Catherine, on the erection of a public fountain, we
ever meet with him ; he was the work-master of the city. As is the case
among the latest Gothic artists, technical skill and technical boldness were
most decidedly exhibited in his works. His main merit is the preservation
of the tower of Uim Cathedral. When it threatened to fall in the year 1493,
twenty-eight of the most distinguished masters from various places were
summoned, but none had advice to offer, until at last Burckhard Engelberg
was sent for, and he strengthened the foundation and set aside the pressing
danger. He received on this occasion from the town council of Uim a present
of 400 gulden, and 50 gulden yearly as a pension until his death. This took
place on the 14th February, 1512, so that the portrait must have been executed
at a tolerably early period. It seems to be the work of Holbein the father.
Side by side with the exceUent artists we find simple artisans ; thus, for
instance, a tailor of the name of Grim, with leather apron and cap, an honest
and simple man. Some young people, evidently belonging to the class of
artisans, are to be seen among the drawings at Basle ; the names only of a few
can be deciphered, but above a coarse face with a broad nose stands the
charming inscription, " AUe zeigt lustiger geseU " (all depict merry fellows).
A man of a higher class, in a fur cap, also at Basle, is marked, " Gumpret
Schwartz Schuhnaister vom frau(en)."
Among the few female portraits we find one at Berhn repeated four times,
" Zvnftmaisterin Schwartzenstammer die fromme frauw des seiboldi tochter,"
who, as is often the case in portraits by a master hand, appears to us as the
type of a whole class. She is not wrongly designated " die fromme frau " (the
good wife), this respectable spouse of the head of the corporation, in her large
cap. She is the genuine German citizen's wife, who knows how to maintain
order and discipline in her house, possessing a practical nature- and a sensible
countenance, able and worthy, good-natured and yet severe.
The true contrast to this picture and one which does not exhibit the life of
the time in its best aspect, is another female face, looking modestly out from a
veil, as though in convent attire, but which has something common in the
expression, especially in the broad mouth. Respecting the strange inscription,

THE " LOMENITLIN." 79

" lamanetly dy nit ist," some light is cast by the city chronicles of Augsburg.1
Until the year 1511 an old female of about forty years of age, named Anna,
and surnamed " the Lomenitlin," had had free play in Augsburg. For un-
chastity and adultery she had twice been expelled from the city and had sub
sequently returned repentant. She then " feigned herself pious and spiritual,
showed and protested that she neither ate, drank, nor digested," and was regarded
as a wonder-working saint. She carried matters to such a point " with this
her spiritual nature " that the sons of many weU-known citizens came to her to
seek for counsel and assistance in their love affairs. In the Cross Church she
had a high stool made for herself, that no one might see her and disturb her
in her devotions. She had deceived the citizens, the town council, princes,
and even the Emperor himself, until at length it occurred to Maximilian's
sister, the wise Duchess of Bavaria, to summon the holy woman to herself.
" And when now," the chronicle goes on to say, " she and her devotion came
to Munich, she was honourably received by the princess, and a special apart
ment was assigned to her and her maid. The princess, however, had her well
watched day and night, and had had some secret holes bored by which she
could see whether, according to her protestation, she neither ate nor drank
nor digested, and she was thus kept some days in her apartment, but her maid
was let in and out, and this maid brought and carried to her spice, ginger
bread, and other strengthening things, and excellent drinks and malmsey in a
small bottle," &c. Thus "her secret hypocrisy, her evil deceit, and the
imposture which she had carried on," were made manifest. She was im
prisoned in Augsburg, piUoried, and forbidden the city for ever. At length
she was drowned at Freiburg in Switzerland, "where she had begun new
tricks and exchanged a child." The picture of her is probably by Holbein the
father, who has thus preserved us a remarkable feature from the history of
daily life at Augsburg.
A great cycle of drawings among the Berlin portrait-studies depict to us
monks from Augsburg's most famous monastery, that of St. Ulrich, an establish
ment of such repute that even the Emperor Max esteemed it an honour to be in
close spiritual league with it. It was a place in which the arts and sciences were
cultivated with delight, and the new humanistic tendency was here so much in
favour that the weU-known scholar Othmar Luscinius of Strasburg was engaged
to °ive lectures here on the Greek language. The monastery possessed a famous
library, rich in works of the ancients, which were sought after far and near.
Above all, however, about this time the church was enlarged, and its decora
tion was increased by altars, paintings, and costly rehcs ; treasures which, for
1 See Welsersche Chronik, and for further details the MS. Chronicle of Burkhard Zinck of
the year 1565 in the Berlin Library. Also in other works of the time, such as Anshelm's
Berner Chronik (vol. iv. p. 225), she appears.
* In the year 1492,, when King of Ronve.

80

HEADS FROM THE MONASTERY OF ST. ULRICH

the most part, as already mentioned, perished in a subsequent iconoclastic
storm. How great these must have been, how they multiplied, and what high
prices were paid for them, appears from the monastery annals compiled in the
most genuine monkish Latin by Brother Wilhelm Wittwer.1 If these did not
cease with the year 1497, we should undoubtedly have found the name of the
elder Hans Holbein among the artists. Some of these portrait-studies evi
dently belong to him, but by far the greater number may be ascribed to his
highly gifted son, who at that time may have worked there as his father's
assistant. The great number of portraits from this monastery, and especially
the fact that many of the spiritual lords are depicted there four times and
even oftener, seem even to indicate a more intimate intercourse with the
monks of St. Ulrich.
The prominent quality of good nature is to be seen at the first glance
at the old " Her Hainrich griin zu Sant Ulrich." The outline of his head is

¦•:'p & l T. ¦ ;.„*v<-

mmmmm

HERR HEINRICH GRUN.
(Sketch in metallic pencil. Berlin.)

remarkably pointed, and he is distinguished from all the rest by his extreme
thinness ; otherwise this does not appear in St. Ulrich's monastery to have
been a usual failing. The cheek-bones project in the thin face, the lower lip
hangs down, the sunken eyes stare with a weak expression. His look of sim-
1 Fr. Willi. Wittwer, " Catalogus Abbatum monasterii et Augustensis." Steichele, Archiv.
fiir die Geschichte de. Bisthums Augsburg," vol. ii. Also various Chronicles, and Placidus
Braun's " Geschichte der Kirche und des Stiftes der Heiligen Ulrich und Afra," Augsburg, 1817.

SKETCHES.

81

plicity and weakness is characterized with almost greater humour in a second
portrait, where his glance is directed upwards. (See woodcut.) A full-face
likeness of him in Bamberg is perfectly disfigured by subsequent retouching.
The best portrait of all the monks' heads is, however, " Herr Lienhard
Wagner, der gut schrieber zu Sant Ulrich." The profile likeness at Berlin, in
which red chalk is used and white lights are introduced in a masterly manner,
and which is certainly the work of the younger Holbein, is given in our wood
cut. There is a repetition of the same drawing at Copenhagen, and at Berlin
there is a second study of him, taken more in front, somewhat older in appear
ance, and probably the work of Holbein the father. Herr Lienhard was a man

HERR LIENHARD "WAGNER.

well known in the monastery. He was a famous calligrapher, evidence of
whose skill is still in existence in the Augsburg library, in a psaltery of the
year 1495.
In Berlin, Copenhagen, and Bernburg we find many unknown monkish
heads, besides those already referred to. In Basle also, there are some excel
lent studies of ecclesiastics, and lastly in Bernburg we meet with a " Herr Hans
Kiemlin zu Sanct Ulrich." A member of another order we find in one of the
most excellent Berhn drawings, in Brother Hans Pertiz, a man with curly hair,
large beard and colossal nose, full of mind and superiority. Some of the most
expressive and beautiful heads are, however, to be found among those that
are unknown in the Berhn Collection.
On the back of some sheets we find studies of the capitals of columns and

82 SKETCHES OF VARIOUS KINDS.
Renaissance ornaments, as well as of children and Roman warriors. On the
back of a head of Hans Schwartz, the fall of Phaeton is sketched. In the
collection of Baron von Draxler in Vienna, and among the Copenhagen
sheets, we find studies of figures and hands, and especially studies of children
for Madonna pictures. A little boy standing by the side of his mother, who
is holding him, appears in the cabinet of engravings in the Dresden Museum.
We also find in Copenhagen the sketch of a standing figure of a little girl,
who is intercepting the rays of light in a mirror ; ornaments, pieces of
armour, studies of animals, especially birds, and the head of a seal ; also a
couple of landscape sketches, evidently from nature, here a wild entrance to
a wood, and there a wild mountain region, with a romantic and lofty rocky
castle, and a village in the vaUey. Very nice and striking from its antique
subject is a little drawing of. Cupid and Psyche. That the two winged little
ones do not represent a pair of angels is shown by a quiver at the side of ¦
the boy. Both are dressed in light attire and are embracing each other ; they
are shaded by a branch which he is grasping with his left hand and she with
her right. The boy is looking at the maiden with great affection.
Thus we can here perceive the different branches of art which the young
artist already practised, and we can cast a glance into the very atelier of his
learning and his woiks.

CHAPTER V.
Youthful pictures executed in Augsburg.— Connection with his father.— Veiy early works
at Augsburg and Basle.— Altar- panels of 1512.— Burgkmair's influence— Madonna with
the Lily of the Valley.— Portraits.— Votive tablet of the Schwartz family.— St.
Catherine at Annaberg. — Altar of St. Sebastian.
The portrait studies allow us plainly to perceive how thoroughly the young
Hans Holbein trod in his father's footsteps. The same influence is also
manifested in his paintings, side by side, however, here with a new and
independent element. What determined judges such as Waagen and Passa
vant, before outward evidence came to their assistance, to refuse these works
to the father and to ascribe them to the son, was in no wise merely that they
considered them too good for the father, but Waagen asserted justly that he
perceived in them a totaUy different expression of feeling ; a feeling wholly
diverse from that of the father, but according with that which meets us in
the later works of the famous son.
We must nevertheless imagine that these works were ordered of the father
and not of the son. The latter was never a master in Augsburg, only the
apprentice of his father, and therefore could not independently have pursued
a trade. From his brilliant and early progress, he may soon have reached
such a point that his father may have allowed him to be tolerably indepen
dent ; but we may presume that his works have nevertheless gone to the world
under the name of the elder Holbein.
The oldest authentic paintings of the younger Hans Holbein belong to the
year 1512. But perhaps of a stiU earlier date are the two altar-panels from the
stores of the Augsburg Gallery, in the execution of which he seems at least to
have taken part. They came from the Monastery of Oberschcnefeld, for which
his father had worked, and they are hastily painted in distemper, with strong
black outlines. The four scenes on the outer sides, — The Virgin's and Christ's
Presentation in the Temple, the Flight to Egypt, and the Visitation, — with
their late Gothic framework, all evidence the father's style ; but the two holy
women in the inner panels, Veronica and a young royal-looking personage
without designation, are quite opposed to it, and appear like a presentiment of
that noble grace which marks the saints on the panels of the Sebastian altar.
c; 2

84 ALTAR-PANEL IN THE AUGSBURG GALLERY.
In the Amerbach inventory, " eine heihgen iungen vnd iung frawen Kopflin
mit patente," that is, a holy youth and a virgin surrounded by a halo, now in
the Basle Museum, are mentioned as Holbein's first works; they also exhibit
the same hard outline and are somewhat timid in expression.
A different stage of progress is exhibited in the altar-panels of the year
1512 in the Augsburg Gallery, of which we have aheady spoken when discuss
ing the year of Holbein's birth. Here we are fortunate enough to gain informa
tion regarding Holbein's relation to his father and master. Two original
drawings of one of the pictures representing the Death of St. Catherine have
been preserved in the Basle Museum, in which however it is plainly to be
seen that they are not by the hand of the son, but by that of the father, who
furnished him with sketches for his compositions. But it is highly interesting
to compare that which was thus given to the youth, with that which he was
able to produce with it. Everything became wholly different under his hand.
The sketches of the father represent two whoUy different moments. In one
the saint is kneeling in prayer, her countenance turned upwards, whilst the
lightning, accompanied by a shower of stones, shoots down from a cloud and
dashes to pieces the wheel, placed ready for her death. Five attendants of the
executioner already he stretched on the ground ; a sixth, who is holding the
saint by a rope, is turning back frightened, as though he would protect him
self with his upraised arm. His position is constrained and distorted, some
what hke that of the apostles in the picture of the Transfiguration in the year
1502. Three spectators or judges, the foremost of whom resembles Pilate in
the panel representing the Passion, are standing further off. A waU with a
gate, and a distant view of a river, bridge, and hills, form the background. The
etching is slightly touched with Indian ink, the mountains are blue, the
ground and the trees are green. The second sheet shows us the kneehng saint
by the side of the burning wheel, ready to receive her death-stroke by the
sword, since a Divine dispensation had averted her former martyrdom.
Both these scenes are combined in one in the painting : from both of them
the artist has taken his subject, remodelling them, however, anew, and giving
them a dramatic effect.
The hghtning has just flashed, the wheel is in flames, two executioners are
dashed to pieces, and a third moustachioed official is escaping. One figure
among the spectators, with a short fuU beard and fur-edged red coat, knows
not what to say to the event ; a second, in a blue mantle, is laying his hand
upon his shoulder, and pointing to the saint. A youth attired in yeUow, who
is shielding himseU with both his hands, is borrowed in idea from the execu
tioner in the first sheet, and yet he is entirely new ; nothing awkward or
distorted is here to be seen in the attitude. The second sheet gives the
idea of the saint herself, yet in the painting the kneehng princess is far
nobler, her hands are folded, she is splendidly dressed in red. and a small cap

LEGEND OF ST. ULRICH.

set with jewels is on her fair hair. But the figure that could but little have
satisfied the young artist in either sheet, is that of the executioner. On the
second sheet, we find him feebly delineated, uncertain in his bearing, raisino-
the sword with both hands, like the executioners at St. Dorothea's death in the
Basilica of Sta. Maria. In his stead, the young Hans Holbein has introduced
an entirely different personage. It is a genuine German foot-soldier, similar
to those which so often meet us in his pictures and drawings, a rough warrior,
not however caricatured, but strong and sturdy. With a firm grasp his left
hand is holding the saint by her neck, his right hand carries the yet unraised
sword ; he is awaiting the moment to strike the fatal blow.
While the inside of one folding panel was devoted to the patron saint of
the monastery, the inside of the other panel depicted St. Ulrich, the patron
saint of the whole city of Augsburg. It is a wonderful story which is here
represented from the legends concerning him. Even in the Acta Sanctorum
of the BoUandists,1 some doubts as to the genuineness of this miracle were not
suppressed, but in art it plays an important part, and has procured for the
saint his attribute, the fish. We see St. Ulrich sitting with St. Conrad, bishop
of Constance, at a well-spread table. One Thursday evening, they had sat
down to their repast, but had been indulging in such pious and edifying con
versation, that they had not observed how the time had passed, and that
midnight was long over. Presently a messenger arrived from the Duke of
Bavaria, bringing letters for the holy Bishop of Augsburg, who presented him
with a leg of goose as his messenger's fee, which was certainly not befitting the
dawn of Friday, on which day fasting was prescribed. The conclusion of the
story is represented by some small figures in the background. The messenger
is accusing St. Ulrich to the Duke for his infringement of fasting, and as
a proof has brought the corpus delicti given to him. Yet God does not
forsake His own ; just as he is about to draw it from his pocket, instead of the
leg of a goose, he brings out a fish. What astonishment seizes him ! His
mouth stands open with alarm. Equally speaking and expressive, in spite of
the smaU proportion of these figures, is the astonished manner and the slightly
superior smUe of the Duke, with which he despatches the denunciator. The
Duke looks royal and stately, in his red mantle, with his fur cap and chain,
and his suite behind him. The distinctness and fidelity to life with which the
incident is depicted, is equally striking in the front scenes. Just as hastily
as he had come, the messenger, planning treachery, is off again, scarcely ven
turing to look the saint in the face. But the saint fixes his eye upon him, as
if he would penetrate into his innermost soul, a true man of God, whose
priestly distinction rests on inner greatness and intellectual superiority.
At the same time the artist has thoroughly perceived what a pleasing
touch of kindliness pervades the legend, and this he has retained in the whole
1 4 Juli. vol. ii. p. 87.

86 THE CRUCIFIXION OF ST. PETER.
manner in which he depicts it. The ease with which aU the subordinate
parts are treated and executed is suitable to the subject : the splendid epi
scopal vestments, as well as the costumes of secular personages ; the coloured
columns with their gold capitals, which betoken the spacious apartments in
which the saint resides ; and all the small things belonging to the domestic
arrangement, — the weU-spread table, on which is the dish with the roast goose,
the chandeliers with the lighted candles, the two wooden plates and knives,
the wheaten bread, and the pitcher, and the half-filled glass. A Uttle white
dog is also lying on the ground, and on the letter just arrived, which the
younger bishop is contemplating, the legible and accurately written address,
" Dem Hayligem Sant Vlrich," is not wanting.
The Crucifixion of St. Peter is to be seen on the former reverse side of the
panel. A preponderance of the terrible here hes in the subject itself, and thus
Holbein approaches in the executioners nearer than elsewhere to the manner in
which these scenes of martyrdom were treated in the art of the fourteenth cen
tury. With horrible truth he has represented the saint enveloped in a bluish-
grey coat, bound to the stake with his head downwards, while they draw him
up by the feet, and fasten the cords more tightly. One of the men, with a fat
beardless countenance, rude and indifferent as a butcher's boy over his work,
has the Bavarian arms on his trousers. Some of the spectators look on with
malicious pleasure, others with curiosity. The most important figure in the
picture is, however, the countenance of the apostle himself. The most fearful
violence of physical suffering is expressed in the bald head bent downwards,
with its sUvery beard and compressed lips.
No more pleasing contrast to this could be afforded than the subject which
once formed the outside of the other panel : namely, Anna and Maria with
the Infant Christ. " S. Anna selb dritt " was the designation given to these
representations. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, in connection
with the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, the worship of St. Anna
assumed a prominent place. Holbein handled the subject in a truly original
manner. The Infant Christ is standing on the seat between the two holy
women, who are trying to teach him to walk. The grandmother is supporting
his arm with her right hand, while her left hand is resting on the book on
her lap, so that the place where she had stopped might not be lost.
Mary, however, whose long fair hair is adorned with a band set in jewels,
is leading him by the hand. Boldly and sturdily the boy is stretching out
his foot, and looking merrily at her. Deep maternal happiness animates the
Virgin's beautiful countenance ; at the same time, her hand is resting
humbly on her bosom, as though she would say, " How am I worthy of this
divine favour ? " Pretty angels, most of which however are new, are holding
up a green carpet behind the group. In St. Anna's book stands the inscription
mentioned before, announcing the name of the donator and the age of the artist.

ITALIAN INFLUENCE. 87

That Holbein should have completed such works at this half-boyish age, is
a matter of astonishment. Even Raphael scarcely developed his art so early ;
and if we leave Lucas van Leyden out of the question, who, as we have before
mentioned, was a truly marvellous child, Holbein rivals Masaccio, who like
wise, at a most early age, painted the pictures for San Clementi in Rome, and
died when only twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, after having opened
new paths to the painting of his native country. Nothing but the immense
practice which Holbein obtained from childhood in the atelier of his father,
can make this conceivable. He may have handled colours and pencil as
soon as he could move his hands.
The background of all four pictures is not golden, but simply green.
Above, however, in each of the four paintings, luxuriant golden Renaissance
ornaments are introduced : these are most rich and brilliant in the two inner
pictures, where we find dolphins, horned masks, and small winged angels or
Cupids, playing between plants and ornaments, or blowing cornucopi.es.
Thus the spirit of the new age not only found its way into his own art,
but also into the architectural ornament.
But how could Holbein have become acquainted with these elements — that
of painting as well as of architecture, — he, the half-mature youth, who, we can
scarcely suppose, had at this early period even crossed the Alps ? The inter
change with Italy, especially with Venice, which was more lively in his
native city than elsewhere in Germany, may have contributed to this. Not
only among the articles of commerce which came over, matters repeatedly
occurred which furnished evidence of this taste ; but in the collections of art
which the Fuggers established, the Italian masters were specially represented.
We also hear that in the Imperial city itself, Italian masters now and then
appeared. Titian's visit there occurred indeed somewhat later, in the year
1530, and the wall-paintings by a Venetian hand in the bath-room of the
Fuggers' house were not executed until the year 1572. That in Holbein's
youth, however, artists from the South came to Augsburg, appears from the
chronicles, which take no notice of art as such, but which communicate to us
the fact that in the year 1500 an Italian painter, who was to sketch a stag in
the town moat, was killed by it.
Augsburgers on their side, however, also went to Italy. Not only of many
of the Fuggers do we read tbat they were sent by their father to Italy and other
foreign lands with their preceptors, but young artists also were allured across
the Alps. Among these was Hans Burgkmair, who exercised artistic influence
upon his young countryman Holbein, although Stetten's statement that he
was his uncle on the mother's side cannot be proved.
Hans Burgkmair, son of Thomas Burgkmair, who died in 1523, belongs to
the first German painters of the time, and is undoubtedly, after the young

HANS BURGKMAIR.

Holbein, the most important artist that Augsburg has produced. He was born
about the year 1473,1and died in 1531 ;2 he was educated under his father, and
certainly experienced some influence from Albert Diirer, but even with regard
to him he perfectly retained his independence. His journey to Italy, how
ever, produced a great change in his ideas and powers. In 1508, when he
must have returned, his most briUiant period begins : then appeared paintings
such as St. John at Patmos, in the Munich Pinakothek, or the Crucifixion of
1509, in the Augsburg Gallery, in which, especially in Mary Magdalene's
passionate appearance, in the majestic king and the bold knight, and in the
saints Heinrich and Georg, who are standing under the pillar-supported dome
on the outer panels, the Italian spirit entirely prevails. In splendid wall-
paintings, of which at the present day scarcely recognizable remains are left ;
in the woodcuts for the " Weisskunig," and for MaximUian's triumphal pro
cession, in which he worked together with Diirer, he gives evidence, more
over, of a rare truth and boldness in the observation of actual life. ReUgious
subjects never truly belonged to him ; he felt himself entirely in his element
in delineations from court life, in knightly tournaments, in battles and camp
scenes, or in bold and splendid allegories. In his earher works he was rather
forcible than beautiful, but the South cultivated -in him that which most
needed cultivation, namely, taste. WhUe, however, generaUy the Germans
and Netherlanders who travelled to Italy readily fell into over-nicety,
characterlessness, and mannerism, he sacrificed nothing of his healthful
German reaUty. His prevaihng characteristic is a pecuhar heaviness in the
whole appearance, pervading both the fall of the drapery and the colouring.
He has not the brightness of the elder Holbein ; his colouring is sometimes
almost heavy, yet in the way in which he places brilliant tints side by side,
he exhibits rare energy. His figures never stand so feebly on their legs as the
elder Holbein's do ; we never find in his works that bolder attitudes lapse
sometimes into distortion ; Burgkmair, in spite of all his roughness, is free
from the caricature and exaggeration which Holbein (the father) and German
art generally in many cases could not avoid.
In all these respects the young Holbein could learn that from him which
his father could not offer him, and thus we see him renouncing in ornament
the degenerated Gothic, as it is almost always to be found in his father's
works, and devoting himself to the new vigorous Renaissance style in which
Hans Burgkmair delighted. In the certainty of execution which marks
everything in Holbein's youthful works, in the good and well-drawn hands, in
the occasional almost heavy brown flesh tint, differing from the bright yellowish
1 On a portrait of himself and his wife in the Belvedere, at Vienna, he calls himself, in the
year 1528, " lvi iar alt ;" on the medal with his portrait in 1518, there is written, "_Etatis
suse ; xliii."
2 According to the " Augsburger Malerbuch."

fHH'l'ii.

: '¦'":'' ' ¦ " 1^lpji-ii|iii|!ij5liii!iii;i,j , "!

JMIjU't.

IIADONNA WITH THE LILY OF THE VALLEY.
(llngntz )

MADONNA AT RAGATZ. 89
tint of the elder Holbein, Burgkmair's influence is evidenced. It was just
the years immediately preceding the independent productions of the youth,
in which he could lay himself open to the effect of those ideas brought by
Burgkmair direct from Italy. That Burgkmair spent the next. few years in
Augsburg is certain ; on many paintings of that date, for instance, on a small
Birth of the Saviour, executed in 1511, now in the Berlin Museum,1 he has
expressly stated that he painted it at Augsburg. And not merely the new
style did Holbein learn from him, but he imitated him also in artistic versa
tility as regards the subjects, as well as the medium of his art. He learned
from Burgkmair to enlarge his range of view according to the measure of the
time, and to represent secular subjects side by side with religious ones : inci
dents from daily life, allegories, and subjects from classic antiquity, taking him
as a model in drawing for woodcuts, and in executing wall-paintings in a
grand style.
Among the works of Holbein in the period immediately following, belongs
the Madonna with the Lily of the Valley, shown in our woodcut, and which
is in the possession of an ecclesiastic, Herr Schmitter Hug, at Ragatz. The
influence of the Flemish paintings of Memling's school is not to be mistaken.
The picture had suffered extremely, and was quite painted over, but it has
been carefully restored by Herr Eigner, at Augsburg. The Holy Virgin,
scarcely half life-size, and a half-length figure, appears behind a balustrade.
On it there lies a pillow of a beautiful gold embroidered pattern, and here the
Child is sitting, with the Virgin's arm round him, and her hand softly
touching him. In his 'right hand is a rosary, which, in playing, he allows to
drop on the balustrade ; his left hand is touching the peach which , his
mother is holding out to him. Her hand which is holding the fruit, is seen
in very difficult foreshortening, and perhaps a little too strongly so, but the
attitude is graceful, and the idea is good. A study for this position of hand,
but from the reverse side, is to be found in the coUection of the Archduke
Albert in Vienna, on a sheet, which on the one side contains the profile of a
man's head, and on the other side several hands, this among others. The
body of the Boy is somewhat thin, but the action manifests a certain effort
after elegance. His countenance, which is too old and thoughtful, appears
somewhat alien to Holbein's style ; yet this is to be ascribed to the restoration
of the work. But the Virgin's head is of the utmost beauty. We are already
familiar with it ; the features are just the same as those of the Virgin in the
picture we have last discussed in the Augsburg Gallery, in which St. Anna
appears. The eyes are cast down in the same soft and sweet manner, the
eyebrows are just as tender, the oval of the face is as elegant, the mouth is
equally enchanting ; only the expression is more earnest and thoughtful, and
has in it a touch of sweet melancholy. Just as in the other, the fair hair is
1 Picture Gallery, No. 584.

90 MADONNA AT RAGATZ.
falling down, and is confined by a band across the brow. Only slight circles
of gold mark the halos ; the rich ornament, the Virgin's jewelled brooch and
the gold embroidering of the fur-edged garments, are executed with the utmost
perfection. A vase with lilies of the valley is standing on the balustrade,
as a symbol of the spring-like youth and innocence of the Virgin herself.
Simple Renaissance architecture forms the background ; above, in brown,
there are two genii with other ornament. The colouring is bright; the flesh
tints are brownish. No date is on it, but on the pilaster to the right there
is an inscription, which in very faulty Latin orthography informs us that
Johannes Holbein painted it in Augsburg. Equally remarkable is the in
scription on the other pilaster, " Carpet aliquis cicius quam imitabitur" (It
is easier to blame than to imitate). What naive impudence in the young
painter to write such words upon his work ! A similar inscription appears
again on a subsequent painting, the portrait of Erasmus at Longford Castle.
What the initials in the two medaUions above indicate, we know not.
If evidence as to the genuineness of this picture were necessary, it would be
furnished by an interesting fact ; namely, the architectural framework accords
with that of two others of the artist's works. The one is the portrait of the
painter Herbster, which we shaU subsequently mention ; it is in the possession
of !Mr. Baring, in London, and it bears the date of 1516 : the pilasters in it,
however, support a circular arch. The second, the similarity of which is com
plete, is in the possession of Count Casimer Lanskoronski, in Vienna ; a portrait
which, from its date, is the earliest likeness by Holbein's hand known to us,
and shows great simUarity with Herbster's portrait. It has the advantage
of the Madonna picture in its faultless preservation. In consequence of this,
the architecture is not dark as it is in the other, but shows the colour of wliite
and green marble. The medallions on the frieze, placed on both sides of the
genu, and which in the Kagatz painting contain four undeciphered initials, here
bear the date, 1. 5. 13. On the two pilasters stands the inscription : als. ich.
war. 52. iar. alt. da. het. ich. uie. gestalt. Who the personage represented
is, we are not told, but that he was no unimportant individual we mav infer
from the fact that two copies of the work are to be found in the Ambraser
Collection in Vienna. The one is the exact copy of the original, and is simUar
in size; the second gives the head only, but is as large as hfe; both belong to
a later period, the work is indifferent, and they are not painted on wood, lout
on canvas. The inventory, which belongs to a very uncritical age, styles them
portraits of Diirer by his own hand, and therefore affords us no' clue. They
represent a fair man with long hair and a short beard, of healthy appearance,
with red cheeks, attired in a fur coat and cap, and almost entirely taken full
face. We see the right hand, which is holding a roll of writing, but not the
arm, which is not quite correct. Yet this is the only thing that is blame
worthy ; the execution otherwise ranks surprisingly high. From its life-like

THE BURGOMASTER SCHWARTZ. 91
conception, masterly perfection, and wonderful brilhancy in the yellowish flesh
tints, the painting equals the famous portrait of Amerbach in the Basle
Museum, executed in the year 1519. A red carpet lies in front on the
balustrade ; blue sky forms the background.
In the grand ducal picture gaUery in Darmstadt there is a half-length figure,
half life-size, marked with the artist's monogram of two H's, and between them
the date 1515. It is not wholly free from retouching. It represents a youth
with honest German features and fair hair. With all his composure and
simplicity, there is something free and noble in his demeanour; and the
scarlet of his attire and cap, which forms an effective contrast with the azure
ground, may perhaps indicate higher descent. However splendid is the effect
of the colour of this rich attire, it allows preponderating importance neverthe
less to the countenance. It is the unfeigned naturalness exhibited in the
whole person, which produces its effect and is the source of its beauty. The
nose is prominent, the lips are weU-formed and full. The eyes look straight
forward without gazing at the spectator, in the manner of the present day.
Thus the expression is fuU of thought ; and yet what life is there in him in
spite of all his repose !
To the same year there belongs a small Madonna marked HANS
HOLBAIN 1515, which, according to Herr 0. Miiudler's opinion, is genuine
but not very pleasing, and which he saw at Paris in the years 1845 and
1850, and not since then. It had come from Schaffhausen, and had before
been in the possession of Johannes von Miiller. The Madonna and Child
are painted with striking care ; on the other hand, the richly ornamented
Renaissance architecture of the background is executed with masterly power
and imagination.
Somewhat earlier, perhaps, a painting was executed which may be re
garded as an interesting monument in an historical as well as in an artistic
point of view ; it is in good preservation, and is to be found in the posses
sion of the banker Paul von Stetten at Augsburg, perfectly untouched.
It immortalizes a remarkable event in Augsburg history, for it is a votive
picture in remembrance of the execution of the Burgomaster Ulrich Schwartz,
one of the most interesting personages who appeared in the Imperial city at
the end of the fifteenth century. Schwartz, belonging to the guUd of the
carpenters, was a man of the people, who worked his way up to the highest
position, and in 1469 was chosen burgomaster. In this office he obtained a
firm footing. He carried out democratic reforms in the constitution of the city,
and procured for the guilds and commonalty more votes in council. He
gradually united the most different authorities in his own person, and
acquired such a power that he not only continually effected his own re-election,
but he had the choice of his coUeagues entirely in his own hand, and had the
wisdom to select from the patricians a companion in office neither equal to him

92 THE BURGOMASTER SCHWARTZ
in understanding nor in power. It is difficult to form a true opinion re
specting him; the chronicles are all organs of the patrician party, and the
colouring of party feeling is not to be mistaken. They breathe hatred against
Schwartz. The most important result, however, of his innovations, lasted
even after his overthrow until the surrender of Augsburg to Charles V., and it
was indeed a seasonable reform in favour of the people. But as upstarts ever
do, he made his power felt, and came forward with a pride and presumption
which exasperated the patricians almost more than all his democratic measures.
He was the first who in his own family infringed the festive arrangements
which restricted luxury; his own attire and his whole style were splendid.
Only by strict rule could he maintain his position under such circumstances,
and thus his power was often carried to excess. In 1477, chosen Burgomaster
for the sixth time, he stood at the height of his power. Two patricians, the
brothers Hans and Leonhard Vittel, who had unreservedly expressed them
selves respecting him, were apprehended by his order and brought to trial.
Although both were of excellent birth, and the former had been himself bur
gomaster and Imperial councillor, he ordered the sentence of death to be
publicly executed upon them in the Perlach-platz. But for Schwartz also,
the tables were soon turned. When Leonhard was led to the place of execution,
he abused the burgomaster, who was standing at an overhanging window in
the Town-hall, as a malicious thief, and prophesied that before a year was over
he would be hanging on the gallows. The prophecy was fulfiUed. When
Schwartz became burgomaster in 1458, and the simple Hans Ohnsorge was
elected as his patrician colleague, his adversaries did all they could to cause-
his overthrow, and contrived to obtain the assistance of the Emperor, who was
infuriated at the last deed of violence. In the midst of the council on the
11th of April, the Imperial magistrate took him and his most faithful adherents
prisoners, and prevented by his authority the threatening uproar of the
citizens. Without delay Schwartz was put to the rack, when they extorted
from him all possible confessions, and a week later, on the 18th of April, he
was led to the place of execution in the costly attire which he had daUy
paraded, and was hung on a gallows which had been expressly ordered for
him. This votive picture, which was ordered by one of his sons,1 cannot have
been executed tiU long after his death. But his history was long remembered
in Augsburg; four-and -twenty years afterwards, a man who was suspected of
having conspired with him, was not ratified as master of the guild of carpenters.
His own family may therefore have remembered him later, and have wished to
restore him to honour. It is, under these circumstances, even conceivable that
they would not have ventured earlier to have put up a painting of the kind.
Like the greater number of the votive pictures, this was also probably an
1 Paul von Stetten, Kunst- und Handwerks-Geschichte, i. p. 272.

AND HIS EPITAPH. 93

epitaph, hung up over the family vault in the church, and which united the
living as well as the deceased members of a house in some sacred action. The
subject of the representation is the same as that of a well-known woodcut by
Ursus Graf; 1 namely, God the Father on the point of exercising severe judg
ment, and softened by the intercession of Christ and the Virgin. Below, the
whole family are kneeling, the men on one side, the women on the other. In
the front is Ulrich Schwartz himself, a figure full of character, and strong in
the confidence of faith, with which he implores the everlasting Judge of life
and death for forgiveness of his sins. In this supplication all his family are
aiding him. Seventeen are kneeling behind him, sons and grandsons, in the
various ages of manhood, youth, and boyhood. The names stand inscribed
above, almost all of them: Hans, Lucas, Marx, Ulrich, Simprecht, Sebastian,
Matthias, &c. Opposite are the three wives of the deceased, the foremost one
being Anna, who survived him, and who was by birth a Friess ; fourteen
daughters follow. The arms of the three wives, as well as of the Schwartz
famUy, are introduced on the panel. Many of those depicted are designated
by a cross as dead. Black and a lively red predominate in the drapery.
Above, God the Father, in a green mantle and a dark blue garment, is
enthroned on the clouds, from which countless cherubim heads look forth.
The great sword with which He was about to administer justice, He has put
back into the sheath, moved by the supplication of Christ and the Virgin.
The former, only attired in the purple mantle in which He had once been
scorned, is appealing to His wounds ; the latter is laying bare her bosom which
had nourished the Son of God. The words of their prayer are inscribed at
their heads ; over Christ is written :
" Vatter . sich . an . mein .
. wiinden . rot .
Hilf . den . menschen .
. aus . afier . not .
Durch . meinen . bittern . tod . "
" Father, think on my
wounds that bleed,
And help mankind
from all their need.
Through my death I plead."
And above the Virgin :
" Her . thun . ein . dein . schwert .
. das . du . hast . erzogen .
Vnd . sich . an . die . brist .
. die . dein . sun . hat gesogen . "
1 Passavant, 114, copied in R. Weigel's Holzschnitte beriihmter Meister, No. II.

94 EPITAPH OF THE BURGOMASTER SCHWARTZ.
" Lord, put by Thy sword
Ere it has struck,
And think upon my breast
From which Thy Son did suck"
Then follows the answer of the Almighty :
" Barmherzigkait . will . ich . alien . den . erzaigen .
Die . da . mit . warer . rew . von . hinnen . schaiden."
" Mercy to all men will I show
Who with repentance quit the world below."
Simple as are the words themselves, equally simple is the representation,
yet it is distinct, touching, and intelligible. The portraits below are conceived
with grand simplicity and fidelity. How fixed and serious is the devotion
exhibited in the elder figures, how full of charming and touching naivete* are
the children's heads, how individual and yet how varied are they all ! We see
the same feeling and the same artistic mind displayed, which subsequently
marks the kneehng family of the Burgomaster Meier in the famous Madonna
picture. This alone is sufficient to prove that the author of it is not Holbein the
father, as is stated in Paul von Stetten's " Kunst- und Handwerke Geschichte,"
and as is now asserted in Augsburg, but Holbein the son. StiU more decidedly
is this evidenced in the personages above. "While Holbein the father would
have invested these with an ideal type, and this all the more as portraiture
predominated among the other forms, the countenances of God the Father,
Christ, and the Virgin Mary, are here directly taken from reality. Not one is
noble in form and expression, but the most original is the rudely cut head of
God the Father, with the coarse features and colossal beard. The same model
had served for the crucified Peter in the painting of 1512, and for a spectator
in the picture of St. Sebastian, presently to be discussed, and it appears drawn
in profile, among the heads designated as " unknown " in the Berlin portrait
studies, and in a full-face portrait which I discovered pasted on the back
of a sketch in the cabinet of engravings of the Prince of Fiirstenberg, at
Donauschingen. The actions also are remarkably forcible, as, for instance, the
sheathing of the sword by God the Father, and the whole appearance and
pathetic gestures of the Virgin. The coarse and somewhat masculine form of
hand apparent throughout, even in the Holy Virgin, betrays an advanced study
of nature. Indeed, compared with his pictures of 1512, the painter has here
made a decided advance : the colouring is brighter, and the composition
exhibits great skill, and a happy distribution of the subject ; a pecuhar taste
for greatness and decision of idea also manifests itself. The feeUng of the
sixteenth century appears more and more decidedly making its way. In the
hilt of the sword held by God the Father stands the monogram, an H, enclosed
by a second H.

DEATH OF ST. SEBASTIAN.
(Altar of St. Sebastian, Munich Pinakothek)

ST. CATHERINE.

But not only does the artist aim at complete realistic life, at the same time
a delicate feeling for grace and beauty asserts itself in his works. This is
evidenced in a youthful picture of Holbein's, which Waagen was the first
to point out as such, and which is to be found in the parish church at
Annaberg, in Saxony. It represents St. Catherine, life-size, with fair hair
falling down over the knee, dressed splendidly and fashionably in a gold
brocade petticoat, red bodice, green sleeves, and red mantle lined with yellow ;
pearls and jewels adorn her crown and the, trimming of her attire. In her
right arm is the sword, at her feet is the shattered wheel, and she is reading in
a red book which she is holding with both her hands. Her features exhibit
such sweet grace and gentle kindliness that here also we are reminded of the
female saints in the Sebastian altar at Munich. In the landscape distance,
the destruction of the wheel by the flash of lightning is depicted cursorily,
and on a very small scale. On the left, the picture is terminated by a wood ;
and in the front, on the trunk of a tree, stands Holbein's monogram, the
double H, which he usually employs, while his father was satisfied with the
single initial. The complexion of St. Catherine's face is pale, the lights are
whitish, the drawing is very fine and distinct, and the fall of the drapery is
nobly arranged. The part, however, that does .not proceed from Holbein is
the kneehng family of the donator, — the man and his wife, five boys, the last,
in a shroud, and four girls, with a coat of arms between them. These are
executed in a mechanical style ; all the faces have fishes' eyes, and bent noses.,
This addition was evidently made at Annaberg, by order of the donator, while
the panel was executed at Augsburg, where the newly established mountain
city of the Saxon Erzgebirge generally obtained a great part of its artistic
requirements. The altar also with its marble sculptures, which was put up in,
the year 1522, was made, according to the chronicles of the city, by a Master
Adolf of Augsburg.
The crowning work, however, of all that Holbein , produced at Augsburg,
and altogether one of the most complete of the paintings which we possess
from his hand, is an altar in the Munich Pinakothek, the folding panels of
which have been there for a long time, but until recently they have borne the.
erroneous designation of Holbein the father, whilst the central picture has;
only lately been brought there from the Augsburg Gallery. Originally this
work also seems to have been painted for the Monastery of St. Catherine ; at
any rate it is, said to have been found there on the abolition of the monastery.
The copied extract from the monastery annals, which appears ,in both,
Waagen1 and Passavant,2 contains a passage referring to this painting, "Item
Maddalena Imhoff hat den Sebastian den Neyen von den kunstreich Mahler
Holbein, 1515, mahlen lassen, und dafiir, 10 gulden geben, weiters noch
1 Kunstwerke und Kiinstler in Deutschland, ii. p. 26.
^ Kunstblatt, 1846, p. 185.

96 THE ALTAR OF ST. SEBASTIAN.

jede Bayschwester, 2 gulden dazu ; so viU ist dasselb Bildt gestandten wurde
am Kreuzaltar aufgestellt im Jahr 1517, nachdem die Kirche neugebaut war."
(Item Magdalena Imhoff ordered in 1515 the new picture of Sebastian of the
artistic painter Holbein, and gave 10 gulden for it, and each of the other
sisters 2 gulden more; this picture has cost so much, it was placed at the
cross altar in the year 1517, after the church was rebuUt.)
The falsity of this extract we have before animadverted upon ; but here
especially the art of interpretation has been carried so far, that all that was
desired has been proved. Art history has allowed itself to be long enough
deceived by this forgery, although the misreading of " Bayschwester " instead
of " lay Schwestern " is awkward enough. In the original the passage is as
foUows : " Item St. Magdalena Imhoff hat hergeben an St. Sebastian den
Neyen zu dem heil Kreiz auf dem altar 3 gulden. Und die lay Schwestern
2f. Souill ist dasselb bildt gestandten od. zu teutsch dass es Kost hat."
(Item Sister Magdalena Imhoff has given 3 gulden to the new St. Sebastian,
for the holy cross on the altar, and the lay sisters 2 f. This is the cost of
the said picture.)
Here, therefore, there stands no painter's name, and no mention is made
of an artistic painter Holbein, nor of any Holbein at aU, nor indeed even of
painting. No date is given either for the order or for its completion. The
passage does not seem at all to relate to our painter. Whoever reads it with
a perfectly unbiassed mind, would never think of referring it to him. The
painting of St. Sebastian could not possibly be placed " at the holy cross on
the altar." It is itself an altar-panel, by the side of which there was no place
for any holy cross. The sense appears far rather to be this, that the sisters
ordered a figure of St. Sebastian to be added to a carved Crucifixion, an altar
group, or an altar shrine, or had an older statue of the saint replaced by a
new one. This agrees with the extremely small price, altogether 5 gulden.
This is impossible for a painting, and the forgers therefore saw themselves
obliged to heighten it in the copy. For a wooden sculpture the money was
however perfectly sufficient, for carved work was at that time paid far worse
than painting. That there is no mention made in the annals of the Sebastian
altar must not astonish us. The nun Dominika Erhardt gathered her records
from the old accounts, and was obliged to adhere to that which she found in
them. When she is silent, it is because she found nothing recorded. She
says indeed nothing of the altar-panels of the year 1512, which belonged to a
donation of the prioress Veronica Welser.
Passavant speaks of the date 1516, which stood on the painting of St.
Sebastian. It may be an error. I have not been able to find it. The dates
of 1515 for the order and 1517 for its completion likewise belong only to the
false annals and not to the original sources, and thus aU information with
regard to the time of its origin fails us, certain as this had once been

THE ALTAR OF ST. SEBASTIAN. 97
considered in art-history. Essentially, however, nothing is altered by it ; the
forgers seem to have hit upon the right. The rebuilding of the church of St.
Catherine was urged in 1515 by the prioress Veronica Welser ; it was begun in
1516 by the architect Hieronymus Imhoff and the foreman, Hans Engelberg, and
was so far completed in 1517 that the altars could be placed in it. The order
for the Sebastian altar was, however, evidently connected with the rebuilding of
the church, just as the basilicas and other panels had been before caUed forth by
the rebuilding of the monastery for the decoration of the cloisters and the
chapter-house. In 1517, at the placing of the altar, the artist was no longer in
Augsburg ; he must have completed his work before 1516.
The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian forms the subject of the central picture.
The disrobed saint is standing bound to a tree ; his right arm is fastened above
his head with ropes to the stem, his left arm is attached to a projecting branch.
From the position of the arms, and the turn given to the whole body, he is
placed in an attitude which calls to mind that of some resting Apollo or Bacchus
in antique sculpture. This is the case also in many Italian paintings of the
Saint. If the noble right arm were only somewhat lower, resting on the head
itself, instead of being bound above it, and the left arm were leaning against
the stem, instead of hanging down in chains, we should have an Hellenic
statue before us. Can this be a mere chance accordance ? The Fuggers had
antique statues in their art collections. Antiques were also in the possession
of Peutinger; and when originals could not be had, travelling painters had
brought copies and sketches from Italy. In comparison with all that we
elsewhere know of the German art of the period, this figure of St. Sebastian,
especially in the upper part of the body, exhibits an understanding of form
which is surprising. Holbein was the first of his whole nation who understood
how to look on nature with an unfettered eye. The head also of the youth is
no less beautiful, with its curly brown hair and the beard about the chin and
face, framing as it were the countenance. Pain penetrates deeply both body
and soul. His misery thrills through the countenance, yet the slightly parted
lips repress every sound of lamentation. Sebastian is not merely suffering, he
is enduring ; mental power has mastered all physical pain.
All the other figures are worthy of him. How distinctly they express to us
what is happening ! Subsequently, it is true, the master arrives at stUl more
entrancing action and bolder delineation of passing incidents in his com
positions ; here everything is more calm and sustained, but in spite of this it
is genuinely dramatic. Each has his distinct part, and knows how to play it ;
each is at the same time a necessary member in the whole, to which these very
characteristics are necessary.
With skilful arrangement the moment passed and that to come are combined
in the scene depicted. Sebastian's body is already pierced with arrows. One
of the murderers, attired in Oriental costume, is on the point of sending his
H

98 THE ALTAR OF ST. SEBASTIAN.
arrow from the bow ; another with red sleeves and a green doublet is choosing
his aim carefully ; whUe the third, dressed in red, with a large beard and cap, is
placing the arrow ready for a fresh shot; and the fourth, with his arrow between
his teeth, is spanning the crossbow at his knee. This figure is one of the best
of all, and is wonderfully conceived in the whole body and in every movement.
How thoroughly the effort for power is expressed ! Hard and cold unfeeling-
ness and an habitual acquaintance with death are expressed in his features.
Although the scene requires that the element of wretchedness should appear in
it, the artist has sparingly used it and does not overwhelm us with it. The
face of the aiming figure is half concealed by his hand and bow. The shooting
figure in the fantastic attire, with bow and sabre, is entirely seen from behind.
Behind him stands the officer of the Emperor Diocletian, who has ordered the
sentence to be executed ; he is dressed in a long fur-edged robe with golden
chains of office, and looks like a cunning lawyer, who knows how to invest the
crime with dignity and an appearance of right. What cold selfishness is there
in the delicate weU-kept countenance with its protruding under-lip ! All the
bystanders, however, are affected by the incident ; emotion is expressed even
in the indolent and fat figure to the left, but stiU more touched is the stout
old grey-bearded man on whose shoulder the other has thrown his arm. He
has the same features as those of God the Father in the votive picture of
the Schwartz family. In the beardless old man with the thin sUvery hair
opposite, ardent sympathy has risen to lofty indignation ; the near presence
of authority alone restrains its outburst ; he stands there with folded hands,
not turning his eye from the saint.
In one of the executioners, the kneeling figure in front, the patriotic
painter again amused himself in dressing him from head to foot in blue and
white, the colours of the hereditary enemy of his city. This time, it was not
merely the old hatred of the Bavarian neighbours which seems to have caused
him to do so. The history of the city communicates to us a circumstance
which we may perhaps regard as the special cause for it. At the end of the
year 1515, a Bavarian standard was suddenly during the night placed in the
chapel beyond the Lech Bridge. This was an insult which necessarily pro
duced a tumult among the citizens. The diplomatic negotiations respecting
it, and the expostulations with Duke William, - lasted far into the year
following. This event certainly did not take place without affecting the
youthful painter; he was weU disposed to the Imperial city, and thus he
assigned a less honourable position in his picture to the hated Bavarian
colours, which had been paraded so unjustly.
A modern spirit pervades the action and the figures, and a modern spirit
is also expressed in the whole scenery. The feeling for landscape beauty is a
feeling that only belongs to modern times, especially as regards the North, where
the language of nature was unintelligible until then. Landscape painting

ST. JLiAKBARA.

ST. KU/ABBTH.

ST. ELIZABETH AND ST. BARBARA. ii'J
was first cultivated by the Flemish painters ; the constraint of the old spirit
long held it aloof in Germany ; it was not until the turning-point from the
fifteenth to the sixteenth century that it made its way. With the deepest
feeling it was represented by Diirer, and Holbein the father also tried his
skiU in it. More freely and truly and with more delicate feeling the younger
Holbein painted it, and in so . doing scarcely remained inferior to Diirer.
How splendid is the scene, and at the same time how familiar and home-like,
to which he here transports us ! Proudly standing on the clear broad river, a
city appears with" its high walls and strong towers, and churches which rise
heavenward amid the houses, and a castle looking down from the mountain
height. Everything wears the aspect of the German Middle Ages, but some
touches of Renaissance are already emerging, here a dome and there two Doric
columns, which crown a projecting story. Accessories also are introduced ; in
the distance we see an angler sitting, and in some very small figures we see
the close of Sebastian's history, who has recovered from the arrow-shots, and
is now struck to death. In the distance there rises a bold snow mountain.
They are the Alps, as they may be seen in bright weather from the walls of
Augsburg. Holbein may also have been nearer them, and may have wan
dered here and there through their valleys with pencil and sketch-book. We
have indeed seen a few landscape sketches of wood and mountain among the
Copenhagen sheets.
Bright sunshine is spread not merely over the beautiful and pleasant
landscape, but over the whole picture. The weU-painted body of the saint
forms the luminous central point, standing out effectively from the red
mantle hanging from the bough behind him. How powerful and harmonious
is the effect of the gay and picturesque attire of the bystanders ! AU is
energetic, warm, and transparently bright.
The masterly original sketch of the picture, an etching slightly touched
with Indian ink, has been found by Waagen in the famous Florentine collec
tion, though the author was not known. Four sheets of metallic pencil-
sketches of separate parts of the painting are to be found in Copenhagen;
namely, of Sebastian himself, of the aiming archer, and of the hands of
several figures.
Two noble youthful female figures, St. Barbara and St. Elizabeth, occupy
the inner sides of the panel. Golden crowns adorn the heads of both,
for both had sprung from royal race; they wear costly rings on their fingers,
and walk across the marble pavement in rich attire, like princesses of the
painter's time. St. Barbara is attired in a blue dress, embroidered with gold,
with an ermine border, and wide white puffed sleeves ; St, Elizabeth is in a
fur-edged dress, and both wear purple mantles. The heads of both are drawn
from life. Ideally glorified, they yet do not renounce their portrait character.
St. Barbara, the chaste virgin, is bending her head in serious and devotional
n 2

100 ST. ELIZABETH AND ST. BARBARA.

thought over the cup in her hand and the host which is hovering over it. An
intimate intercourse with God and His wonders is expressed in her features.
And as in her faith is personified, so is love in St. Elizabeth. Love and woman
liness are the same, and thus we see in her the highest and purest image of
womanliness ; she is not as her companion, like a bud yet unopened, but
she appears in full, rich, unfolded beauty. Innocence, however, is stiU
diffused over her; and thus she treads lightly, with scarcely audible step,
as a messenger from heaven to bring comfort and refreshment wherever it is
needed. Gracefully with her right hand she is holding the flowing mantle,
in which she has hidden bread, and with the left she is pouring wine into the
cup of one of the three beggars who are kneeling at her feet. It is an ancient
custom that these should be depicted somewhat smaller than the principal
figure, to whom the greatest consideration is awarded. Otherwise, however,
there is nothing antique in them ; they are delineated with such true, such
thorough grasping of reality, as only modern times have produced. Thus,
this picture possesses, in a remarkable manner, great importance in the
history of painting. In these three beggars, as the celebrated physician
Professor Virchow has observed,1 symptoms of leprosy, both in its tuberose
and maculate forms, just as it appears in Norway at the present day, are
depicted with the utmost fidelity, thus affording an infallible evidence of a
period in which medicinal authorities are entirely lacking. In Auo-sburc, at
that time, there were three hospitals for leprosy. The dwellers in one of
these must have served the artist as models: This fact is particularly
interesting in an artistic point of view, because it shows Holbein's entire
devotion and consistency in his adherence to nature. The question whether a
sickness, and especiaUy such a sickness, can be at aU a subject for artistic
work, has been already answered by Virchow with acute understanding, while
he points to the fact that it is only the fault of the prudery of our own day,
when we cannot rise to such pure subjects of contemplation, drawn through
out from actual life, and that from an artistic point of view a sick man is just
as fitted to help in expressing the ideas of a work of art as a ruined house or
a decayed tree. Only because the deepest human misery is here depicted, is
the blessing also expressed, which the saint brings into their suffering. With
what true, hearty, and touching confidence does the sick youth covered with
sores, to whom she is dispensing bread, look up to her. In the thin old
man, whose cup she fills, whose leg is bound up, and whose whole head is
covered with plaster, silent gratitude is manifested through all the pain that
distorts his countenance. But the third, behind him, whose sunburnt face
is so wildly overgrown with hair and beard, looks up to her with ardent
enthusiasm. This is the finest head of all. In order rightly to depict this
comfort in sorrow and pain, this whole fearful delineation of misery and
1 Virchow's Archiv. fiir pathologische Anatomie, &c. vols. xxii. xxiii. Berlin.

THE ANNUNCIATION

THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE VIRGIN. 101

sickness was also necessary : it was necessary in order to place in full light
the supernatural tenderness and beauty of the saint, who was so deeply
touched with pity^and who nevertheless stands as if glorified, noble, pure,
and peaceful, above aU the sorrow, as though she belonged not to the world.
There can be nothing more beautiful than this countenance, which is so
charmingly encircled with the fair hair and the exquisite veil falling over
brow and shoulder, as she bends down so softly and gracefully.
Grace beams forth from her features ; it beams forth from her whole figure,
heightened rather by that which still remains of the Gothic bias. The hands
also are executed as beautifully as the head and neck ; they are well-formed,
well-conceived, and the grace of their action is inimitable.
If we compare this work with all that German art has hitherto produced,
this one figure ranks before all others on account of its pure beauty. The rare
fact occurs here, that the general standard of the laws of beauty can be
applied to a German work. Not merely relatively with respect to the barriers
which fetter German art, with respect to that which she can create and has
created, — no, absolutely beautiful is this figure. Forms, lines, feeling are
alike perfect. At the most, quite, low down in the folds, some complicated
and restless touches appear, which remind us of the state of things out
of which the artist has worked his way. Otherwise the drapery is full
of noble excellence and refined taste, and at the same time. the physical
form which it envelopes is always felt.
The sight of this picture always suggests to me a comparison of Holbein's
youthful work with the famous one of Raphael, the Sposalizio, a work painted
by him at the same age. Both paintings are worthy to be named, together.
Grace in form and feeling is the prominent characteristic of both. But
that in which the Italian must be superior, is apparent to all, and we
need not dwell upon it. Holbein, however, with all his loveliness, is at the
same time more vigorous. And if, we ask in what proportion both works
stand to those which preceded them or to those which were contem
poraneously produced, the advance made by the young Raphael can scarcely
compete with that made by Holbein.
The landscape pf the central picture is continued on the side panels. The
tower to the left of St. Barbara and the palace behind St. Elizabeth are parts
of the building which we see at the edge of the central picture. The palace,
which represents the Wartburg, has indeed a decided similarity with the
Romanesque architecture brought to light on its restoration, so that Holbein
must have been' acquainted with a drawing of it.
The outer sides of the panel, in less good preservation, represent the
Annunciation of the Virgin. The angel is floating down from the heights of
heaven ; he is still hovering in the air, and the impetuosity of his approach
is shown in his fluttering garment, which is violently agitated. In his left

102 THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE VIRGIN.
hand he is holding a sceptre ; his right hand is pointing gracefully upwards to
the heights from which he came. The Virgin, who is kneehng at an oratory,
is all attention. How devoutly she is hstening ! not a word does she suffer
to escape her, but her eye ventures not to gaze upwards at the heavenly
messenger ; full of astonishment and lost in thought, she is looking straight
forward. As yet she knows not what she shall think and say, and so she
allows her fingers in charming embarrassment to play with the hem of her
mantle, a surprisingly fine idea. Her small head, with the fair hair falling
down over her shoulders, has a great family resemblance to that of St.
Barbara. She looks like a younger sister of St. Barbara, for her expression and
features are still more youthful than hers. As her countenance is seen more
in front, it is plainly to be perceived how much the oval of the face, the
broadest part of which is the line of the eyes, and the high forehead, caU to
mind the type of the Cologne school.
Of all the parts of the altar, these outer sides must certainly have been
painted first. Here we find most remains of the earlier art ; even in the
fall of the drapery, which, it is true, generaUy exhibits style and taste, and
is arranged in happy and quiet masses, but which at the bottom of the
Virgin's dress somewhat fails in harmony, as her mantle is too widely
extended. The outer sides of the altar-panels generaUy exhibit a greater simpUcity
in the colouring. This is also the case here, where white and a pale yeUow
prevail in the drapery, which is tastefully decorated only with silver flowers
and gold borders. The wings of the angels are alone distinguished by greater
splendour of colour ; they sparkle with deep red, yellow, and blue.
A magnificent colonnade, in the best modern Italian taste, forms the back
ground ; slender, richly ornamented columns enclose each panel, supporting a
circular arch hung with festoons, and springing from a balustrade which is
adorned with reliefs. The inner sides also exhibit a grand Renaissance frame
work ; the figures stand between Corinthian pilasters which support a hori
zontal cornice ; reliefs adorn both socle and frieze : below, fabulous sea-gods,
ending in fantastic curves of water-plants ; above, a vase between sphinxes,
towards whom griffins are spitting out their flowery fire. Compared with
Burgkmair's heaviness and exuberant excess, as in the panels of 1512,
Holbein has here made a grand advance. This splendid architecture was
created and devised by the artist at a period when for many years to come
nothing but the Gothic prevailed in German buildings. It was not the
architects, but the painters who introduced the new style in architectural
matters on this side of the Alps. The architects were not able to free them
selves from the Gothic system, as it was too grand and powerful, and once
adopted was too constraining in all its details. Complete freedom was,
however, necessary ; for tho mighty internal consistency of the system

HOLBEIN LEA VES HIS NATIVE CITY. 103
admitted of no reform, no gradual adoption and cultivation of the new style.
Completely to forsake and sacrifice the old, and thoroughly to adopt the new,
its expressed opposite, this alone was possible. This was brought about by the
arts of sculpture and painting, to the followers of which the unavoidable
necessity of this step must soonest have become apparent. Thus, as they
strove and studied to observe nature and to reproduce nature, they could no
longer agree with the architectural principle which denies nature, disdains it
and fetters it. And as they wrestled after a fresh conception of reality and
felt the power of physical beauty, they could no longer have anything in
common with the Gothic, in which all that is corporeal is only a necessary
evil. So soon as they exhibited the human figure as they saw it in life, in its
natural proportions, and in its natural movements, they had no longer scope
in an architectural system which models the figure not according to the laws
of its own being, but according to those of the system itself.
This work belongs to the best of all those that we possess of Holbein.
There is stUl an element of youthfulness in the picture which peculiarly
touches us from its charming naivete', but manly power is linked with the
childlike feeling, and in other respects this production is closely allied with
the works of the next epoch in his career. When Waagen first proved that
these paintings were the work of the son and not of the father, he drew
attention to a subsequent drawing by the young Holbein at Basle, in which
he has again produced the subject of St. Elizabeth. Also not only this, but the
entire conception of the heads in the central picture perfectly accords with
the portraits of Holbein's first period at Basle, — namely, those of the Burgo
master Meier and his wife, of the painter Herbster and others ; the Renais
sance frameworks are also exactly like the architectural borders which we
meet with in the woodcuts for title-pages of the following year.
The master never ceased in his continual advance, but with every artist
we can perceive a peculiar epoch of improvement ; and this epoch, as regards
Holbein, is concluded here. In the Sebastian altar he gives his native city a
sample of his work before he quits her, and he proves that he had been trained
as an artist within her walls and through her influence, and he goes forth
freely and joyfully into the. world. Never did he see Augsburg again, so
far as we know, but the spirit which had there imbued the growing youth
never left him during his life. However remotely he sojourned and wandered,
he continued chained as by an invisible thread to his native city, the city
of German Renaissance.

CHAPTER VI.
Kemoval to Basle.— Period at which this took place. — Sigmund Holbein at Berne.— His
works. — His will. — Ambrosius Holbein and his works. — Hans Holbein admitted into
the freedom of the city of Basle.— What Basle could offer him. — Position of Basle
and character of its inhabitants.— The University and its teachers.— Book-printing.
From the year 1516, Holbein's activity in Basle may be traced by the dates of
his paintings. Probably he was there, however, as early as the year 1515.
The woodcut of a title-page bearing his name,1 furnishes evidence of this.
According to Passavant, it appeared in the small pamphlet edited by Erasmus,
entitled " De Octo Orationes Partium Constructione," in 1515. I have not
been able to see a copy of this edition ; and as Passavant, who has made
several mistakes in these things, does not quote the title accurately, a complete
confirmation of the fact is yet wanting. At any rate we meet with the wood
cut in the brief of Pope Leo X. to Erasmus, without a date, but with a preface
dated " Pridie Calendas Januarias, anno mdxvl," i.e. 31st December, 1515, so
that the paper must have appeared tolerably early in the year 1516. That
among Holbein's metallic pencil sketches Ulrich Fugger's wife appears, whose
marriage did not take place till the 28th May, 1516, seems, indeed, to render
it probable that the painter resided for a longer time at Augsburg ; there is,
however, no actual proof of this : the lady may have been sketched while stUl
a girl, and there is nothing in her costume to indicate especially a married
woman. The inscription, which states her as such, — written in an old hand, it
is true, but retouched with ink, — may have been subsequently added to it.2
From Joachim von Sandrart's statements, it has usuaUy been supposed that
the whole family of Holbein, both father and sons, removed from Basle to
Augsburg. The statements of artist biographers that the father had educated
1 Passavant, 103.
2 The portraits of the Augsburg Patrician Rehling and his child, executed in 1517, are not
by Holbein. Hegner has endeavoured to prove Holbein's earlier activity in Basle, from two
works in the Museum there, dated 1513. Apart from the fact that their appearance at Basle
does not establish the place of their origin, it is quite sure that neither proceeds from Holbein.
One is a now generally acknowledged portrait by Hans Baldung Frien ; the second, a drawing
with three foot-soldiers, bears the monogram of Nicolaus Manuel.

SIGMUND HOLBEIN. 105

his son Hans in his own art at Basle, and had inscribed him as his pupil in
the guild-book there, cannot be accurately relied upon, for a special book of
pupUs does not exist until 1675, and in the large guild-book the pupils
are only registered until 1487. But Hans Holbein, the father, in order
to be able to enter a pupil, must have been himself previously inscribed by
the corporation as a master, and this is not the case. In the guUd-book only
one Hans Holbein appears, and that is the son. Here, as in the town register,
his name is mentioned at a time when we know autheuticaUy that the father
had long been dead. Besides Hans, and according to time, before him, only
his brother Ambrosius is mentioned in Basle. There is also no trace to be
found at Basle of the father's activity as an artist. He was, it is true, and
this probably in his later life, as we gather from an authentic record before
mentioned, at no great distance from Basle, at Frenheim, in Alsace. But he j
evidently retained his residence at Augsburg, otherwise his death would j
certainly not have been registered in the painters' book.
The desire of the father to be independent, and the wish to avoid all
competition with him, may have induced the sons to settle in another city.
Perhaps they came to Basle in the travels which they, like every genuine
German artisan, undertook, and remained there because the place afforded
them suitable employment. That here, as we have seen,1 they had probably
kinsmen, may have been another inducement.
Moreover, another Holbein had already made his fortune in Switzerland, ^
namely Sigmund, the uncle of Hans, who died in 1540 as an estabhshed !
citizen, and must have resided there earlier, for in 1509 he appears for the
last time in the rate-books of Augsburg, and after the year 1512, in which
his portrait was taken by his nephew Hans, no trace of him is to be found in
his native city. We know nothing of the time of his birth, but as he calls
himself very aged in his will of 1540, and seems not to be much more than forty
in the portrait sketch, he must have been born about 1470. We possess only
one authentic work by him, namely, a small Madonna painting with several
angels in the Castle of Nuremberg, bearing the inscription S. Hollbaine, but
this is so beautiful that it alone is sufficient to secure him a place in the history
of German art. It bears some similarity to the picture of the Virgin by his
brother in the Moritz Chapel at Nuremberg, but it far surpasses it. The
Child, who is enveloped in a light veil, is full of grace. The head of the
Virgin, with its oblong oval and flowing fair hair, reminds us of Flemish
models, as also the harmony of the colouring, the treatment of the accessory
parts, — the embroidered footstool, the vessels, the apple, and the timepiece,
which are introduced, and the throne, which, in its form, belongs to the
Renaissance style; only the fall of the drapery is more pure and noble in
style than we see it in Flemish pictures. 1 Cf. chap. iii.

106 SIGMUND HOLBEIN'S TESTAMENT.
No other work is it possible with certainty to ascribe to him, although here
and there in the galleries a work is marked with his name. There are two
German portraits, by different hands, in the Belvedere at Vienna, where
Christian von Mechel, in arranging the collection, has named them entirely
according to his fancy, and has especially aimed at having represented aU
the members of the Holbein family. Whether the warmly coloured and
pleasing half-length portrait of a young woman, marked " Hoferin," in the
London National Gallery, formerly in the Wallerstein Collection, bears with
better right the name of Sigmund Holbein, it is difficult to ascertain. She
wears on her head a large white handkerchief, on which a fly is resting,
painted so delusively, that one almost imagines it can be driven away, — an
ingenuity in painting which repeatedly appears in old anecdotes of artists,
and also in one told of Hans Holbein.
We cannot trace this subsequent activity at Berne, yet it cannot have
been quite unimportant, as appears from a passage in his will, a highly
interesting document, preserved in the archives there. The document is
as follows : — Sigmund Holbein's Testament.
" I, Sigmund Holbein, the painter, established citizen of Berne, declare by this testament,
in order to obviate all strife and dissension which may arise in my family after my death, on
account of the small property I leave behind, and which may not come to those to whom I give
it, that I have made this my last will with perfect consideration, sound mind and judgment,
and sound body, neither persuaded thereto by any one, nor urged to it by threat, but of my
own free will, as is due to me, as to any other free citizen aud vassal of the city of Berne,
having possessed my property freely and without mortgage, and having accumulated and
hoarded it entirely by my works. I am induced to make my will at this time from the circum
stance that I am inclined to journey to Augsburg to my family, and the consideration that
before my return from such journey death in some manner may have befallen me, subject as
we all are to the will and providence of our gracious Lord God, and that, as I am moreover
now old and full of days, death may be all the nearer to me. Hence I determine, that so far
as this will is not revoked by myself, it may be entirely complied with.
" In the first place, I will and bequeath to my dear nephew Hans Holbeyn, the painter,
citizen at Basle, both as my blood relation and my own race and name, as well as from the
especial love I bear him and from the affinity in which he stands to me, the free gift of all my
goods and property which I have and leave in the city of Berne, namely, my house, and court
yard, and the garden behind, standing in the Brunnengasse, on the sunny side, above by the
Trom wall, near Gorg Zimmerman, the tailor's house. The said property is free from taxes,
with the exception of five pounds interest, including the commutation-capital, which I owe out
of it to Herr Bernhard Tillman, treasurer of the council at Berne, for money lent. Item, my
silver utensils, household furniture, colours, painter's gold and silver, implements for painting,
and other things, nothing excepted, that he shall appropriate the same as my appointed heir,
have it in his possession, do with it and live as with his own possession and property,
unmolested by my sisters and by any one. What I have here bequeathed him, will be found
noted on a separate roll, so that my cousin can better inquire after it.
" Further, however, my sister Ursula Messerschmid, at Augsburg, owes me capital which
I have lent her and put out at interest, and the unpaid interest of this, which amounts to
about fifty gulden. This debt, and what I elsewhere have belonging to me at Augsburg,
house rubbish, and implements for my trade, whatever it be, without exception, this is to be

SIGMUND HOLBEIN'S TESTAMENT. 107

divided equally between my sisters and the other two, — Anna Elchinger, at St. Ursula Am
Schwall,1 and Margreth Herwart, at Esslingen ; and they shall be satisfied with this, and not
inquire after the rest, nor annoy my nephew Hans in any way.
" And thus I conclude this my last testimony, reserving to myself, according to custom,
the right of altering it, lessening it and increasing it, wholly reversing it and appointing it other
wise, so long as I am in the possession of my senses and my understanding. And as my last
will is found, it shall be followed out, and observed in all points, and all danger and cunning
shall be avoided by virtue of this document.
" The witnesses thereto were the cautious, good, and wise Bernhard Tillman, treasurer of the
council, Anthony Noll, member of the council, and Hans Adams, the tailor, citizen of Berne.
And for the true authentication of all this, I, Sigmund Holbeyn, the testator, have requested
my dear master, the afore-mentioned Bernhard Tillman, publicly to place to it his own seal
for me and mine. Upon which, I, the same Bernhard Tillman, whom he names in his bequest,
declare my presence at tbe transaction, and seal the testament with my seal within and without.
Yet no injury shall accrue therefrom to me and my heirs. Done sixth of September, 1540."
That the death of the testator foUowed soon after the drawing-up of the
testament, is shown by the following notice from the Raths-manual of the city
of Berne, under the eighteenth of November of the following year : " To write
to Augsburg and Basle, that Sigmund Holbein is dead, leaving behind him a '
testament, in which he bequeaths sundry things to several people in these
cities, and to mention to the same, that if they would apply for it, and send an
authorized agent for it, on the Sunday after Twelfth-day, the will should be
piven to them." — Here follows the confirmation of the testament : —
o " I, Hans Franz Nagelz, mayor of the city of Berne, do hereby announce that this day, in
presence of the councillors whose names follow below, the honourable and wise Franz Schmid,
citizen of Basle, came to me, and laid before me a procuracy and a letter from Elsbeth, the
wife of Master Hans Holbein, the painter, citizen of Basle, and also a letter from the burgo
master and council of the town of Basle, and thereafter by the help of his legal advocate has
informed me, that as Master Sigmund Holbein the painter had died here, and had left
behind a testament, which is in the hand of Master Hans Adam, the tailor, he desired that
this should be produced, read, and declared valid, and as such recorded in the testament
register of the city. Upon which, the afore-mentioned testament was produced by Hans
Adam, read aloud, and acknowledged valid, according to legal manner, because the said
Sigmund Holbein had been under the protection of the city of Berne, and hence enjoyed
the freedom which belonged to the city, and thus his testament is valid in law, and is to be
carried out, and inscribed in the city register. The above-named Franz Schmid desired to
receive a record of this verdict. This is acknowledged under my, the above-mentioned
mayor's, seal of office ; and the gentlemen of the council who have expressed their opinion
on the matter, are the noble, good, and prudent Hans Jacob von Watteuwil, former
mayor, Sulpitius Haller, treasurer, Peter Nuttag, Anthony Noll, Peter von Werd, Chrispinus
Vischer, Nicolaus Schwungharn, Matthaus Knecht, and Hans Kichtz. Monday, the tenth
of January, 1541."
In this testament, beside the nephew Hans, no other nephew is mentioned.
This seems to indicate that Ambrosius was at that time no longer alive. He
only once appears authentically in Basle. In tlie redbook of the guild, " zum
1 Am Schwall is a street at Augsburg, in which, on an arm of the Lech, the church of
St. Ulrich stands.

108 AMBROSIUS HOLBEIN
Himmel," to which the bakers, saddlers, and barbers belonged, the following
stands recorded : " Item Ambrosius Holbein, painter from Augsburg, was
admitted into the guild on St. Matthias Day in the xvii. year ; '' that is, on the
!24th February, 1517. Soon after he must have gone away, or more probably
have died. There was an order of the council issued- in 1487, according to
which each man who entered a guild was obliged upon oath to purchase the
freedom of the city within a month, " without any opposition or contradiction."
Ambrosius, however, did not comply with this regulation. His name is not to
be found in the list of the newly-received citizens. Upon his works also, no
other dates but 1517 and 1518 are to be found. These dates are to be seen on
metallic pencil-sketches in the Basle Museum, executed just Uke similar
works by the brother, only by far softer ; the first date is on the head of a
youth in a hat, the second is on one of two female heads, a child-like and
round countenance on which stands the name of "Anni." A fine and charming
conception in portraiture is exhibited also in two small portraits with a simple
stone framework, which appear in the Amerbach inventory as " two little boys
in yellow dress." Besides these the Basle Museum has two small pictures by
him, namely, two death's heads behind a trellised window, which were first
named by Remigius Fesch as the work of Ambrosius, and which indeed accord
in the framework as weU as in the execution with the other pictures ; and,
lastly, there is a Suffering Saviour, sitting with His legs crossed and His
hands clasped together, after Diirer's well-known title-page to the great
Passion woodcuts. Instead, however, of sitting on the stone and before a
mocking soldier, He is seated on clouds ; above appears God the Father dis
tributing blessing, in a glory of cherubim-heads, and numerous angels, with
instruments of .torture, people the heaven. This is not quite an intelligible
reproduction of his great model, and the treatment with aU its care is some
what deficient in power ; the colouring is not devoid of the decision and depth
seen in pictures by his brother.
In the Belvedere at Vienna, a picture is ascribed to Ambrosius, but this
also has arisen from an unauthorized denomination of Mechel's. A genuine
picture, bearing a monogram formed of A. and H. intertwined, is in the
Bavarian National Museum at Munich ; it represents Potiphar's wife sitting
on her bed, and endeavouring to seduce Joseph. It is pretty though insignifi
cant ; the action of the woman is not wholly understood, but it is deep and
warm in colouring. We can appreciate the artist best, especially as regards
the imaginative part of his works, in the woodcuts from his drawings, which
we shall presently mention when we are discussing similar works by Hans.
At this place we must, however, mention another group of pictures in the
Basle Museum, grand representations from the Passion on canvas, thus pro
bably painted as procession standards or for other passing ecclesiastical
decorations. The two most exceUent of these pictures, the Scouroing of

AND HIS WORKS. 109

Christ and the Last Supper, are mentioned in the Amerbach inventory as
youthful works by Hans Holbein ; the three others — Christ on the Mount of
Olives, the Betrayal, Christ before Pilate — are subsequent acquisitions, made
under the name of Holbein the father. In style and execution, they have
nothing to do with the latter ; they belong with the two first mentioned to one
group, and are only less able in their execution and also in less good preserva
tion, because they have not been entirely finished by the same hand. Some
types of head alone recall to mind those of Holbein the father, but the com
position, action, and style belong to an artist who is not standing on the
threshold of the sixteenth century. In both Scourgings of Christ we see the
most regardless delineation of all that is terrible, but at the same time also an
especial ability in depicting the most extreme and violent passions. The
Saviour fastened to the column, covered all over with marks of blood, seems
starting with pain under the blows of the three rough men, and is violently
pressing His left leg over the right. Equally forcible, but not so revolting, is
the Last Supper. The scenery is formed by a colonnade in the Renaissance
style, in the background of which the washing of the feet may be seen. The
Saviour's countenance is somewhat vague in expression, and St. John is lying
very awkwardly on His bosom. All the more important are the other apostles,
manifold as they are in expression ; some are thoughtful, others talking eagerly
together, others loudly asserting their innocence. Judas, in a yellow garment,
has jumped up to take the sop which Christ is handing to him from the dish.
His overwhelming consciousness of guilt could not be more speakingly ex
pressed. St. Peter, however, who is sitting opposite, has placed his two clenched
hands on the table, and is looking at him as though he were thinking, "Would
I had you, and you should feel it." Great ability for dramatic representation
is here exhibited, but the composition suffers somewhat from overcrowding.
The way of handhng the brush, although unequal, is in many parts bold and
free, but the colouring is less delicately balanced than in the works of Hans
Holbein the younger ; the combination of glaring yellow, dull red, and dirty
blue not producing an agreeable effect.
In these works, especially in the two more accurately described, many
characteristics meet us which remind us directly of Hans Holbein the
younger; others, however, stand in contrast to him, and are in opposition
to the perfection and taste which we have already perceived in the paintings
of his Augsburg period. We must not, therefore, exclusively credit the state
ments of the Amerbach inventory, in which various errors have already
appeared. One thing is certain respecting these works, and this is, their
origin in the Holbein family. Many characteristics remind us also of
Ambrosius, especially the somewhat dull tone of colouring and the architec
ture in the Last Supper, the Renaissance style of which appears just as in
title-pages after his drawings.

1 1 0 HANS HOLBEIN A T BASLE.
We may therefore regard these works probably as productions of the
common Holbein atelier, in which both brothers, and perhaps other assistants,
took part. In his earlier period, then, the younger brother Hans cannot have
come to Basle otherwise than as a worker in his elder brother's atelier, for he
alone belonged to the guild, and it was not till three years afterwards that
Hans was admitted.
On the 3rd of July, 1520, Hans was invested with the freedom of the city
of Basle. " Item, Tuesday before St. Ulrich's day, Hans Holbein from Augs
burg, painter, has received the right of citizenship, and has sworn in the usual
form." Such is the authentic document. Not long after, on the 23rd of
September of the same year, he was admitted into the guild " zum Himmel."
This is stated in the passage in the guild-book : " Item es hat die zunfft
Empffangen Hans Holbein der moller uff Suntag vor sant Michels dag im
xvcxx jor vnd hat geschworn der zunfft ordnung zu halten wie ein ander
zunfft bruder der moller." (Item, Hans Holbein the painter has been
received into the guild, on Sunday before St. Michael's day, 23rd September,
in the year 1520, and has sworn to preserve the statutes of the guUd like every
other guild brother of the painters.) His arms, quickly and ably executed by
his own hand, are preserved in the guild chamber. They are a bull's head on
a yellow ground, with a red star over it; "Hans Holbein the painter" is
inscribed above. That the other members of the guild early showed honour
and confidence to the highly gifted artist, appears from a fact related. Some
months before his admission into the guild, on the 25th of July, 1520, he was
elected chamber master of it, as we find in another book belonging to the
guild, "the treasurer's account." There may have been simply some formal
grounds which yet delayed his definitive reception ; perhaps at the moment it
was inconvenient for him to pay the fee of one pound and three shillings.
As, however, he had entered the list of citizens, and thus was sure of the
guild, there was no hesitation, when the yearly election of treasurer and
chamber master occurred, in appointing him to one of the offices.
What could have induced Holbein the Augsburger to settle in Basle,
sprung as he was from a city which in wealth, culture, and art, in his day
stood alone in the whole German empire, and which moreover had been so
important and decisive for himself and the development of his art ? I believe
that which distinguished Basle at that time was, that, formally separated from
Germany, it shared with it character, culture, and tendency of mind, but it
had no part in its political misery. It knew how to combine the good of
Germany with that of Switzerland. This had given the city what Germany
could not give to hers ; namely, freedom, that healthy atmosphere of life in
which everything in Basle gladly breathes and thrives.
It was said by the people that it was not easy to find a house in Basle in

HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE OF BASLE. Ill
which there was not a learned man. But one thing was especially grand and
beautiful : Basle preserved her spirit of freedom even in scientific matters. To
those who were driven away elsewhere in Germany it became an asylum, just
as we stUl see in the Swiss universities.
And as in Basle itself, so also in the neighbouring cities, with which she
was in constant intercourse, were the sciences cultivated. At Freiburg, in the
Breisgau, there lived Ulrich Zasius ; born at Constance, he was first notary,
and then city recorder and rector of the Latin school, and in 1500 was
professor of the University, ranking high as a jurist, while at the same time he
zealously carried on his classical studies. He taught both law and classics,
and as a teacher was especially distinguished. Erasmus called him the only
German who understood how to speak and to write. In Schlettstadt there
was a learned school founded in 1450, which, under Dringenberg's direction,
produced extraordinary results. Here, as in Strasburg, there were learned
societies, established by Wimpfeling, who, from the gentle and loving-
manner in which he pursued his studies and made them accessible to the
public, obtained great influence in the whole of the Upper Rhine districts.
In Basle itself, the Rhenish Society, with Beatus Rhenanus at its head, stood
in decided opposition to the clergy and scholastics, the Sophist party as they
were caUed ; and this humanistic spirit soon found a more decided support
and an important centre, when the great Erasmus took up his abode there.
Equally important, however, as its university, was the trade of book-
printing, for the carrying on of which Basle was at that time a principal place,
although perhaps not the principal place within the range of the German
language. In this especially Basle shows her greatness, that she cultivated
that branch of industry which is the most important element in the revival of
human culture. It was also an evidence of true understanding in the citizens
and town councU, that they endeavoured to promote the art of book-printing
and permitted printers to be admitted into all guilds. Bernhard Richel set
up the first printing-press there, and the first printed book bears the date
of 1474. The first paper-mill in Germany was also established there.
While we have regarded the spirit of freedom that prevailed in Basle as
the general reason for Holbein's attraction to the city, we may look upon the
immense trade of printing as the especial reason for it. The earliest Basle
printers possessed one thing in common: they combined a pure taste for art
with a scientific interest based on solid culture. Cratander, Johann Petri von
Langendorf, Johannes Amerbach, and especiaUy Johannes Frobenius, were
especially great in this way. They stood in connection with the most
distinguished scholars, who gave them their works to publish, and undertook
for them the correction of the newly edited classic authors. At the same
time, these publishers took care that their works should be beautifully
finished, and in this another art took part, as the books, especially the title-

112 BOOK-PRINTING.

pages, were adorned with woodcuts. Earnest love for the work was far
more prominent with them than any striving after material gain, which
in Froben's ease, for example, was very smaU. Noble zeal and devotion
were applied to the perfecting of their art, "and thus," as Johannes von
Miiller1 says, "they deserve greater fame than many great statesmen and
conquerors, whose cunning and success have thrown the world into confusion,
and have brought a part of the human race into unutterable woe."
The attraction that kept Hans and Ambrosius Holbein in Basle after they
had once entered the city, was certainly, to a great extent, nothing else than
the favourable opportunity of finding easy and certain gain in working for
publishers. Here there was none of the competition which had made similar
employment difficult to obtain at Augsburg, where, with many others, Hans
Burgkmair and Hans Scheuffelein made drawings for grand woodcuts, even at
Imperial order.
Immediately after their arrival they began these works, in which we shall
find one of the most important branches of their artistic activity.

See p. 353.

CHAPTER VII.
Holbein in Basle and Lucerne. — The schoolmaster's signboard. — Portraits of the Meier
couple. — Portrait of Herbster. — Traces of Holbein in other parts of Switzerland. — The
lost table in Zurich.— Fainting of the house of Hertenstein at Lucerne. — Historical
representations, and subjects chosen from antiquity. — A journey to Upper Italy doubtful.
— Influence of Mantegna and Leonardo. — The Last Supper at Basle. — A doubtful work :
the Fountain of Life at Lisbon.
Among Holbein's earliest paintings at Basle, a work appears which evidences,
in the most distinct manner, how thoroughly united art and handicraft were
at that time. Holbein, who shortly before had completed in Augsburg a work
of the first rank in the altar of St. Sebastian, was here called upon to paint the
sign-board of a schoolmaster, of no great importance and of no higher value
than the sign-boards to be seen at the present day in our streets.
" Wer Jemandt hie der gern welt lernen diitsch schriben vnd lasen vsdem
aller kiirtzisten grundt den Jeman erdenken kan do durch ein Jeder der vor nit
ein buchstaben kan, der mag kurtzlich vnd bald begriffen ein grundt do durch
er mag von jm selbs lernen sin schuld vff schriben vnd lasen vnd wer es nit
gelernen ban so ungeschickt were den wil ich um nut vnd vergeben gelert
haben vund gantz mit von jm zu Ion nemmen er sig wer er well burger oder
hantwercks gesellen frouwen vnd junckfrouwen wer sin bedarff der kumm
har jn, der wirt druwlich gelert umm ein zimlichen Ion. Aber die jungen
knaben vnd meitlin noch den fronuasten, wie gewonheit ist, 1516."
(Whoever wishes to learn to read and write German in the shortest time
conceivable, so that any one who does not know a letter before may shortly
be able to acquire means by which he may thereafter continue to learn by
hirhself and to write what he needs and to read ; and whoever is so awkward
that he cannot learn, I shall have taught him for nothing and will take no pay
from him, be he who he may, citizen or artisan, woman or girl. Whoever
needs learning let him come here, and he shall be taught for a tolerable pay
ment. But the young boys and girls at the beginning of each quarter of the
year, as is usual. 1516.)
So runs the inscription, which is repeated, only with slight orthographical
differences, on the reverse side, which is now removed. Naive as the words
themselves is the appearance of the pictures, which are on each side under the
I

114 THE BURGOMASTER JACOB MEIER
invitation in a narrow strip. It is as though they were intended to confirm
the words. In both pictures we are introduced to the school-room. In the
first picture we see the schoolmaster at his desk, on the left, instilling the
ABC into a small boy, with the rod in his hand at the same time, ready
when occasion offers ; two other boys are sitting with their books on a bench,
and at a small desk opposite is the schoolmaster's wife, who is instructing a
little girl. Like the children in this picture, the opposite one represents the
adults in the school, two great youths, who are scarcely accustomed to sit still
so long. The teacher is instructing them in writing, and is obliged to use aU
his energy, to make them understand to some extent the difficult art. These
scenes are depicted merrily, boldly, and with great humour. Hastily dashed
off as the painting is, it shows everywhere the bold character of Holbein's
hand. When he painted this, Holbein certainly never imagined that the city
of Basle would keep it in its museum for centuries, among other evidences
of his art and his fame.
That at the same time he received other commissions, can be also seen in
the Berlin Museum. Holbein was aUowed to take the portrait of the most
important personage in the whole city, the newly-elected burgomaster and his
wife. This burgomaster was Jacob Meier, surnamed " zum Hasen," from his
house, to distinguish him from others of the same name ; he is the Jacob Meier
who subsequently ordered, him to paint the famous Madonna picture ; the name
of his wife was Anna Tschekapiirlin, The painter's early and lasting acquain
tance with this man must have certainly been serviceable to him. Jacob Meier
plays an important part in the history. of the city. UntU the year 1516 master
of the guild," zumHansgenossen," he was then elected as the first burgomaster
from the commonalty, the highest office of the city having hitherto been held
only by persons of knightly birth. Every other year from this time he was
elected, for the same man might not hold the highest office for two years in
succession ; and as his election was the fruit of great innovations in the
municipal government, so the most important changes in the constitution
mark his official rule. It was under him that five years later the bishop and
nobles were deprived of all their former privUeges, that it was decreed that no
oath was henceforth to be taken to any bishop, that he was not to fill the post
of councillor, and that none of his liegemen were to be suffered in the councU.
Thus the most important historical change in the city was accomplished with
out external disorder. A man who was elected at such a time, and thus
carried out his task, cannot have been without importance. His countenance,
as Holbein has preserved it to us, is pervaded by an air of superiority, and
exhibits an energy kept in check by moderation and judgment. The scarcely
parted lips are especially beautiful and full of life. He is holding a piece of
money in his left hand ; perhaps this may only be intended as a mark of
his opulence, but it may also possess special historical importance. On

— E 1 II

THE BUllGOMASTER JACOB MEIER ZUM HASEN.
(Basle.)

AND HIS WIFE.

115

the 10th January, 1516, the Emperor Maximilian issued from Augsburg a
charter to the people of Basle for the mintage of gold coins.1 The right
hand was not painted until later. We may still perceive in the original
picture the outline of the hand as Holbein painted it. The monogram
and date, 1516, are introduced in the Renaissance architecture of the back-

WmiA

mm

f€fiSSi '- - llll!

WIFE OF THE BURGOMASTEB MEIER. (Basle.)

around. The corresponding picture is enclosed with this in one common
to
t vn TYl _-*
The delicate features of the young wife— who, like her husband, is seen
at almost three-quarters face— are pervaded by a certain embarrassment, a
reserved and childlike expression, which invest her with a peculiar charm and
a thorouohly German character. The woodcut is one of the worst in the
whole book, and almost contradicts the description. We advise our readers
to look at Braun's excellent photograph instead. She is attired in a red dress
trimmed with black, and the delicate care which marks the whole execution
1 Ochs, v. p. 314.
I 2

116 WORKS OF THE SAME YEAR.
is shown especially in the embroidering of her dress. The man wears a black
coat and a red cap. The bright and somewhat brownish flesh tints, and the
blue atmosphere which forms the background behind the architecture, in
crease the decided effect of the colouring. The clever studies in metaUic
pencil belonging to both pictures, are also in the Basle Museum. The delicate
execution of Meier's curly hair is unsurpassable. On both drawings there
are manuscript notices respecting the colours. This at once affords us
information with regard to Holbein's mode of work, information which is
confirmed by the portraits of his English period, and even by an authentic
record. He certainly never tormented the people whom he painted with long
sittings, but depicted them accurately in his sketches, so that, aided by his
remarkable memory of form, he could execute the paintings for the most
part from these studies.
To the same year belongs the masterly portrait of the Basle painter, Hans
Herbster, in Mr. Thomas Baring's collection in London. It represents a
stately, original-looking man, with long hair and a great brown beard, dressed
in a dark smock frock and a red cap. An architectural framework, piUars
supporting a semicircular arch, aud columns upon which little genii with
hanging garlands are sitting, surround the picture. The name of the
individual represented stands below, with the addition " Oporini pater,"
alluding to his son, the famous Basle publisher Oporinus, who has thus
Latinised his name. On a votive tablet in the pendentive stands the date ;
the corresponding tablet, which may have contained the name of the painter,
is effaced. A portrait of a youth of twenty years of age, with the initials
G. E. on his cap, and painted, according to inscription, in 1518, accords with
this work in its whole execution, as well as in the Renaissance framework ;
it is in the Hermitage at St. Petersburg, and has been described by Dr.
Waagen. There is a painting of 1517 in the Basle Museum, half-length
portraits of Adam and Eve, ably painted after nature, and brownish in colour.
Adam's head is striking from the great moustachios.
The great interval which occurs between Holbein's first appearance in
! Basle, and his admittance into the guild and privileges, is partly explained by
\ his absence from Basle, and by his wanderings and works in other places.
' We are almost entirely without information on the matter, but it corresponds
with aU we know of the custom and habit of the German painters of that day,
f if we regard it as probable that at this time he led a kind of wandering life.
'it was a custom for painters and for every other artisan, after the com
pletion of his apprenticeship, to set out upon his travels, to obtain work here
and there, and thus to see the world and to return rich with impressions.
Hegner mentions paintings in Courtrai, Zurich, Altorf, and Berne, which
make it probable that Holbein may have lived and worked at tliese places.

HOLBEIN AT L UCERNE. 1 1 7

Most of these, however, erroneously bear the name of our artist. In Zurich
alone there was formerly a work in the town library which, to aU appearance,
must have been executed by him, but even in Hegner's time it had disap
peared. Joachim von Sandrart 1 describes it thus : " In particular, there is a
large table which is worthy of inspection, entirely painted by our Hans
Holbein the younger, on which, in artistic oil colours, he has represented the
so-caUed Sanct (Nobody) sitting sadly on a broken tub, his mouth fastened up
with a great lock. Around him, torn old books are lying, earthen and metal
vessels, glass pans; dishes, and various other utensils, but all broken and
destroyed. An open letter on which Holbein's name stands, is so naturally
represented, that many people have seized it by mistake, thinking it a real
one. The rest of this table is ornamented with various hunting scenes and
foliage." Less detailed is Patin's description : " A square table, about five
spans broad, on which are depicted dancing, fishing, hunting, fish-spearing,
represented for the most part playfully."
Holbein's residence at Lucerne is alone reaUy to be proved. In the
GeseUschaftsbuch of the brotherhood of St. Lucas there, he is mentioned
among the painters admitted, but unfortunately without any statement of the
year : " Meister Hanns Holbein het j. gulden gen." (Master Hans Holbein
has given one gulden.) Patin mentions numerous church paintings of
Holbein's at Lucerne, one alone of which, however, is now to be seen, namely,
the Mourning over the Body of Christ on His Descent from the Cross ; it was
formerly in the church of the barefooted friars, but it is now in private pos
session 2 at Basle, and the picture is certainly not by Holbein, but by Hans
Baldung Grien. A drawing, however, of Holbein's in the Basle Museum
points to Lucerne, namely, a Virgin and Child, jurobably the sketch for
a picture with a landscape in the background, which is unmistakeably
taken from Lucerne, and depicts a city standing on the shore of a lake,
with the well-known covered bridge, with walls and towers, and crowned
with heights.
One work the artist completed there, which without doubt belongs to
the most important which he has produced so far as we can judge, although it
also has perished, not by the hand of time, but by that of barbarism, which
destroys more than time. Holbein decorated the newly-built house of the.-»
Mayor Jacob von Hertenstein,3 a man weU known hi the history of the city,
with waU-paintings, within and without. The family of Hertenstein is one of
the oldest in Switzerland. His ancestral castle stood near Weggis, on a steep
rock on the shore of the lake of the Four Cantons, and thus gave rise to their
name. They had ever been the friends of the confederates, and their citizen-
1 Teutsche Akadeniie, vol. ii. p. 80 ; Zurich.
2 Herr Kellermann, the heir of Herr Maglin, in whose collection the picture was formerly.
a Not Hartenstein, as we see it written since Hegner's work appeared.

118 WALL-PAINTINGS IN GERMANY.
ship dated from 1370. Jacob von Hertenstein, the founder of this house, was
the son of the Mayor Caspar von Hertenstein, who led the rear-guard at the
battle of Murten ; he was himself mayor in the year 1515, and in the same year
commanded the men of Lucerne in the battle of Marignano.1 The house was
in good preservation untU the year 1824 ; in this year, however, it was pulled
down in order to make room for a new building. An art-loving officer,
Colonel May von Biiren, in order to preserve at least some remembrance of
this most magnificent monument of the city, had some drawings rapidly made
from the paintings, and entered into correspondence with Usteri and Ulrich
Hegner, to arrange about a publication of them. The pubhcation never came
to anything, probably because the copies were very inadequate. Colonel May
presented them at length, on the 23rd June, 1851, to the Lucerne town
library. It was Herr Knorr, the greatest banker of the city, who committed this
outrage ; but stUl more blameworthy than the private man who commits the
act, is the town itself which allowed such an act to take place, and does not
use every means to save such a common treasure. Usteri expresses himself
very plainly but very truly on the matter in a letter of the 20th April, 1825 :
" If this house had not gained a celebrity by this copying of the paintings,
probably no inhabitant of Lucerne would have gone there to examine them,
but they would have been torn down and demolished, just as one would tear
down and demolish a pigsty, without taking notice of it."
A similar lot has befallen everything which Holbein has produced in wall-
painting, a branch of art in which he was so especiaUy gifted. We must not,
however, imagine that in Germany at that time, the position held by wall-
painting was similar to that which it enjoyed at the same period in Italy and
at the present day with us. The German artists of past times did not regard
such commissions as " monumental tasks," the highest that could be offered
to them. In no other branch of art did they employ so much mechanical
assistance; they were works merely designed to fulfil a decorative object.
They were not particularly esteemed nor particularly weU-paid. The public
opinion respecting them appears most plainly from a subsequent letteT of the
Basle Council (dated 1538) to Holbein, in which he was told that his art and
his work were worth far more than that they should be lavished on old waUs
and houses. The old masters never expended much care on these works,
whether they were to be applied to the interior or exterior of buildings.
When Diirer had to paint the triumphal car in the Town-hall at Nuremberg,
he left the whole thing to be executed by his pupUs.2 Holbein neverthe-
,y
i Kasimir Pfyffer, Geschichte der Stadt und des Cantons Luzern ; Zurich, 1850. V. Bal-
thasar, Historische, Topographische, nnd Oekonomische Merkwiirdigkeiten des Cantons
Luzern ; 1785.
2 The woodcuts, by Ahdreani of Mantegna, belong to the end of the sixteenth century.

PAINTINGS OF THE HERTENSTEIN HOUSE. 119
less shows himself even in this animated by modern feeling, and approaches
nearer to the masters of the South, for he conceived wall-painting in a
totally different manner to that which was usual in his native country.
What disjointed, scanty, and doubtful remains are the copies from
which we have with difficulty to spell out the tokens of the former splendour
and beauty of these works ! We can only form a judgment as to idea, com
position, and general arrangement.
Highly interesting, however, are the choice of the subjects themselves,
which belong partly to classic antiquity. The facade, irregularly built and in
no way distinguished, was used by the artist for the display of a brUliant
carpet of pictures.
In such a painted facade, splendour of representation must be the one
thing aimed at; this demand was met by scenes from secular history, by proud
pageants, and by a bold display of ornament and arms, which in the contest
of the children was combined with an element of light and graceful humour.
All that existed of the wall-paintings of the interior at the demolition of the
house — much had before perished through alterations in the building — may be
divided into two parts ; in the first place, religious pictures, and in the second,
scenes from ordinary life or of extravagant humour. The former were to be
found in an apartment which had probably formerly been the domestic chapel.
In a beautiful landscape scene the so-called " fourteen saints," surrounding
the Infant Christ, are appearing to a shepherd, who is conceived in highly
realistic manner, kneeling in faithful devotion and sudden amazement. The
adoration of the fourteen saints rests on no ecclesiastical appointment, but on
a predilection of the people, and is connected especially with the beautifully
situated church of the " Vierzehnheilige," in the neighbourhood of Bamberg,
well known to traveUers at the present day. The fourteen saints are said to
have appeared to a shepherd there in the year 1445, just as they are seen in
Holbein's picture. The Abbot John Aron Langheim upon this ordered a
chapel to be built to them, and Pope Nicolas V. subsequently conceded to
the desire of the people for pilgrimages and connected privileges and indul
gences with this spot, although the Catholic writers of the sixteenth century
speak of the whole matter as a famous idolatry.1
A second painting contains the family of the donator, husband, wife, a
youth and two boys, who are kneeling before seven saints, — St. Sebastian, St.
Rochus, Peter Martyr, St. Hieronymus, St. Leodegarius, the patron saint of
Lucerne, St. .Benedictus, and the patron of the church, St. Mauritius. A third
1 G-. Bruschii Chronologia monasteriorum Germania. ; Salzbach, 1582, p. 284 : " Sub ejus
[the Abbot Friedrich Heuglin] gubernatione ccepit anno Domini 1445, celebre Idolion 14
Auxiliatorum in monte Staffelsteino prope Frankhentalense Abbatis Lankheimensis pradium,
quod privilegiatum ac indulgentiis donatum est a Pontifice Max. Nicolao V." — Eoppelt,
Topographische Beschreibung des Hochstifts ; P>amber_\ 1F00, i. p. :!74.

120 PAINTINGS OF THE HERTENSTEIN HOUSE.
depicts the fragment of a procession, which is coming from a town situated in
a mountainous district.
A large hall, which at the time of the destruction was wholly in its original
condition, contained several hunting scenes ; in the landscape background,
a picturesque castle situated on a lake frequently occurs, probably the Herten
stein castle. By the side of the chimney, the favourite representation of the
fountain of rejuvenescence was introduced. This is a subject frequently
attempted by German painters. The most popular of all these attempts is a
picture by Lucas Cranach, in the Berlin Museum, one of the best specimens
of his art which we possess. We must here concede to Lucas Cranach,
who usually ranks so far below Holbein, that his picture is scarcely placed
in the shade by the work of this same Holbein. The lascivious humour,
affecting 'to be innocent and yet not disdaining mirth, better suits the
Saxon court painter. It appears charmingly in Cranach's work, and we
cannot see it without always receiving fresh pleasure from it, as in the great
basin, over which Venus and Cupid are standing as statues, the old beggar-
women, the further they come from left to right, become even more and more
youthful, then as modestly as possible step out again in naturalibus, are
received by gallant knights and slip into the tent for their toilet, to aban
don themselves afterwards afresh to all the joys of this world, to feast with
cavaliers at the well-spread board, to dance on the meadows and to escape
with the gentlemen behind the thicket.
In Holbein's picture, in comparison with this, no such merry droll playful
ness prevails, but a more solid and coarser humour. The most noted of all
the fountains of health is not reserved by Holbein for the fair sex alone. Men
and women are sitting side by side in it, some stUl old, others aheady made
young. In the centre of the round basin stands a piUar, the weathercock on
which is adorned by the arms of the Mayor von Hertenstein, joined with those
of his fourth wife, through whom he had received the water of rejuvenescence.
Numerous old people of both sexes are coming up on all sides, drivino- in
carts, carried on backs, or riding on donkeys. The most charming of all is an
ugly old woman in a basket carried on the back of a man having in her arms
a dog equally ugly, that the good beast may join in the same bath of rejuve
nescence as herself. Another painting stands in relation to this one, depicting
a cart with four horses which is dragging along another old man and woman
to the miraculous spring ; a lame man has got on behind, and a second is
limping wearily on after it. War scenes, ornaments and the like in other
rooms — there are altogether five apartments with paintings more or less in a
state of preservation — were only to be found in fragments, so that no copies
of them could be taken. Once under the Hertenstein arms appeared the date
1517, which may refer to the period at which the pictures were executed, or
at any rate to the building of the house.

DOUBTFUL JOURNEY TO ITALY. 121
An original sketch is only to be found of one of the facade paintings,
namely, Letena before the Judges ; it is in the Basle Museum. A fragment
is also left of Lucretia's hand with the dagger and of Tarquinius Collatinus,
who is standing before her, besides some architecture in the background.
These remains are buUt into the stable-waU of Herr Knorr's house. Tar-
quin's head has grown darker, but it is otherwise in good preservation, and
at any rate it furnishes us with a slight evidence of Holbein's broad and
vigorous touches. Hence it is of great value, however insignificant it may
appear in itself, and its safe and lasting preservation were much to be
desired. Twice in Lucerne, we find portraits of the Mayor Jacob von Hertenstein ;
there is a small one in the Library and a large one in the Town-hall. They
are later copies, but with tolerable certainty we can see in them that a
Holbein picture was their original. In Hegner's time an original was still in
existence ; it has now disappeared.
It has been much disputed whether Holbein went to Italy or not. We
must relinquish the hope of seeing this question really decided. That he was
influenced by Italian art is an established fact, but we know not whether
he received this influence on Italian soU, or whether his acquaintance with
Italian works in his own home was sufficient to produce it.
Carl von Mander expressly declares that " Hans Holbein never travelled
to Italy." But this does not render a visit of the master to the other side of
the Alps entirely improbable. We know how far we may rely on Mander as
an authority, and assertions that something did not happen are always to be
received with greater precaution than statements of a positive character. AU
that Mander can actuaUy have known, and which essentiaUy guided his judg
ment, in which we can indubitably agree with him, is that Holbein made no
actual residence in Italy for the sake of studying, and was not, like the
German George Pencz and several Netherlanders of his time, the pupil of
some great master there. It is another question, however, whether he may
not perhaps have paid a visit, though only a passing one, to Northern Italy,
especially to Lombardy. This possibility, upon which Dr. Waagen has laid
great stress, is by no means a remote one : in a few days, especially when he
had already advanced as far as Lucerne, he could walk over the Alps ; and if
we only assume that he reached MUan. and its neighbourhood, this is sufficient
to explain much. In the record of Holbein's orders from the Basle Council
(in 1538), permission is given to the artist, with the special consent of the
council, " to carry and to sell to foreign gentlemen in France, England, Milan,
and the Netherlands," the works of art which he had executed in his native
city, once, twice, or thrice in the year. This shows in the first place that such
business journeys were usual for the Swiss artists who lived so near the

122 INFLUENCE OF MANTEGNA

frontiers of foreign lands, such as Germany, Burgundy, France, and Italy ; in
the second place, however, the words contain another intimation.1 Holbein
has been, as we shaU presently see, in France, in the Netherlands, and in
England; and may this not also have been the case with Milan, mentioned as
it is in the same list ? The whole passage sounds hke a kind of answer to
arrangements made by the artist himself, who, when he requested leave of
absence, may have mentioned, as the object of his future journeys, places
which he had before already visited.
We have seen that Holbein at an earlier period had received impressions
of Italian art in his native city Augsburg, which possessed such various points
of contact with the South. At a later period we can trace essentiaUy two
distinct kinds of influence ; in the first place that of Andrea Mantegna, and
in the second that of Leonardo da Vinci and the Milanese school.
Mantegna is an artist who, more decidedly than any other, exercised
a teaching influence upon his younger contemporaries. Not only the great
Italians of the beginning of the sixteenth century, such as Raphael and
Correggio, learned from him, but he, more than any other Italian master,
influenced the artists of the North, such as Diirer and Holbein. In
him they found what they most of aU needed ; that consistent and strict
examination of form and its refinement by the study of the antique. At
the same time they found in Mantegna a harmony with that which they
themselves possessed, in the unqualified and conscientious realism which
aimed at the most exact reproduction of nature. In spite of all the clas
sical feehng, pervading form, bearing, and attire, what a strict delineation
of " the present," to use Goethe's expression, lay in his pictures ! In order
to reach his aim, Mantegna was however capable of using those means which
the artists of the Germanic north lacked ; namely, that complete mastery over
form and action, the application of chiaro-oscuro, perspective effect carried
even to optical delusion, in short everything which the strictest theoretic study
could procure. If this realism, combined with the preponderating use of
plastic models, often led the artist into hardness, although often the study
of these models appeared too prominently, and his works, as Goethe says, have
a somewhat severe, industrious, and laborious character ; still this was fitted
to attract rather than repel the painters of the North, for a certain austere
beauty was that which they best understood. Holbein, however, was drawn
to Mantegna by a special feature of mental affinity ; there was an element in
Mantegna which had indeed slumbered in Holbein during his earhest youth,
but which afterwards broke strongly forth ; the impulse, namely, to depict
the violent and the passionate, and to delineate the most vehement feelings,
often even to the extremest limits of endurance. From Mantegna, therefore,
Holbein not only learned much as regards form, but also the bias of his own
1 Mr. Wornum was the first to draw attention to this, p. 164.

AND OF LEONARDO DA VINCI. 123
nature became stimulated by the great Paduan, and at the same time purified
and preserved from degenerating into the ugly and ignoble.
Holbein may have become acquainted with Mantegna from his engravings.
The subjects which appear in these, he borrowed as his model when he painted
the triumphal procession on the facade at Lucerne. Nevertheless, much would
be explained could we assume that Holbein had also seen Mantegna's paintings.
Many of his works seem to declare that he must himself have seen pro
ductions of the Milanese school. It was at this time in its utmost prime.
It is true, the mighty Leonardo da Vinci, who had opened a new path to it,
had for some time been no longer among its pupils. He had quitted Milan
to sojourn here and there in Italy, until at length he had obeyed the call to
France, and had ended his life there in 1519. But his mind still continued to
live at Milan in his works and in his school. Besides, the German artist, if he
visited Lombardy, could also become acquainted with splendid specimens of
the architecture of the early Renaissance. Bramanti had executed buildings
in Milan at the end of the fifteenth century ; Pavia was not far distant, with
its Certosa, the facade of which exhibited the most magnificent work in this
style ; and smaller specimens of a similar kind were to be seen in the cathe
drals of Como and Lugano on the highway from the Alps. In these buildings,
the painters— not only Mantegna, but also the masters of Lombardy — intro
duced in colour on the background of their fresco paintings that abundance
of architectural fancy which they had no opportunity of producing on stone.
If we do not assume that Holbein had seen such models, the perfect
Renaissance architecture of many of his paintings must appear almost incon
ceivable. A work of Holbein's is in existence, which seems to evidence that he must
have seen Leonardo's famous masterpiece, the now almost destroyed painting
which was at that time in all its beauty ; namely, the Last Supper, in Santa
Maria delle Grazie, in Milan. There is a Last Supper on wood in the Basle
Museum -,1 "it has been cut in two and joined together again, but badly," says
the Amerbach inventory. In recent times the pieces have been more care
fuUy joined together ; yet it is plainly to be seen that it consists of two parts,
and besides on each side there is a piece wanting, so that only nine apostles
remain, and only the hands and legs of the others are to be seen. It has
recently been excellently restored, and thus the uniform and harmonious per
fection of the work, and the warmth, distinctness, and strength of the colouring,
have again come to light. The scene is placed in a simple Renaissance hall,
through the windows of which the blue sky and an old tower may be seen.
Holbein, like his model, has chosen the moment in which Jesus is speaking
the words, " One of you shall betray me." The whole composition is similar
to that of Leonardo's, and the principal figure closely adheres to it in features
1 Holbeinsaal, No. 21. Engraving in Mechel's work.

124 THE LAST SUPPER IN THE BASLE MUSEUM.
and expression, in bearing and in the action of the hand ; but it is not equal
to its model. In the other figures, also, Leonardo's style is evidenced in the
greater delicacy of outline, in the form of the head, especiaUy in the brow and
length of nose. St. John, who is seen in profile, with his expression of
anxious solicitude, and the lively St. Peter, who is placing his hand famiharly
on St. John's shoulder, are excellently characterized. Holbein's inclination to
exact realistic characterization breaks forth, especially in the figure of Judas.
He is sitting quite in front, attired in yellow, his right hand leaning on the
seat, and his chin resting on his left hand ; a hardened countenance, in which
coarseness is expressed with almost supernatural power. He has felt himself
pierced to the heart by the words of Christ, and it seems as if he must at any
moment jump up and rush away. In contrast to his former painting of the
Last Supper, which hangs in the same hall, and which we have regarded as a
work' from the common ateher of Hans and Ambrosius, we see the advance
from the naive expressions of a youthful and overflowing power to the well-
weighed and weU-executed production of a master, who takes every touch
into account.
Perhaps it also may indicate a sojourn on Italian soU that Holbein
about this time delights in introducing fig-trees and fig-leaves in the back
ground of his paintings. Beyond this, it is however a matter of surprise that
we see, it is true, the influence of North Itahan art in Holbein's work, but
so little of the influence of Itahan landscape and scenery. Only one work
bearing his name shows this influence in an unequivocal manner. But its
Holbein origin is not without doubt. It is a large painting at Lisbon, in the
possession of King Ferdinand, called the Fountain of Life ; but our estimate
of it rests alone on a large photograph of the original.1 The principal subject
of the picture is the betrothal of St. Catherine of Alexandria, with the Infant
Christ. In the centre the Virgin is sitting with the chUd ; behind her throne
stands her mother St. Anna and her husband Joseph, who is the only male
figure in the whole picture.
The whole work is a masterpiece of composition, in which we can but
admire the beautiful proportion of the figures to the scenery, and the arrange
ment of the figures as regards each other. The law of symmetry is strictly
adhered to, but within these conditions all is free and full of action ; a warm
and varied life counterbalances aU regularity. Religious feeling is expressed
in the tone which pervades all the figures. Every countenance wears an air
of solemnity and sublime enthusiasm, often peculiarly combined with a touch
of reflection and longing. According to the account of Herr Fournier,
formerly secretaire interprets to the Prussian embassy at Lisbon, the delicacy
1 A small photograph in the Holbein- Album of the author, Berlin : published by G.
Schauer, 1865. The engraving in the 7th vol. of E. Forster's " Denkmalen Deutscher Kunst "
is not quite true.

THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE AT LISBON. 125
of the touches and the warmth of the flesh-tints are especially worthy of
attention. The more central parts, the heads and the principal figures, are
in remarkably good preservation, and only on the lower' edge are retouchings
and restoration perceptible.
The picture, which only recently has been removed from the castle chapel
at Bemposta to the old monastery at Lisbon, in which King Ferdinand
resides, was alleged1 to have been brought to Portugal from England by
Queen Catherine, daughter of John IV. of Portugal, and widow of Charles II.
of England. The grounds for its having been ascribed to Holbein lie in the
inscription which appears on the outer edge of the fountain to the right : —
IOANNES
HOLBEIN FECIT 1519.
Careful investigation, nevertheless, infused some doubts into Herr Fournier's
mind with respect to this inscription, which is inserted in small black letters.
The letters are careless and uncertain, and the whole passage is distinguished
from the surrounding part by a strikingly bright tint. Herr Fournier sup
poses that this inscription originally stood there, but that it was retouched by
some ignorant hand, as is the case also with the inscription on the inner edge
of the fountain: PVTEVS AQVARVM V1VENCIVM. This appears twice,
for the older writing, white on a brown ground, may be seen under the more
recent one. We can scarcely imagine an actual falsification ; even Guarienti,
the superintendent of the Dresden Gallery, who was in Portugal from 1733 to
1736, mentions the name and the year 1519, only that he reads "Holtein"
instead of Holbein, and adds that this must have been a pupil of the well-
known Holbein, from its style, from its careful execution, and composition.2
That he did not quite distinguish the name may arise from the fact that the
inscription was at that time not renovated, and was therefore unintelligible.
Yet there are many things which excite great doubt as to Holbein's
having executed the work. Without any external testimony we should
scarcely, so far as we could infer from the photograph, have imputed it to him,
but should rather have regarded the painting as a Flemish work. Even the
1 Comte A. Eaczynski, Les Arts en Portugal ; Paris, 1846, p. 295.
2 Abecedario pittorico del Pellegrino Antonio Orlandi accreseiuto da Pietro Guarienti
(Venezia, 1753), p. 252 : " Giovanni Holtein, nome da me yeduto in un quadro, ch' e in una
regia capella di Lisbona, in cui si rappresentano gli attributi di Maria Vergine, il quai quadro
e perfettamento bello, bon disegnato e colorito con quantita, di figure. Dalla maniera, diligenza,
e composizione di detto quadro e dell' anno 1519, posto sotta al nome di lui, pare che possa
dirsi esso esser stato scolare dell' Holbens, che circa a quel tempo fioriva e che mori nell
1554." — Eaczynski, Les Arts en Portugal, p. 325.

126 THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE.
subject belongs rather to Flemish than to German painting. The architecture
is Italian to a greater extent than ever appears in Holbein's works ; and we
have already seen that there is no other instance in Holbein's paintings of
such an Italian landscape as we here find. Several heads also, especially
those of the saints in the background, many of which are by no means beau
tiful, are of a type little according with that of Holbein. On the other side,
some of the principal characters, such for instance as St. Dorothea, exhibit
rather an affinity with his figures, and in many the type might be considered
rather as Upper German than Flemish. In the Madonna, a certain influence
of Schongauer's Madonna in the Rosenhaag may be perceived in the oval form
of the face and in the bearing, which would indicate that the painter was
from this neighbourhood. Lastly, in the Lisbon painting, the Child is sitting
astride on the arm of His mother. This striking feature appears also in an
authentic drawing by Holbein, namely, in the Madonna picture with the view
of Lucerne, which we have before mentioned. The examination of the original,
in which the testing of the colouring and the execution is possible, can alone
solve this doubt. So long as this is not undertaken by an art-investigator
well acquainted with Holbein, Holbein's execution of this picture must
remain an open question. If this picture should be found not to be genuine,
no other circumstance, it is true, not even the Last Supper before alluded to,
would be able to furnish a reaUy cogent proof for Holbein's visit to Northern
Italy. Nevertheless, we must repeat that it still seems probable to us.

CHAPTER VIII.
Church paintings of the Basle period. — The series from the Passion. — Historical representation
of sacred subjects and great freedom of style. — Sketches from the history of the Passion. —
The picture of a deceased Christ in the year 1521. — Double picture of the Man of
Sorrows, and the Mother of Sorrows. — The organ doors in the Minster. — Paintings at
Freiburg and Oarlsruhe. — Sketches for paintings. — Drawings for glass-paintings. — Studies
from military life and costumes. — Two drawings in Dresden and London.
For a long time the series of eight scenes from the Passion, enclosed in a
common frame, have been regarded as the principal work among Holbein's
paintings in the Basle Museum. In the year 1771,1 by a decree of the councU
passed on the 5th of November, it was placed in the library in which the art
collection was arranged untU the building of the present museum. Until
that time the picture, so long as we know anything of it, was in the town
hall, and it is supposed that it was painted for this building.'2 This is, how
ever, improbable, as no mention of it appears in the accounts of the council.
Thus the opposite opinion obtains,3 that it originaUy belonged to an altar in a
church, and was in all probabihty removed previous to the iconoclastic storm.
Sandrart regarded it as the best of all the Holbein works he had seen in
Basle, and spoke so enthusiastically of it to the Elector Maximilian I. of
Bavaria, who was a great art-collector, that the latter offered any price to obtain
it for himself, and would have given anything for it that was desired. But
the council of Basle behaved differently to that of Nuremberg, who, as is well
known, sold Diirer's Apostles to the same elector, though the work had been
bequeathed by the artist himself to his native city. It was decided to receive
the Emperor's negotiator with all the complaisance possible, and to offer him
the wine of welcome, but to refuse his request.4 Since that time the work of
art itself has been held in stiU greater honour.
In later times the painting has not been regarded with the same esteem
as formerly. Such a judge as Rumohr has denied the authenticity of the
picture as Holbein's work, and a similar opinion has been repeated in recent
times by Mr. Wornum, and this in a still more decided manner. Such
verdicts can only proceed from a hasty consideration of the work, which
i Not 1776, as Hegner states. "- Ochs, v. p. 399. 3 Hegner, p. 78.
4 Sandrart, Teutsche Akademie ; Hegner, pp. 80, 81.

128 THE BASLE PASSION SCENES.

demands both time and study to be truly known. Whoever denies this work-
to Holbein, had better at once assert that Holbein never existed at aU, but
was a mythical personage altogether. A. Braun's new and excellent photo
graphs after the original, which have met with a wide circulation, will
help to prove the untenabiUty of these opinions. And indeed the work
can be almost better known in the photograph than the original, especiaUy
because in the former the pictures can be studied separately. The general
impression of the whole is not so favourable as that produced by each
separate picture. If only one of these were placed in a large gallery, it
would be considered a pearl, but while each is perfectly harmonious in its
colouring, there exists no true consonance in the pictures one with the other,
and tins is rendered still more apparent by the bright modern gold frame,
which neither accords with the colouring of the pictures themselves, nor with
the dead gold ornaments by which Holbein divided the upper and lower series
of scenes. Altogether the colouring is designed for a somewhat lively effect,
probably because the picture . was originally intended for a dark chapel.
Added to this, throughout the painting the green colour has changed, and aU
the shadows in this colour have faded. With the exception of this, the
picture is in excellent preservation, and throughout in the execution Holbein's
own hand is apparent, and the sole restoration which it has experienced by
the painter Grooth of Stuttgart in the year 1771, who two years previously
restored the other paintings in Basle, must have been liniited to careful
cleaning and sparing retouching. This is confirmed expressly by the
existing records in the minutes of the University.1
Under the circumstances alluded to, it is not easy to estimate the picture
in the measure it deserves. This experience has been made by the author in
his own case, as it needed profound study and a repeated visit to Basle to
enter fully into the work, and even in the first German edition of this book it
has not been by far ranked high enough. The judges and artists of the seven
teenth century, who prized it so highly, had in this respect therefore a far
more correct judgment than we have at the present day. Sandrart's words
still hold good : " The most excellent and the crown of aU his art is the
Passion of Christ, painted on a panel in eight compartments, and preserved in
the town hall at Basle ; a work in which aU that art can do is to be found,
both as regards the devotion and the grace of the persons represented, whether
religious or secular, or of a higher or lower class, and with respect to the figures,
building, landscape, day and night. This panel testifies to the honour and
fame of its master, giving place to none either in Germany or Italy, and
justly bearing the laurel wreath among ancient works." 2
1 Communicated by Professor W. Vischer in the journal Baseler Nachriehten, May 4, 1861.
2 Teutsche Akademie, ii. p. 82 et seq.; Basle. The Passion is, however, not painted on
one panel, as Sandrart says, but on four panels, each divided into two compartments.

THE BASLE PASSION SCENES. 129
The period at which this painting was executed, is not decided, yet it is
evident that several years must have elapsed since the completion of his
former Basle works. Holbein here displays that grand historical style in the
representation of religious subjects, which characterizes the greatest Italian
masters. Passion scenes had long been the favourite subjects of German art
in contrast to that of Italy and the Netherlands. The religious ferment which
Germany had for a long time endured, was expressed in the terrible and dis-/
torted manner in which the indescribable sufferings of the Saviour, and the
hatred and the cruelty of His adversaries, were depicted. We have seen
this already the case with Schongauer, and with Holbein's father. And
even Albrecht Diirer, although his pictures are pervaded by quite anotlier
spirit, and his Passion scenes, whether as sketches, woodcuts, and engra
vings, are composed as profound religious epopees,— even he still adheres
in many externals to the old mode of conception : he cannot control the
tendency to depict ugliness and distortion, showing here and there that
the burlesque types and ideas, familiar to artists and to the public from
the sight of the religious dramas, were also influencing him. Holbein's
Passion, on the other hand, is pervaded by a new feeling. He endeavouredl
to forget the customary mode of representation both in drama and painting
He no longer regarded any rule of delineation, but the words of Holy
Scripture. Impartially he studied what is there given, and according to it he
endeavoured to depict the events as he imagined they must have happened
To produce devotional pictures came no longer into his mind ; they were his
torical pictures. The purely human element is evolved : this alone determines
everything, and gives a motive to everything that occurs. Here are nothing
but human passions, human actions, human characters, and the actions are
developed from passions and the passions from characters. Each scene has
within itself the motive for its action. And the result of this grand truthful
ness is that no picture of deep religious feeling affects the mind so violently
and so profoundly as these.
Throughout, the highest freedom and" the boldest life prevail, both in
appearance and action. Every trace of confusion and uncertainty has dis
appeared. In bold positions and foreshortenings — for example, in the Scourging
scene — errors in drawing may perhaps occur, but such instances are isolated.
Here and there a certain superabundance of figures and ideas may be per
ceived but even in such cases, the artist knows how to give prominence to the
principal matter. Thus Holbein here affords a splendid example of such a
religious painting as would be possible, even in recent times, in spite of the
change in the tendency of the human mind ; instead of the monotonous
repetition of old types and ideas, he grasps with independent power the
historical substance that lay in the sacred traditions. It is, at the same
time, that art of religious representation which agrees with the spirit of Pro-
K

130 THE BASLE PASSION SCENES.
testantism. It was only the adoration of pictures which the Reformers
opposed ; and not merely Luther, but also the Swiss Reformers, Zwingle and
Calvin, justified historical representations from the Scriptures.1 Holbein's
truly historical conception shows itself also in the fact that he here frequently
deviated from the old practice, of introducing the costume of his own age.
,In many of the subordinate figures it stUl appears, yet few of his soldiers
exhibit the steel armour worn in his day, but most of them wear tlie old
Roman dress, as is the case in Italian representations, especially in those of
Mantegna. Lastly, not only eaeh separate scene has its complete dramatic
stamp, but in the relation of the pictures to each other a truly dramatic
development is expressed, and an effective gradation from scene to scene is
introduced. In the Basle Museum there is another series of Passion scenes, etchings in
Indian ink, evidently made as models for glass-paintings, as is shown by the
character of the Renaissance framework. This is intentionally kept extra
ordinarily coarse and bold, in order to make a decorative effect possible from
afar ; and the figures, as is suitable, in spite of modern abuse, are subordinate
to the general architectural effect. The first of these considerations necessi
tates that the subject itself should be unusually simplified, the figures few in
number, and the actions lively and expressive. Thus, on the whole, the
character of these sketches differs in many ways from the Passion painting.
Although by no means so perfect a study in the smallest detaU, although
psychologically the heads are not so finely executed, yet these representations
have a bolder stamp; and their greater simplicity, combined with a power
which at once carries away the spectator, causes the pubhc of the present
day to be almost more easily acquainted with them than with the paintings.
The reprints of seven of these ten sheets, slightly touched with Indian ink
by the hand of the master himself, are in the King's library at the British
Museum. They have an almost more tender and spirited effect than the
original drawings themselves, and are probably that incomplete series of
scenes from the Passion which Sandrart possessed and extolled so highly.
Whilst the scenes from the Passion, painted in eight pictures, depicted the
events from the Mount of Olives to the Crucifixion, the sketches which occupy
these ten sheets give the history of Christ before Caiaphas until his Death
on the Cross, and therefore range through a narrower scope and recount the
incidents far more in detail. Thus, events appear bearing close affinity with
each other, but the artist ever attacks the subject so acutely that he ofves to
each an impress of its own. The Scourging of Christ is more nobly depicted
than in the Passion paintings. Here, as in the Crowning with Thorns and
the Mocking of Christ, one special peculiarity may be observed. In Christ's
1 Griineisen' quotes many declarations of this kind in his paper, " De Protestantismo
artibus hand infect),"

PILATE WASHING HIS HANDS.
(Sketch. Basle.)

THE BASLE PASSION SCENES. 131

tormentors, the evil and wild passions of men 'are delineated with fearful
truth ; but Holbein has freed himself utterly from the repulsive and carica
tured figures at that time prevalent, and which appear in representations of a
similar kind even by Diirer. His realistic tendency aided him in ¦ this. We
see no longer a rabble of distorted figures, but actual men, such as he daily saw
in his own surroundings. They are German soldiers of that day, although
only partially in the costume of the time ; soldiers such as soon became the
terror of Europe in the destruction of Rome. A great art also lies in the fact,
and it appeared before in the Sebastian painting, that in all these sheets the
faces of the executioners are always concealed or only shown in strong fore
shortening. Holbein avoided multiplying too much the expression of coarse
ness and wild passion. The Mocking of Christ belongs altogether as a compo
sition to the most beautiful works which we possess of Holbein.1 How justly
is *he space filled and used, how entirely is the symmetry preserved through
out, while, nevertheless, the most lively action pervades the whole, and how
wondrously beautiful and finished are the principal contours ! How happy,
too, is the relation in which the architectural scenery stands to the figures !
Throughout we find the most delicate combination in every part, and yet there
is an air of ease as though it could not be otherwise. Everything is, how
ever, subordinate to the great spiritual purport of the whole. Though the
eyes of the Saviour may be bound, the whole figure, which so expressively
appears through the drapery, and the convulsed lips, speak plainly enough
and proclaim the Divine Sufferer, exalted above tormentors and torment.
An especially grand feature in the whole series is the gradation from sheet
to sheet. The realism of the delineation becomes more and more bold, the
life-like character increases. A most violent excitement'is expressed in Pilate
Washing his Hands. Washing his hands is no mere ceremony with him. We
see the struggle in his mind, and the inward anxiety lest he should be called
to account for the blood of Him who was just led 'away to death. (Compare
the woodcut.) In the Ecce Homo the features of Christ express the utmost
effort of strength to repress pain and anguish. In the Bearing of the Cross, the
whole procession, hastening rapidly along, is just emerging from a high arched
Gothic gateway, through which we catch a glimpse of the street of the city
with its mediaeval houses. Foremost are the two disrobed murderers, figures
of such grand beauty of form that in every feature we can discern the healthy
study of the antique. There is here no group of women, nO Simon of Cyrene
offering assistance, but only the soldiers, who seize the Saviour and urge Him
forward. The Sufferer uses His utmost effort, but His steps already totter, and
we see that He must soon give way. In this scene, as in the Unrobing of
Christ, the artist shows that, in spite of the abundance and crowd of figures, he
yet understands how to give the action its full distinctness. The extreme of
1 This picture is given in a small woodcut in Lubke's "History of Art."
K 2

132 THE BASLE PASSION SCENES.
misery is afforded by the figure of the Saviour as He kneels at the cross, while
His clothes are torn from Him. But the next sheet, the Fastening to the
Cross, exhibits even an increase of the terrible. The people, with the most
various expression of countenance, are crowding round ; the soldiers are casting
lots for the garments of the Saviour, and the cross, on which one of the thieves
is hanging, is already erected. One of the soldiers is holding the right arm of
the Saviour with both his hands, as He lies stretched on the wooden beam,
while a second is driving the nail through His hand, and the third is pulling
the body with all his might towards the left. The head of Christ, which has
fallen back, bears the impress of extremest pain and the most fearful agony of
death. The imagination of the painter has entered entirely into the feelings
that would overwhelm a man on the point of being crucified.
The last sheet, the Death of Christ, is conceived in a similar manner to the
same seene on the painting ; here also the three crosses are placed obliquely,
and here also the Saviour has just finished His suffering. A man is already
ascending the ladder to take down the body. St. John is supporting and
embracing the mother of the Lord. As if to declare that " certainly this was
a righteous man," the believing centurion is raising his right hand, and a rude
soldier, with coat of mail and cross-bow by his side, is thrilling through every
limb. Involuntarily his hands are clasped as if for prayer, and his otherwise
hardened face betrays unsubdued emotion.
Holbein had already depicted all the terrors of death in the figure of Christ
in the Entombment sheet of the Passion scenes, but still more unreservedly
does he yield to his realistic tendency in a picture of the dead Christ marked
with the monogram and the year 1521 — a picture as large as life in the Basle
Museum, and which probably once formed the Pudella of an altar.
If the old frame did not bear the inscription " Jesvs Nazarenvs rex
Judaeorum," and if between the words there were not some curiously painted
angels with instruments of torture, no one would be here reminded of the
crucified Son of God. It is called in the Amerbach inventory, " Ein todten
Bild. W. H. Holbeins . . . cum titulo Jesus Nazarenus rex," &c. It is nothing
else, and can be nothing else, than the likeness of some one who had died
by violence, depicted as truly as possible, and delineated with terrible truth.
The age was not yet quite overcome in which religious art was the sole
art. If Flemish masters , depicted market scenes, they introduced an inci
dent from Holy Scripture into the background, in order to legitimate the
picture; and thus Holbein added the name of Jesus to his picture of a
corpse. Outstretched on a white cloth in a green stone coffin lies the stiffened
form. The head, which has fallen back, with flowing hair and fixed half-
opened eyes, haggard cheeks, and strongly projecting cheekbones, is extremely
ordinary in its form ; it is diverse from every type of Christ, and the features
are entirely taken from nature. All the terrors of death are expressed in this

CHRIST ON THE CROSS.
(Sketch. Basle.)

DOUBLE PICTURE IN THE BASLE MUSEUM. 133

mouldering countenance, in these decaying hands and feet, these scars, and
the bloody holes which have pierced deeply into the limbs. The body is
horribly thin; but all the more striking is the excellent execution of the
muscles, &c. They appear the more rigid from the stiffness of death. What
observation of nature is here ! — and this is the more remarkable because
Holbein, as the skeletons in his Dance of Death evidence, can have made no
anatomical studies. The foreshortenings, for example, in the feet, are excel
lent, and the manner in which the highest plastic roundness is obtained by
chiaro-oscuro reminds us of Leonardo da Vinci, and even in other points we
here see a certain affinity with him, for he too started with absolute truth to
nature, and occasionally yielded to a certain delight in depicting even repul
sive and terrible scenes ; but while Leonardo often indulged in this tendency
with a sort of pa.ssion, he knew on the other side how to produce a magic
beauty and tenderness, and Holbein also did not stop at this corpse-painting :
such an experiment as the dead Christ only marks a distinct stage in his
development. He often certainly appears as if he at that time carried two
souls within him, one of which was yearning to separate itself from the other,
the one apparently urging him to nothing but absolute and natural truth, and
the other to the delineation of exquisite beauty. But unwearied work and
effort rendered it possible for him to reconcile both elements, and to produce
perfect truth, containing at the same time purified beauty.
This spirit we find pervading all the other religious paintings of this epoch,
the remains of which correspond indeed undoubtedly but little with that which
once existed. It appears especiaUy pure in a small double picture, probably
originally a folding altar, now in the Basle Museum, — Christ as the Man of
Sorrows, sitting with the crown of thorns on His head, and the Madonna, as
the Mother of Sorrows, kneeling with uplifted hands, — simply painted in yellow
tint, with whitish lights and a blue atmosphere in the background. Even the
art-coUector Remigius Fesch remarks that these two panels are in no wise
inferior to any other Holbein work. After Swiss fashion, Mary's mantle is
arranged in small parallel folds, but it nevertheless falls freely and flowingly ;
and the light noble bearing, the beautiful hands, and the pure sublimity of
expression, breathe a style which appears truly Italian. The architectural
background, the " Ghus " as the Amerbach inventory calls it, is formed in
both pictures by a domed hall, in splendid Renaissance style, with columns,
arches, ornaments, and friezes. Holbein, whose understanding in matters (
of building is extoUed in a paper of the Basle Council belonging to the
year 1538, here especially shows that, after the manner of the great Re
naissance painters of Italy, he was also master of architectural knowledge.
What would not such a man on the other side of the Alps have not only
painted but buUt for popes, princes, and republics !
Equally monochromatic are the representations painted on canvas on the

134 ORGAN-DOORS OF BASLE CATHEDRAL.
former organ-doors of Basle Cathedral. Even after the Reformation and
the iconoclastic storm they remained in their place ; they were mentioned
in Merian's Topography1 in 1622, and in 1775 Emanuel Biickel inserted
copies of them in his collection of the most remarkable tombs, sculptures, pic
tures, paintings and inscriptions of Basle Cathedral, now to be seen in the
Basle Museum. From this copy we see that they were on the insides of the
folding doors. Only recently, when the organ was replaced by a new one,
they were removed to the public art collection, and now stand in the entrance
room of the Museum. A retouching of the year 1639 has disfigured them,
but the mighty figures, more than hfe-size, are still imposing in their effect,
and the more delicate touches which the painting has entirely lost we can still
perceive in the sketch, a spirited bistre drawing.
The patron saints of the cathedral stand opposite to each other on the two
wings. On that to the right is the Virgin, round whose neck the smUing
Child has thrown His little arm, similar in bearing to the Child with the
Meier Madonna, only perhaps still more pleasing. On the left, opposite to
her, is the Emperor Heinrich, with the crown, the flowing royal mantle, and
long beard, with a firm tread, his right hand placed against his side, and the
left holding the sceptre. His consort, Kunegund, is walking behind him,
wholly absorbed in the contemplation of the crucifix ; the model of the minster,
founded by Heinrich, is seen, on the choir side, between them both. At the
end of the other wing, corresponding with the Empress, appears the first bishop
of Basle, St. Pantalus, in deep meditation, having in one hand the bishop's
crosier, and gesticulating with the other as if in soliloquy. Legend places him
in the time of St. Ursula. When the saint with her 11,000 virgins made a
pilgrimage to Rome, he joined them and met with his death at Cologne on their
return, from the arrows of the Huns. Between him and the Madonna there
is a group of angels singing and making music. Three angels are blowing
trumpets with all their might : four others, quite in front, are gathered round a
sheet of music paper ; one is beating time, the others, round and sturdy little
boys with curly heads, are singing.
Wherever a space is left free, it is fiUed with ornaments of leaves and
flowers, differing in the sketch on the two doors, so that the donator could have
his choice of the two. The forms are simple, strong, and almost heavy, in
order that they may be full of effect from their high position. The same con
sideration is also apparent in the figures, which are seen from below in effective
perspective foreshortening. The old Gothic tendency stiU pervades them, but
under Holbein's hand it has become something wholly different : it heiohtens
1 Topographia Helvetia., p. 39 : " Es hat inn dieser Kirchen noch ein feine Orgel die roan
schlagt, vnd von dem beriihmbten Mahler Holbein gemahlet ist." In another volume, the
" Topographia Francania.," there are two figures from these pictures, the Emperor Heinrich
and St. Pantalus, introduced on the title-page.

ORGAN DOORS OF BASLE MINSTER. LEFT PANEL.
(Sketch Basle.)

ORGAN-DOORS OF BASLE MINSTER — RIGHT PANEL.
(Sketch. Biialc.)

ALTAR-PANELS IN FREIBURG MINSTER. 13_

the splendour and richness of the figures, which seem almost like the anti
cipation of a master who did not appear till a century later; namely, the
great Rubens.
One thing, however, is peculiar to this work, and this was reached not even
by a Rubens. Holbein expresses in the figures which are to adorn the organ, a
feeling which corresponds perfectly with organ music. This feeling animates
all as with some noble enthusiasm ; it is stamped on the deeply serious royal
countenance of Heinrich, as well as on the Virgin's thoughtful brow, and the
sweet smile of the ChUd ; it pervades every figure, whatever their characteristic.
They seem to hear the tones of the organ, before which they stand. And
this, also, in the picture itself, is indicated in the group of angels making
music. " Quam pulchra es arnica " (Behold thou art fair, my love) is inscribed
on the sheet of music. These words of the Song of Songs are raised by their
clear chUd voices ; the blast of the trumpets comes between, and thus through
the vast minster the hymn resounds with which they do honour to the Virgin
Queen of heaven.
Two altar- panels by Holbein are to be found in Freiburg Minster, in one
of the small chapels round the choir, the so-called University chapel. Cen
turies ago, they were famous, and therefore they have made many not very
advantageous journeys. During the Thirty Years' War, they were safe at
Schaffhausen. From thence, Maximilian of Bavaria had them brought, for
inspection, to Munich, and the Emperor Ferdinand III. to Ratisbon. In 1796
they were carried away by the French, and they did not return from Colmar
until 1808.
They represent the Birth of Christ and the Adoration of the Kings. In a
narrow compartment at the bottom of both panels, the family of the donator
is introduced. On the one side is the man with six boys and youths, on the
other the wife with four daughters of various ages. On his side are the arms
of Oberriedt, on her side those of Tscheckapiirlin. From this it appears that
the donator was the Basle councillor, Hans Oberriedt, who was elected to this
dignity in the year 1513, but who subsequently, in the Reformation disturb
ances of 1529, was dismissed from the council as an adherent of the old faith,
and shortly after renounced his citizenship and repaired to Freiburg in the
Breisgau.1 The two paintings, however, belong decidedly to an earlier period ;
Holbein may have executed them in the early years of his sojourn at Basle :
1 Ochs, v. pp. 647 and 661. This fact is more accurately stated in some documents from
the Basle Archives communicated to me by Herr His-Heusler : " Das Rathserkenntniss uber
die Entsetzung (Warumb nachfolgende Personen des Raths entsetzt) vom 9 Februar, 1529
(Mandatenbuch, fol. xxxv) ; die Nachricht fiber Oberriedts Biirgerrechts Aufgabe von
Montag nach Palmarum, 1529 (Oeffnungsbuch) " ; lastly a letter to "den ersamen, vnsern
guten frien Hansen Oberrieten, Burgern zu Friburg im Prisgowy' of the 11th July, 1533
(missive 1529-3S). Answer as to the reclaiming of Tscheckapiirlin's inheritance.

136 ALTAR-PANELS IN FREIBURG MINSTER.

in this case they may have been rescued from some church there previous to
the iconoclastic storm, and may have been taken by the family to Freiburg.
In aU probability, the pictures were originally placed in the Carthusian church
in Basle. In this monastery there hved a near relation of the donator, the
famous Prior Hieronymus Tscheckapiirlin, whose property had been bequeathed
to the monastery, and was subsequently reclaimed by Oberriedt during his
residence in Freiburg. The members of the Tscheckapurlin family seem to
have been buried there, as is shown by the inscriptions mentioned by Tonjola.1
The monastery lay in Little Basle, where the Catholic party preponderated, and
it succeeded in secreting pictures and in conveying them away. Any pictures
that were here could therefore be easUy preserved. Hans Oberriedt is also
mentioned once in authentic records in connection with Holbein. A sum
which the councU had to pay to Holbein was transmitted to him on the 14th
September, 1521, probably because the painter owed it to him.
In the one picture, the Birth of Christ, the same effect of light appears as
has made Correggio's "Night" so famous. The light emanates from the Child.
Holbein's work was however executed long before Correggio's, for the latter
was not completed till 1528, although the contract respecting it bears the date
of 1522. The common source from which both artists drew the idea is a
passage in the Apocryphal Gospel of the chUdhood of Christ,2 where it says,
when Joseph is coming with the woman whom he has fetched for Mary in her
travail : "And behold the cave was filled with a light, surpassing the brilhancy
of tapers and torches and greater than sunlight." It is a remarkable coin
cidence that the same representation is also to be found in the high altar of
Freiburg minster, a magnificent work completed in 1516 by Hans Baldung
Grien. However high this master and his productions may rank, Holbein far
surpasses him in effects of light. The stream of light from below touches the
head of the Virgin. Small angels, who join the parents in the adoration of
the new-born Babe, exhibit the utmost grace both of position and gesture.
The figure of a shepherd is also especially striking; it is full of vigorous life,
as he looks out curiously behind a column. In the background we see angels
on the field. The light, which is reflected on the faces of the bystanders with
masterly effect, is subdued and gradually lost in the surrounding architecture.
It is a splendid and fanciful building in which the incident is depicted —
marble columns and half-fallen arches, through which the moonlight streams,
and by contrast with its mild glimmer, the other light is rendered still more
briUiant. In the Adoration of the Kings, the Madonna and Child are enthroned in
front of a splendid half-ruined buUding of the Italian style, which stretches out
far into the distance in grand perspective, with its arched halls and towers.

1 Basilea Sepulta.
2 Evangelium Infantia. ex Arabico translatum, iii.

BASLE SKETCHES. 137
In the background there is a bridge, across which we see the train of princely
pilgrims returning. The kings are noble figures, especially the old man who
is kneeling in front with the golden vessel. A greyhound is standing by the
side of the Moorish king. The people in their train attract us by their ever
new and lively attitudes, which are nevertheless simple and natural, and by
their effective heads. One of these foUowers, who, looking up at the star, is
protecting his eyes by his hand, especially engages attention. Touches such
as this are delineated with the most charming ease. Throughout there is
a perceptible effort to depict the scenes as agreeably and attractively as pos
sible ; an idyllic side is extracted from them compared with which the
religious element recedes. Mary's peculiarly beautiful head is also, in both
pictures, entirely secular in its character.
These two pictures, however, do not belong to the highest class of works
produced by Holbein. The same also may be said of two paintings, similar to
them in many ways, in the Kunsthall at Carlsruhe, containing two figures of
saints ; namely, St. Ursula with the arrow, and St. George with the dragon.
On the first panel stands the name of the artist and the date 1522. The
countenance and bust of St. Ursula are delicately finished, but the lower part
of the figure and St. George on the second panel are slightly inferior. They
may have been finished by the hand of a pupil.
Some drawings in the Basle Museum seem to be sketches of paintings not
now extant. In a drawing of St. Elizabeth the artist again takes up the idea
which he had realized so beautifully in one of his last Augsburg paintings.
It is true, the same enchanting countenance is no longer delineated, but a
lady with a projecting chin, evidently a portrait; her head is not, as in the
picture, covered with a crown, but with a crape cap. In her bearing she is
likewise not so gracious, but more noble. A beggar, to whom she is dis
pensing wine in a cup, is kneeling somewhat lower ; opposite to him is a
praying knight, evidently the donator. Around her stands the semicircle
of an open-domed hall, resting on light columns connected by festoons.
Highly remarkable is the figure of a Madonna, with the lively ChUd on
her arm, evidently intended as the imitation of a statue in wood, for she is
surrounded by a glory of wooden beams " mit der Sonnen bekleidt," as it is
called in the inventory. She is standing in front of a Renaissance niche,
and before her a knight is kneeling, who is raising his hands in prayer. The
Madonna figure alone is repeated in a glass-painting, stiU preserved in the
Church of St. Theodore, in Little Basle.
Among the sketches in the Basle Museum, several designs for glass-
paintings may be named, coarsely and strongly drawn, like the before-
mentioned Passion scenes ; among others, single figures of saints, every two
and two of which correspond, and which are placed under massive Renaissance
architecture. Coats of arms are to be found with most. Some panes of glass,

138 SKETCHES FOR GLASS-PAINTING.
which may have been executed after Holbein, although no sketches for them
exist, are to be found in the Basle town-haU and in the Minutoli Collection
at Liegnitz. IST ot only rehgious subjects, but also secular, appear among the sketches
for glass-painting ; and panes bearing coats of arms, lions, peasants, and
mythological figures are chosen as supporters. A very beautiful sheet in the
Basle Museum exhibits two soldiers in a splendid architectural frame ; another
repetition of which, in the cabinet of engravings at Berlin,1 depicts on a coat
of arms with two pears a splendid military figure, bearing his sword over his
shoulder. Above the framework a battle scene is introduced. A still more
beautiful and slightly coloured drawing in the Berlin Cabinet is given in our
woodcut. It represents a portal in the most solid style, on each side of which
there are two columns, on the entablature of which Judith and Lucretia are
standing. Medallions containing heads appear by the side, and in the frieze
Hercules and Samson are introduced, while between them are depicted a battle
and a pursuit, both on horse and foot, across a shaUow stream. Under the arch
of the gateway, engaged in lively conversation, appear two soldiers, an old
and a young one, both figures fuU of power and elasticity. The view opens
upon a pleasant country, with a viUage and lofty Swiss mountains in the
distance. In other works also, the hfe of the soldiers — "Reislaufer,"2 as their Swiss
companions called them ; " die frommen Landsknechte," as they were caUed in
Germany — played a part in the Holbein sketches. The painter may have met
them frequently in familiar intercourse, these bold strong fellows, who readily
hazarded their lives, and who enjoyed existence on their return home ; great
figures in splendid attire, fuU of pleasure and wine and happiness, who
allowed their booty to go just as lightly as it had come. Holbein depicts
them in peace and war, at peril of death, and in the enjoyment of life. A
sheet which was in Leipzig, in the collection of the now deceased Herr Rudolf
Weigel, exhibits a military figure in front of a niche, decorated with rehefs of
Tritons; he is attired in elegant costume, with his sword on his shoulder
and is engaged in conversation with a young girl, wearing a plumed hat,
pocket pistol, and pouch. A seated soldier is to be seen among the drawino-s
of Herr Suermondt, at Aix-la-Chapelle. In a sheet in the Albertine Collec
tion, we find eleven warriors at a banquet, which a maid is serving up.
Frequently at Basle and Erlangen, and in a large sheet in the Albertina,
in Vienna, battle scenes are depicted. Everything is delineated here, just
as Gustav Freytag describes it in a paper of his " Pictures from the German
Past."3 The mighty masses surge against each other; each party aims at
1 3. Portfolio of Holbein sketches.
" Reisen" signifies the same as " in den Krieg gehen," to go to war.
s Vol. ii. : From the Middle Ages to -Modern Times.

TWO SOLDIERS.
(Glass Painting. Sketch. Berlin.;

STUDY OF COSTUME.
(Sketch. Haslc,)

FEMALE FIGURE. 139

breaking through the solid foremost ranks, which oppose the enemy with their
long spears. In front of the foremost rank stand the " Katzbalger " (wrestlers),
desperate fellows, for the most part men who had incurred punishment, and
who gained their ransom by a service from which few escaped alive. They
are armed with halberds, which they wield . obliquely at the points of the
opposing spears, seeking to make breaches through which the soldiers at their
rear might penetrate. Then on both sides begin a rush and an encounter ; the
rear, comparatively safe, urges forwards unremittingly the foremost ranks.
Success belongs to the mass which can best sustain the shock.
Like these military scenes, there are five sheets in the Basle Collection,1
containing female figures, taken from daily life. They seem principally to be
costume studies, and they depict all the beauty, grace, and luxuriousness that
marked the dress and appearance of that day. There is a woodcut in Mr.
Wornum's book, of a graceful, lightly treading figure; and another, no less
beautiful, is represented in our engraving. Her bearing and manner of
walking are in accordance with the rules of mediaeval deportment, which
remained in force until the beginning of the sixteenth century, in spite of the
change in manners, and costume. With light and smaU steps, she comes
forward erect, and beautiful as a " Wunschetelgerte '; (magician's wand), and
this comparison of the mediaeval poet is entirely just, for the slight swing in
her bearing recalls to mind some slender wand." She " bears her charming
head modestly erect," without neglecting the' prescribed casting down of the
eyes, and holds herself according to the advice :
" Din cleider edel und reich
Trae vorne mit der hende embor,
Daz si niht hangen in daz hor." 2
(" Hold up thy noble and rich attire in front with thy hand, that it may not hang in
the mire.") There is something majestic in this female figure, with her becoming hat,
her upper garment with its puffed sleeves and heavy material. AU the detail
of the rich attire, all the laces and ornaments, and especially the necklace,
are executed with the utmost exactness.
Some large drawings also of historical purport, executed during the Basle
epoch, are still to be mentioned. A large sheet, in the- cabinet of engravings
in the Dresden Museum, represents the son of the unjust judge, disgraced
on account of his venality; the Emperor has just appointed the son to be
judge, and over his chair he has stretched the skin of his father, as a
warning. This narrative appears in the twenty-ninth chapter of the old
1 A sixth is scarcely original.
a These passages are quoted in the excellent paper by Alwin Schmidt : " Quid de perfecto
corporis humani pulchritudine Germani speculi Xllmi ClXHImi senserit ; " Breslau. 1866.

140 PRINT IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
" Gesta Romanorum," a book of novels and anecdotes, from which Holbein
had already taken the subjects for one of the Lucerne facade paintings. The
story was originally told of King Cambyses,1 and it has been also treated by
Netherland painters.2
There is a large drawing in the print-room of the British Museum which
is similar in character, and full of energy and life. In the foreground there
are seven figures, in the military and civil costumes of the artist's time, sitting
at a weU-spread board near a tent, in which a young king is on the throne.
He is holding an instrument, which at the first glance is Uke a whip, but which
is probably a sceptre, indicated by the painter in a few hasty touches. In the
distance, outside the wall which encloses the foremost group, there are bands
of soldiers and burning buildings. Perhaps a subject from some old book of
tales here also forms the basis of the design ; perhaps, however, it may be a
scene taken from the Old Testament. It would suit Adonijah, the son of
King David, who placed himself on his father's throne, and invited the king's
sons, as well as the captains of the host, to a banquet with him. (1 Kings i.)
The gesture of the king's left hand, as well as the motion of the hand to the
figure sitting at the left, might indicate the question: "Wherefore is this
noise of the city being in an uproar ? " as Solomon's troops approach.
1 Herodotus, v. 25. Valerius Maximus, vi. 13, De Severitate.
2 Two pictures by Gerald David, in the Academy at Bruges.

CHAPTER IX.
The Solothurn and the Meier Madonnas. — The newly-discovered work : the Virgin between
St. Martin and St. Ursus. — Holbein's wife and child probably served as models. — The
Madonna of the Burgomaster Meier. — The picture at Darmstidt the original, not that at
Dresden. — History of the two paintings. — Their differences. — The fate of the donator. —
The picture perhaps an epitaph. — Erroneous interpretations, and true purport of the
representation.
To the year 1522, the date of a painting of Holbein's, at Carlsruhe, which we
have already mentioned, belongs one of his greatest masterpieces, which
moreover, after having been wholly unknown, appeared new on the scene, only
a few years ago. It was an altar-piece in the church of the little village
of Renchen, near Solothurn, and was in a state of the greatest neglect. A
private individual at Solothurn, Herr Jetter, got possession of it, and had it
restored by Herr A. Eigner, keeper of the gallery of paintings at Augsburg,
who had before excellently restored others of Holbein's works. The painting
was removed from the worm-eaten panel, and newly mounted ; I saw it in the
autumn of 1866, at Augsburg, cleaned, but not yet restored. The photograph
shows that the complete restoration was effected with success, and this is
confirmed by the opinion of competent judges of the matter. Only the head
of the Madonna is, according to Herr 0. Miindler's statement, not free from
retouching. The professor has the intention, we hear, to preserve the work
for his native city. Thus this picture, the existence of which was not
dreamed of, and which is now offered to us as an unexpected gift, may be
regarded as a kind of compensation for the numerous productions of Holbein,
formerly so extolled, and which have been lost to us.
Next to the Madonna of the Burgomaster Meier, of which we shall
presently speak, this work is perhaps Holbein's most important church
painting. It is almost equal in size to the Meier Madonna, and it exhibits
a similar form, a rectangle, the upper narrow side of which terminates in a
semicircular arch. In the centre sits the Madonna with the Child ; the
knightly saint at her left1 is evidently the patron saint of Solothurn, St.
Ursus, one of the heroes of the Theban Legion, whUe at her right stands St.
Martin, bishop of Tours. Under the feet of the Holy Virgin, the stone steps
i To the right of the spectator.

142 THE SOLOTHURN MADONNA.
are covered with a carpet, the pattern of which is formed by white and red
cross lines, on a green ground. At St. Ursus' feet appears the monogram H.H.,
and underneath is the date 1522, as if chiseUed in the red sandstone. Above
the figures, there rises a simple semicircular arch, which rests on two strong
pillars with feebly profiled capitals, and supported by iron cable anchors.
Through the arch we see into the open air, and from the lines of the archi
tecture and the skUfuUy arranged position of the arm in the two standing
saints, a circle of light is formed round the head of the Virgin, increasing in
brightness as it approaches it, and thus naturaUy supplying the halo, which
here, just as in the Meier Madonna, was opposed to the realistic feelings
of the master.
A beautiful gold crown adorns the Virgin's head ; the circlet is set with
large jewels, and the points are ornamented with pearls. She wears a light
red dress, which leaves the neck and the upper part of the breast bare, and
over it is an ultramarine-blue mantle, without sleeves, fastened at the shoulders
with a cord. It hangs full and wide, lying on the steps in large tastefully
arranged folds ; we must bear in mind that Mary's mantle is the mantle of
grace, which is spread out in order, as in the Meier Madonna, to gather under
it those who are praying and who are placed under her protection. Here,
indeed, it overshadows only the two family arms of the donators, which are
woven into the carpet. The Virgin's beautiful countenance, with the pleasing
tendency to a double chin, which appears also in the Meier Madonna, is bordered
above by a veil which, with similar delicacy as is shown in the pictures of
Leonardo's school, reveals through its transparent texture glimpses of the hair
and forehead. Her features are glorified by an expression of the deepest and
sweetest maternal joy over the fine naked little Child who is sitting on her knee,
and whom she is embracing with her beautiful and characteristically formed
hands. Her right hand holds the little leg of the Child ; her left hand is placed
below His shoulder and is pushing up the chin slightly. The little fat hands and
feet of the Boy are delightful ; the right foot is seen foreshortened from its small
toes, the left foot is seen from the sole, with exquisitely delineated little wrinkles
in the skin. The palm of the left hand is turned outwardly, an action which
is common to little children, and which Holbein here, as in other instances,
has copied from life. The fingers of the right hand are joined together as if
in the gesture of blessing, and this is in accordance with the serious but in
nowise precocious expression of the Infant, which is ever perfectly chUdlike.
St. Ursus is standing firm and manly, like a knight of the painter's time,
lofty of stature, covered from head to foot in dazzling steel armour, which is
depicted just as truly in its outward details as the armour of Diirer's Knight
with Death and the DevU. White ostrich feathers are waving from his
helmet; his left hand with its gauntlet is resting on the mighty sword-hilt; his
right iron fist is holding a large red standard with a white cross, the colour of

THE SOLOTHURN MADONNA. 143
which is reflected on many parts of the armour, especially on the visor. The
nobly formed countenance of the saint shows ability and power in every
feature; the glance of the eye is keen and fiery, the lower lip expresses
decision, and the large military moustache, delicately executed in every hair,
as Diirer is especially wont to do, projects beyond the iron cap, and stands out
effectively from it. Conscious of his own power and trusting in God, the
brave champion of the Lord here keeps watch by the side of the Highest.
The contrast of the spiritual saint to the knightly saint is conceived with
great artistic delicacy. St. Martin's beardless countenance, with its noble
form, and his whole style of appearance, proclaim the ecclesiastic of high rank,
and exhibit sublime repose combined with intellectual superiority, and mild
ness linked with decision. His vestment as well as his mitre are probably
faithfully copied from some distinct earlier model. The csesula, which is
violet, lined with red and richly ornamented with gold, exhibits the inter
woven representation of the Centurion of Capernaum before Christ, and in the
embroideries of the broad middle border there are representations of the
Saviour before Caiaphas, of an Angel, and of the Crowning with Thorns, all
faithfully given in the antique style. The mitre, with its embroidery of gold
and pearls upon a red ground, exhibits the figure of St. Nicholas. With his
left hand, which bears a ring outside the glove, and which is seen in difficult
but thoroughly just foreshortening from the middle joint of the finger, St.
Martin is holding the crosier and also the glove of the right hand, which is
just placing an alms in the smaU wooden bowl of a beggar who is kneeling
before him. The painter, with fine consideration, makes the figure of the
latter disappear behind the large mantle of the divine mother, for, for his own
sake, he has no place by the throne of the holy Virgin in that ideal place where
there is no more earthly need and sorrow ; he is only there as an attribute of
St. Martin, for the sake of characterizing him. The art of the earlier style
would therefore have introduced him on a far smaller scale, but this was
opposed to Holbein's realism and to his taste, formed as it was in the school
of Renaissance. He finds, on the other hand, means to conceal the poor man
as far as possible, only exhibiting what is absolutely necessary — the imploring
countenance and the receiving hand. We feel 'involuntarily reminded of
Holbein's St. Elizabeth, in St. Martin's manner of advancing and dis
pensing, and even in the inclination of the head, with its expression of
deep sympathy and yet of internal freedom from all the sorrow of this
world. Here also we see how deep is the comfort which his mere presence
brings to the sad and the suffering. The hand of the emaciated beggar
affords a fine contrast to the weU-formed one of the bishop, as does his
browned countenance to the whiter complexion of his benefactor. In general,
the tint of the complexion varies in all, according to sex, class, and age. The
li«ht falls, as is often the case with Holbein, from the right. No real gold is

144 HOLBEIN'S CHILD POSSIBLY A MODEL.
ever introduced, but the effect of gold is produced by colour. With all its
power and rare wealth of tints, the colouring exhibits the most beautiful
harmony, every part blending with the whole, and showing the utmost
delicacy of execution. The composition and pervading idea, and even the
inclination of the Virgin's head and her manner of holding the Child, remind
us of the woodcut in the Freiburg statute-book, which appeared two years
before, and of which we shall presently speak.1 In this picture also the sacred
representatives of the spiritual and temporal classes, Bishop Lambertus and the
knight St. George, appear on either side of the Virgin, and there also the whole
is so composed that the central sitting figure, though in complete symmetry,
towers far above the standing subordinate figures. In the Solothurn painting,
this idea is accomplished in a still more perfect manner. Without sacrificing
any of his Northern realism, Holbein here arrives at a freedom of style and
grandeur of arrangement, such as is only possessed by Fra Bartolommeo,
Andrea del Sarto, and Raphael, in their devotional works. Moreover, Holbein
has here made possible that which was almost unattainable ; namely, to give
due prominence in the composition both to the outline and to the colouring.
Admirable, however, as this work is in all its parts, the eye ever turns
with especial pleasure to the two principal figures, the Mother and ChUd.
The fine little boy, in whom as a true type of genuine child-life he seems to
have reached the utmost possible perfection, is moreover an old acquaintance.
In the Basle Museum there is a copy of him executed by Hans Bock, in
which he is depicted with a serpent, so that he is represented as a little
Hercules ; in the Amerbach inventory the sketch is mentioned as " Ein nackend
kmdlin sitzt auf einer schlangen kompt von Holbein's gemeld durch H. Pocken
auf Holz mit olfarben mehrteil nachgemolt." (A naked child sitting on a
serpent, a copy after a picture by Holbein, copied exactly in the greatest part
on wood and in oU colours by Hans Bock.) We find the head of the same
child in a metallic pencil-drawing engraved by J. C. Loedel in R. Weigel's
collection, and this drawing (which is an unusual occurrence) is marked with
the full name of the artist, and the same year as the Solothurn painting :
HANS HOLBEIN,
1522.
We see the little head almost in profile, and under the left shoulder is the
hand of the mother, who is holding the child. It is the same short neck and
high brow, the same form of nose and lips, as in the child of the Solothurn
painting. Surely Holbein here as well as in the sketch took his own child
from life. According to the custom of the period, the master could scarcely
have had opportunity to paint from models of children, if his own household
did not furnish him with them. The child whom he depicted in 1522 may
1 Chap. xii.

THE SOLOTHURN MADONNA. 145

have been born a few months before, and was probably Holbein's first
offspring ; the marriage of the master may be placed about the year 1520 or
I . tfX-TTTthe period at which he was received as a citizen and was admitted into
the guild. We do not indeed know whether the same guild arrangement pre
vailed in Basle as in Breslau, where a painter, who intended to be a master,
must be married, or at any rate, under pain of a fine of ten marks, must have
taken a wife within a year and a day.1 Yet these two steps towards the
establishment of an independent home can scarcely have been widely
sundered in Holbein's case. If we now compare the drawing of the Weigel
CoUection, which is almost a profile, with the profile head of the boy in the
painting of Holbein's family at Basle, we find, here also the pecuhar cut of
the mouth, the position of the eyes, and the form of the nose, whUe the high
brow is only lowered by the hair which is combed over it. This picture, as
we shall subsequently show, belongs to the year 1529, and the boy in it may
very well be the same. In tliese children of 1522, as well as in the two
children in the family painting, there exists a great similarity with many
other children in Holbein's paintings, with the Holy Child in the Virgin's
arms, in the Meier Madonna painting, especially in the Darmstadt copy, and
with the somewhat older-looking Cupid beside the " Offenburgiu," who
appears as Venus, — a painting probably executed in the year 1526, and of
which we shall speak subsequently. We do not maintain that in these draw
ings and paintings it is ever the same child, that is, the elder boy in the family
painting, who is depicted ; we do not think to perceive indeed throughout per
sonal resemblance, but only family resemblance. The recent investigations of
Herr His-Heusler have afforded us information regarding a far more numerous
Holbein family than we hitherto knew of ; and from the great mortality among
children at that time, we must on an average reckon a fair amount of losses
among those of his children who arrived at maturity.
And as Holbein painted his own child as the Infant Christ in the Solo
thurn picture, so, we believe, he took his own wife for a model for the Holy
Virgin. From the records respecting Sigmund Holbein's will, her name was
Elsbeth, and another document with which we have become acquainted
proves that Franz Schmid, who appears in the ratification of the testament as
her authorized agent, was her son. Holbein thus married a widow, and the
before-mentioned family picture seems to infer that she was a few years older
than her husband. If we compare this in no wise pleasing portrait, which
bears the marks of much sorrow and many cares, with the lovely Madonna head,
we shall, in spite of the difference in the first impression, perceive the simi
larity of the features. Seven years before, years which must have been doubly
long to her, owing to the various troubles of life, Frau Elsbeth may have
1 Alwiu Schulz, Urkundliche Geschichte der Breslauer Maler-Innung, 1866, p. 31.
L

146 THE SOLOTHURN MADONNA.

looked just as the Virgin here. The comparison is assisted by a drawing from
the Jabach Collection "in the Museum of the Louvre, which hangs there among
the " Inconnus, Ecole AUemande," but which to an eye famUiar with Holbein
proclaims itself at once to be a work of this master.1 It is a metallic pencU
drawing on tinted paper, effectually touched with Indian ink and red pencil,
like the numerous sketch-book sheets belonging to Holbein's Augsburg and
early Basle period. That we here see the same person as in the Solothurn
painting, we perceive at the first glance : in the drawing she is represented
naturally, with the utmost exactness and fidelity to hfe ; in the painting, as
the case requires it, she is elevated above common reality. In the drawing,
as weU as in the family picture and the Solothurn painting, it is a full-face
portrait, only that her head is inclined a little towards her left shoulder ; the
head is uncovered, the hair hangs down behind in two plaits, whUe in front
the braids are somewhat loosened. Her broad chest and neck are uncovered,
as they are also in the family picture, where the bosom "has already become
too full, and is no longer charming. A necklace adorns the young wife, which
is identical with the necklace of St. Ursula at Carlsruhe,2 and in the border of
her dress the constantly recurring device ALS in ebn 3 is embroidered. The
rather feebly opened eyes, with their heavy upper lids, the large nose, which
produces from the skilful turn of the head no disagreeable effect, the somewhat
strongly developed chin, and the straight cut of the mouth with its full lips,
are to be found in all three faces.
The young woman in the Louvre stands before us as a genuine daughter
of the citizen class of that day, vigorous, round, and youthful in appearance,
with a pleasant smile, which is not exactly intelUgent, but very attractive in
expression. In the painting of the Virgin, on the contrary, her personal
appearance is raised beyond the limits of reality, and, in a manner in which
Holbein is unsurpassed, she is idealized without in the least losing the stamp
of individuality. This work is only surpassed by a Madonna picture which is not dated.
but which can scarcely have been executed much later than the painting we
have just discussed. Every German, when he hears the name of Holbein,
thinks of the Madonna with the Meier famUy, just as the name of Raphael
recalls the Sistine Madonna.
And yet the painting at Dresden, which he has in his mind, is not the
original. This is to be found at Darmstadt, in the possession of the Princess
Charles, by birth Princess of Prussia. That this work is from the master's
1 Both these suppositions, the similarity with the wife in the family picture and the
accordance of this work with Holbein, were first made by Herr His-Heusler, from a photo
graph by Braun, and he informed the author of them, before he had become acquainted with
the original in Paris, which completely removed all doubt.
2 Cf. the former chapter. ¦'' " Alles in Ehren."

THE DARMSTADT MADONNA. 147
own hand, and that it is superior in many parts to the Dresden picture, was
first expressed by Dr. Waagen, as long ago as 1830. The most renowned
art-investigators subsequently accorded with this opinion. The full evidence
of its genuineness we can now, however, adduce, from notices respecting
tbe history of the Darmstadt picture.
The oldest authority which speaks of the painting is a manuscript written
by the Basle lawyer and art collector, Remigius Fesch, and which is now in
the library at Basle. It was written soon after the middle of the seventeenth
century, and bears the title, " Humanae industria? monumenta," and the thirty-
fifth folio sheet contains nothing but notices regarding Holbein, in Latin,
among others the following : —
" In the year 163-, the above-named painter, Le Blond, bought here of the
widow and heirs of Lucas Iselin at St. Martin, a painting on wood, about
three Basle ells high by three broad, upon which the before-mentioned Burgo
master Jacob Meier and his sons were represented on the right side, and on
the other, his wife and daughters. I possess copies of the son and daughter,
painted in Belgium from the picture itself by Job. Ludi. Le Blond paid for
the picture 1,000 imperials, and sold it afterwards for three times as much to
Maria dei Medici, Queen dowager of France, mother of King Louis XIII.,
while she was residing in Belgium, where she died. Whither it afterwards
went, is uncertain."
These notices Patin made use of in his Life of Holbein, without mentioning
Iselin's name. The manuscript, however, contains a marginal observation of
which Patin seems not to have known, and which Fesch, therefore, probably
added subsequently: "This panel belonged to my grandfather, the Burgo
master Remigius Fesch, from whom Lucas Iselin gained possession of it,
ostensibly for the ambassador of the King of France, and paid 100 gold
crowns for it (coronatos aureos soluit) about the year 1606."
Genealogical investigators1 have now, however, proved that the Fesch
family is related with the family of the Burgomaster Jacob Meier zum Hasen,
the donator of the picture. Rosa Irmi (died 1609), third wife of the Burgo
master Remigius Fesch, was a daughter of Colonel Nicolaus Irmi (born 1507,
died 1552) and of Anna Meier, daughter of the Burgomaster Jacob Meier zum
Hasen, afterwards wife of a Wilhelm Hebdenring, and who died as a widow
on the 14th August, 1-558. This Anna Meier is evidently the daughter whom
we see kneeling in the painting.
The statements find a direct sequel in the notices of Sandrart, who in his
Life of Holbein, when speaking of Le Blon's collection, says, " This gentleman
has long a<*o [that is, long before Sandrart's departure from Amsterdam, which
occurred about 1645 2] sold to the book-keeper, Johann Lossert, at his urgent
1 The author owes this information to Herr His-Heusler. It rests upon a pedigree in the
possession of Herr Burckhardt, in Basle. 2 Fechner, p. 210.
L 2

148 THE DARMSTADT MADONNA.

request, for the sum of 3,000 gulden, a standing figure of the Virgin painted
on a panel, holding her little child in her arms, and under her is a carpet on
which some figures are kneehng before her, taken from life," the original
sketches of which, in our Sandrart sketch-book, enable us to perceive the
magnificence of this noble picture. Sandrart therefore possessed the studies
for some of these figures. From this we gather that Le Blon had not obtained
this picture for Maria dei Medici, at any rate he had not consigned it to her,
but that, soon after he had himself purchased it, he had resigned it to Lossert,
of whom we know not whether he desired it for himself or purchased it by
order of another.
Hitherto it has been generaUy supposed that this painting, traceable as it
was to Meier's descendants and sold by Le Blon to Lossert, was the picture
in the Dresden Gallery. This picture had been obtained by means of Count
Algarotti in the year 1744, at Venice, from Delfino, whose father had re
ceived it as a legacy from the Venetian banker Avogadro. Algarotti's first
letter x respecting this affair expresses the conjecture that this Venetian paint
ing was the very picture described by Sandrart. His second letter confirms
this idea ; an old man of the name of Griff oni, who was in the service of its
former possessor Avogadro, had told him that his master had obtained it
about the year 1690 as payment of a debt owed him by a bankrupt Amster
dam house.
I have, however, received the following communication from Herr B.
Suermondt :— " Hoet, Catalogus van Schildergen (paintings), Hague, 1782,
contains in vol. i. p. 133 et seq., the Catalogus van Schildergen van Jacob
Cromhout, en van Jasper Loskart, verkogt den 7 and 8 May, 1799, in
Amsterdam." 2 Here we find :
" 24. Een kapitaal stuck, met twee Deuren verbeeldendi 3 Maria met Jesus
op haar Arm, met verscheyde knidende Bulden na't Leeven * van Hans
Holbein  fl. 2,000." From the description, it is not to be doubted that
this " capital piece " was the Meier Madonna. The price is not quite so high
as in the seventeenth century, but quite considerable enough. In the same
auction a grand altar-piece by Rubens only fetched 1,000 gulden. The name
of Loskart, who is mentioned as one of the two proprietors, is undoubtedly
identical with the name of Lossert, to whom Sandrart aUudes ; and thus the
painting— which, according to Algarotti, was said to have been brought to
Venice from HoUand in 1690— was actuaUy in Amsterdam in 1709, and more
over in possession of the same family who had obtained it from Le Blon.
1 The letters are published by Fechner, " Archiv fiir die zeichnenden Kiinste," xii. p. 223,
rt seq. 2 Catalogue of paintings belonging to Jacob Cromhout and Jasper Loskart, sold in
Vmsterdam, May 7th and 8th, 1709.
3 Representing. * With various kneeling figures from life.

-HAI.ONNA UF THE BT_ I-UOMASlEr. MtlEIt
(Darmstadt.)

THE DARMSTADT MADONNA. 149

On the old rich gilt frame which encircles the picture at Darmstadt, and
which belongs probably to the end of the seventeenth century, there are,
however, two coats of arms. One of these, according to Herr Dielitz,
Secretary-general to the Royal Museum at Berlin, who is weU-skilled in
heraldry, is the arms of the Cromhout family ; the same name therefore as that
which is mentioned in combination with Loskart in the auction catalogue of
1709. Only one difficulty yet remains. The auction catalogue speaks of
two doors. It is quite conceivable that originally the painting was provided
with folding panels, which were perhaps designed for arms and inscriptions.
On the present frame, however, these are not to be discovered. Perhaps the
former doors were separately preserved at the time of the auction, and also
sold. This statement, which fell into my hands independently of the former,
but at about the same time, furnishes certainly a sufficient proof that the
Darmstadt picture is the one mentioned in the documents of the seven
teenth century, and it can even be traced to the direct descendants of the
donator. Of the further fate of the Darmstadt picture, we only know that in the
year 1822, Prince William of Prussia obtained it for 2,500 thalers from the
Parisian picture-seller Delahaute, by means of Delahaute's brother-in-law
Spontini. At the death of the Prince, the Berlin Museum, owing to the
ignorance of the Director-general of the Museum, failed to obtain the painting,
though the matter was urged to the utmost by Dr. Waagen. On the division
of the property it was assigned to a daughter, Princess Elizabeth, the consort
of Prince Charles of Hesse, in whose private apartment it hangs.
The history of the Dresden picture is certainly not to be traced further
than to Venice and to the last century. If the statement which Algarotti
received from the old Griffoni is correct, and if it really also came from
Amsterdam about the year 1690, we might infer that the Dresden painting-
was a copy made at that time in Holland.
The difference between the Darmstadt and the Dresden picture is apparent.
Any one who is acquainted with Holbein's pictures at Basle, wUl find that
the former accords with them strikingly both as regards painting and execu
tion, and the latter does not. The Dresden picture, although weU painted,
still lacks much of that freshness and harmony of colour which the Darm
stadt picture exhibits, and which is weU preserved, though, covered with a
somewhat heavy and yellow coating of varnish. In the Dresden picture the
dark green colour of the Virgin's dress is striking. It neither suits the
general tone of colour, nor is it in harmony with the tradition, in accordance
with which the Madonna is generaUy dressed in red or blue. This colour
only arose from a misunderstanding of the copyist, for in the Darmstadt
picture the Madonna is dressed in blue, but from this same yeUow varnish
it has assumed a greenish lustre. This very fact is a distinct proof that the

150 DRESDEN AND DARMSTADT MADONNAS.
copy at Dresden was not executed at the time of the painter himself or even
in his atelier, but was produced at a later period. In the Darmstadt picture,
the red girdle and the golden under-sleeves harmonize exceUently with the
colouring of the dress and -mantle, which is of a lighter grey. The red
trousers of the elder boy are flat and monotonous in the Dresden picture, but
in the other they are effectively rounded. The dark attire of the other
figures in the one forms a heavy opaque mass ; in the others, on the contrary,
especially in the costume of the burgomaster, brightness and variety are
introduced into the black drapery. The various materials, cloth and damask,
velvet and fur trimming, are all plainly to be distinguished. The Dresden
picture moreover gives no idea of the masterly precision in the drawing, and
of the bright and pure effect of colour in the carpet. Lastly, where gold
and briUiant jewel ornaments are introduced, which are to be seen in the
picture at Darmstadt, especially in the head-dress of the kneeling girl, the
wonderful perfection of the execution surpasses the other by far. Great effect
is produced by the clear, vigorous, and warm flesh tints, which also marl-
most of Holbein's Basle pictures, and the modelling of the two naked
children is especially beautiful. In the foot of the chUd whom Mary is
holding, there is a slight wrinkle in the skin, a wonderful adherence to
nature, which is lacking in the Dresden picture. This child is also very
diverse in the two pictures. In the Dresden picture there is something poor
in its form, and it has that well-known sad expression which has given rise
to such strange interpretations; in the Darmstadt picture it is far better
formed and the features wear a sweet smile. Equally great are the differences
in the head of the Madonna, which indeed is the most beautiful part of the
Dresden picture, but which shows a certain modernizing and effeminacy of
expression, when compared with the Madonna countenance of the original.
In this the features are severer and more decided, the nose is larger, the eye
brows are stronger, and an expression of wonderful majesty is combined with
loveliness and gracefulness, making this head, with its charmingly drooping
eyelids and fine throat, so incomparably beautiful. The ideal of true woman-
Uness, as the German conceived it, here stands before us ; but, as in the
Solothurn Madonna, we feel that here again a distinct individual formed its
model, and there is no trace here of a repetition of some traditionary type,
as is so usual in the Flemish and German Madonna heads of the pre
ceding epoch in the works of Memling, of Meister Stephen Lochner of
Cologne, and in those of Schongauer.
Still greater almost is the superiority of all the other characters in the
Darmstadt picture. He who has once seen this work, finds the countenances,
in the Dresden copy, lifeless and hard in comparison. It is only here that we
feel the energy and hearty faithful enthusiasm of the burgomaster ; it is only
here that we become reconciled with the countenance of the young girl kneelin"

DRESDEN AND DARMSTADT MADONNAS. 151

in front, which is in nowise beautiful, and in the Dresden copy has in it some
thing repulsive, but which is here truly glorified by the expression of devotion
which is diffused over it. The mother also by her side, and the brother
opposite, are far more lifelike. Only in the heads of the Darmstadt picture do
we find perfect accordance with the three coloured sketches, drawn from life
with exceeding exactness aud delicacy, which are preserved in the Basle
Museum ; father, as well as mother and daughter. The latter is conceived
here otherwise than in the pictures. Her hands with the rosary are hanging-
lower down, her fair hair is flowing loosely about her. We see how Holbein
has studied in order to gain a more pleasing aspect of this unattractive per
sonage without in any way deviating from the strictest truth.1 The hands,
moreover, as weU as the heads in the Darmstadt picture, are also more speaking
and lifehke. The treatment of the hands is in general a test of Holbein. In
this very respect the Dresden picture stands lowest. Even if no second copy
existed, doubts must have arisen on this account respecting Holbein's personal
execution of the work. We perceive the master always in the incomparable
delicacy with which he makes the female hand emerge from the ruffle ; the
hand of the young girl in the Dresden picture is, however, far removed from
such delicacy. To every artistic eye it will seem impossible that the same
artist could have painted the hands in this painting and those in the portrait
of Morett, hanging opposite to it, although the latter may have been executed
at a later period. No more dangerous vicinity could have been chosen for the
Madonna. Lastly, a striking difference appears in the proportions of the pictures.
The figures in both are equally great : in the copy they are evidently made
from a tracing of the original, but the Darmstadt picture is some inches
shorter than the Dresden, and is heavier and more compact in the architecture
seen behind the figures. The substantial and massively formed consoles of
the arch are introduced here immediately over the heads of the kueeling
figures, while in the Dresden picture their form is somewhat more elegant,
and beneath them there is a portion of the pillar perceptible, from which they
rise. The arch in the Darmstadt picture terminates immediately over the
Virgin's head, while in the Dresden picture a bare space is left above it. In
this copy, some of the figures themselves are less compact : for instance, the
burgomaster himself, who has raised himself higher, and the Virgin also,
who is more erect than in the original, and in whose figure, just as in the organ
doors and other works of Holbein, we perceive a touch of the Gothic curve
of outline. Herr von Zahn, who first drew attention to this change in the
1 It has been regarded as a difference between them, that in the Dresden picture the face
of the elder woman, next the Madonna, is quite in light, while in the Darmstadt picture a
shadow seems to have fallen on it. But it only seems to have done so ; it proceeds simply
from a dark stripe in the varnish.

152 JACOB MEIER ZUM HASEN.

1

proportions, regarded the differences in the Dresden copy 1 as improvements
which the artist had endeavoured to make in repeating the subject himself.
But, on the contrary, they may be attributed to the misunderstanding of a
modern hand. These compact proportions are exactly in Holbein's taste, and
give the composition a solid character. In the Darmstadt picture, the bust
of the Madonna is most gracefully placed just within the semicircle, while in
the Dresden picture the diameter of the semicircle does not intersect her
shoulder but her chin, and the beautiful arrangement within the space is
thus lost sight of.
If the opportunity were afforded of placing both pictures side by side, the
superiority of the Darmstadt painting would become evident to the public at
large. Hitherto we have not been able to compare photographs from the
paintings themselves. In the Dresden Gallery, owing to the inconceivable
narrow-mindedness of the authorities, it is forbidden to take photographs of
paintings, and the Darmstadt picture has been photographed recently from a
drawing by Professor Felsing, instead of from the original. On the other
hand a coloured lithograph of it will shortly appear, by the Arundel Society,
from an excellent water-colour copy by Herr Schulz.
We have become acquainted with Jacob Meier zum Hasen, the first
burgomaster of the guilds, at the period of his highest splendour. From
henceforth he was repeatedly chosen for the highest position in Basle,
but in the year 1521 the tables were turned. On the 16th of October
he was dismissed from his post, because, belonging to the decided French
party, he had received a higher pension than was permitted from the French
king. The levies for Francis I., which had been countenanced by him, had
resulted in evil. A part of the soldiers raised allowed themselves to be
enlisted on the antagonistic papal side, and thus the sons o'f the same city
stood opposed to each other in two hostile armies, bringing the utmost
tumult into Basle itself. The former burgomaster was obhged to deliver up
aU he had received above the permitted sum of fifteen crowns ; and when he
afterwards endeavoured to excite commotion, he was again imprisoned, and
was only released at the request of his family on payment of 100 gulden.2
We must refrain from subjecting Meier's mode of dealing to a too strict moral
standard. Little as the transaction is to be praised, the receipt of pensions
was at that time quite usual. In aU parts of Switzerland, especially in Berne,
we know that the ablest and worthiest men received them. Respecting
Meier's further fate we are but little informed. When, in the beginning of the
spring of 1524, two hundred free youths set forth from Basle to join the
French in Italy, one Jacob Meier was appointed captain, a fact from which
Ochs supposes that he may have been our burgomaster. A contemporaneous
1 Archiv fiir die zeichnenden Kiinste, xi. 1865.
2 ( Mis, v. p. 362 et _ei£.

JACOB MEIER ZUM HASEN. 153

document, which mentions the Captain "Jacob zum Hasen," confirms this
supposition.1 Meier had before distinguished himself as a soldier ; in 1507 he
had served as an ensign in some Basle troops which proceeded to Genoa in the
service of France, and in 1510 and 1512 he had been captain of the Basle
auxiliaries which had been granted to Pope Julius II. Thus a man accustomed
to such an active life would be likely in this manner to seek the activity
abroad which was denied to him at home. We hear of him again in the
year 1527, when he appears, on the 4th May, in the Black Book, as it was
decided not to annul the original decree pronounced against him ; namely,
exclusion from all public offices connected with the oath to reveal nothing-
concerning the secrets of the Council.2 In the year 1529, during the dis
orders which preceded the iconoclastic storm, Jacob Meier zum Hasen was
speaker of the armed Catholic opposition party. That he attached himself
to this, and was hostile to the new doctrines, which were more and more
favoured by his successors, especially by those owning his own name, Adel-
berg Meier and Jacob Meier zum Hirtzen, is very explicable even from
external grounds. It was the Reformers, with Zwingli at their head, who
had denounced most forcibly the evil of the French pensions, and he must
therefore have borne them a grudge.
If we compare the head of Jacob Meier, in the Darmstadt painting, with
the portrait of the year 1516, we shall perceive that many years had elapsed
since Holbein had painted him for the first time. But many as were the
storms which must have passed over the head of the former burgomaster, it
is ever the same wise, refined, and energetic countenance. His wife, Anna
Tscheckapiirlin,3 is to be seen in the woman kneeling at the left of the
Madonna, immediately behind the young girl. She wears the dress of a
married woman, and has a decided similarity with Frau Anna's portrait, which
appeared in 1516. The other woman, who is kneeling next to the Holy
Virgin, and whose chin and neck are entirely concealed by the kerchief, is
much too old to be the same. The elder woman, therefore, must be regarded
as the mother, or the mother-in-law of the burgomaster, or even much more
probably as a former deceased wife, for such a combination of the living and
the dead was quite usual, — we have only to call to mind Holbein's votive
picture of the Schwartz Family — and it appears especially in epitaphs. Many
things, however, tend to show that the Meier Madonna was also an epitaph.
An altar-piece it can scarcely have been, because the religious element does
1 Communicated by Herr His-Heusler.
" Communicated by the same, " Schwarz-buch/' fol. 13.
3 There is no earlier authority for this name than Patin. A manuscript of Remigius Fesch,
discovered by Herr His-Heusler, entitled " Statt und Burger Buch," belonging to the year
1630, mentions as Meier's wife a Verena . . . and assigns to him besides Anna, the wife of
Toini. another daughter, wife of Martin Hagenbach. This, however, as has been subsequently
proved, is only a confusion with the wife and daughter of the Meier zum Hirtzen.

154 THE MEIER MADONNA.
not appear sufficiently independently in it, and the Madonna is only intro
duced with reference to the family. On the other hand, the subject here
depicted is to be met with constantly on epitaphs : namely, the Virgin as
Mother of Grace, spreading her mantle over those kneeUng before her, and
taking them thus as it were under her wings. Thus she appears, for instance,
in Adam Krafft's monument to the family Pergensdorfer, in the Frauenkirche
at Nuremberg, with the Holy ChUd in her arms, and two angels spreading her
mantle over the figures kneeling below her; on the one side, the representatives
of all classes, from the Pope and Emperor, and on the other side the family.
In the same manner, in the Meier picture, the Virgin's mantle rests lightly on
the shoulders of the burgomaster, and is also spread out on the other side,
to encircle the woman likewise.
Thus Jacob Meier, in this picture, plainly expresses his sentiments and
his old CathoUc confession of faith. At a period in which the new doctrines
were penetrating with more and more vigour, and even had gained ascen
dency in the government of the town, he placed himseU and his whole
house here with intention and design before the eyes of all, in adoration
and under the protection of the Holy Virgin, and of the divine Child whom
she bore.
Yet, however distinct and simple is the subject of the painting, in recent
times it has been much misunderstood, and an interpretation conveyed to the
picture which has been widely disseminated, and has even been repeated in
the inscription belonging to the Steinla engraving. It arose at Dresden,
among the Romanticists, and may probably be traced to Ludwig Tieck. Had
the Darmstadt original, and not the Dresden copy, been known to the public,
these ideas woiUd never have arisen ; for in the Dresden picture, the Child in
the Virgin's arms, as we have already said, looks somewhat miserable, and
makes a whining face, which is not the case in the Darmstadt painting' A
feehng of opposition, therefore, arose against its being regarded as the Infant
Christ, and they hit upon the idea that it was a sick child of the family,
whom the Madonna, at the petition of the parents, had taken in her arms,'
while she placed her Holy ChUd on the ground among the kneeling figures!
Besides the appearance of the child in her arms, another circumstance was
added, which led to this supposition ; it seemed surprising that the boy
standing below should be represented naked; and they considered it im
possible that the painter should have so painted a chUd of the famUy, and
they therefore preferred regarding this chUd as the Infant Christ. At a
period, however, at which a naked child belonging to the family would have
excited surprise, an unclothed Infant Christ would have been equally objec
tionable. For the fact that in paintings the Holy Child is usuaUy depicted
naked, has its ground in this, that at that time smaU chUdren were constantly
seen in that condition. In Italy they ran naked about the streets, as, indeed

THE MEIER MADONNA. 155
they also do even at the present day. This may be seen in numerous Tuscan
fresco paintings, the representations on which are a faithful copy of the
national life of the time.
In Germany, at an age in which there were no night garments, children
lay wholly unclothed in the cradle ; and just as they were there, the mother
took them in her arms. In mere portrait pictures, children, even of a some
what older age, appear unclothed. We have only to caU to mind that
painting of a Netherlander which hangs in the Cassel Gallery, and is
erroneously designated as a picture of Holbein's family. It was a sense of
the beautiful which impelled the Italians to depict the child in a state of
nature, and Holbein was so imbued with the happy spirit of the Renaissance,
that he never neglected the opportunity of painting a pretty bambino,
a task which must have afforded him true delight in the midst of all his
figures in the stiff and heavy costume of the time. But the story of the
sick child speedily found acceptance with the pubUc, who were ready to
regard a modern invention as an old tradition. We know that no trace of
any earlier confirmation of this exists : " Maria mit dem kindlein auf dem
arm," Sandrart calls it, and the auction catalogue of 1709 styles it, " Maria
with Jesus in her arm." The whole thing has a modern sentimental stamp,
and no analogy with it is to be found in Holbein's time. Every unbiassed
mind must allow, that when the Madonna appears with a child in her arms,
this child is at once regarded as the Infant Christ. If it be intended for
another child, this is expressly notified. Had Holbein reaUy purposed
painting the Madonna as taking a sick child in her arms to comfort or to
cure it, he was just the man to depict this in such a manner that no doubt
would have existed ; he, the painter of dramatic action, would have repre
sented this as an event actuaUy happening, and sudden in its effect.
Doubts as to this interpretation necessarily therefore have arisen
on all sides. It appeared extraordinary that the Madonna should have
placed her own Child in the midst of the family, that the petitioners
should take no notice of him, and that the kneeling elder boy should
embrace him in such a brotherly and intimate manner. And so a varia
tion in this interpretation appeared, which in recent times has been re
peated and amply defended.1 The second part of the explanation was
relinquished, but the first which was interesting to modern feeling was re
tained, and it was asserted that the upper child was sick, and that the one
below was the same child recovered to health by prayers to the Madonna. It
1 Mrs. Jameson, " Legends of the Madonna as represented in the Fine Arts." Second
edition, London, 1857. Sighart, "Geschichte der bildenden Kiinste im Konigreich Baiern."
1863. Victor Jacobi : " Neue Deutung der beiden nackten Knaben auf Holbeins Madonna
und andere Momente im Dresden Gemalde ; " Leipzig, 1865. Fechner, " Ueber die Deutungs-
fra-'e der Holbeinschen Madonna : Archiv fiir die zeichnenden Kiinste," xii.

156 THE MEIER MADONNA.

was even discovered that the sick part was the little left arm, because both
chUdren are making a movement with it.
But it does not agree with Holbein's style to suppose that he has depicted
two different moments in one and the same picture, in a painting, too, possess
ing such wonderful unity of feeling. Former analogies with such a repre
sentation have not been found, in spite of aU the efforts of the defenders of
this view, and one single apparent analogy, which has been adduced,1 shows
the far-fetched and suspicious character of this interpretation in the fullest
light. Herr Fechner supposes that in another drawing of Holbein's in the
Basle Museum, which is photographed by Braun, and which we have described
in a former chapter, there is likewise evidence of the diseased arm ; the child,
he says, is making a face, the Madonna is clasping its wrist as though she
were setting the dislocated little arm, and the knight kneeling below exhibits
" surprise at the miracle ! " There is just as little the case of anything of the
kind here as in the Meier painting. Holbein has depicted the child in
the drawing thoroughly naturally as a restless httle boy, and the attitude of
the knight with his hands upraised in prayer only marks the fervent petitioner.
It also renders the matter doubtful, that a second instance of such an abnor
mal idea should have occurred with Holbein, whilst otherwise art archaeology
affords no other. This was felt by the defender of the view, and he therefore
brings forward the further supposition tbat this drawing was the sketch for
the Meier picture itself. He is not withheld from this hypothesis by the fact
that there is not the slightest harmony between the two, either in composition,
figures, or scenery, beyond the general requisition of a Madonna and a niche,
which however, both in drawiug and in form, are perfectly different : and this
difference prevails to such a degree that in the drawing of the Holy Viro-in,
not the whole family, but only one man is kneeling ; that he is moreover not
attired like a citizen and beardless like Jacob Meier, but wears armour and a
large beard. Jacob Meier, says Herr Fechner, also repeatedly went to war
and thus he may perhaps have aUowed his beard to grow !
We will not speak further of other attempts at interpretation, for instance
that which considers the child in the Virgin's arms as the soul of a deceased
infant.2 When we have once accustomed ourselves to regard the picture
otherwise than in a simple and natural manner, the imagination knows no
limits. In itself such trifling is harmless, but it leads to a wrono- under
standing of the true artistic intention of the master, and that is its dan
gerous side.
We have already said that such delight in interpretations would not have
arisen had the public known the original instead of the Dresden copy, for in the
former the child is better formed, and instead of the sad expression is smilino-
sweetly. In the Darmstadt picture also the Infant is in nowise beautiful, but
1 Fechner, Ibid. xii. " Schiifer, Dresdner Gallerie.

THE MEIER MADONNA.

this lies with the model, of which the artist made use. The burgomaster's
little boy, who is standing below, is more beautifully formed. In the Holy
Child he had evidently, as is the case in many others of his pictures, especially
in the Solothurn Madonna, taken one of his own children as a model : that
family resemblance of which we have before spoken, is to be found here also.
Moreover Holbein depicted the child at a very tender age, evidently when
only a few months old, while the Italians, from the fact that they generally
give to their Madonna Child on an average two years old or more, can better
satisfy the taste for the beautiful. The outstretching of the left arm, as is
seen in both the children in the Meier picture, is a constant movement with
little children, which Holbein copied from nature. It is also to be seen com
bined with a very characteristic turning out of the palm of the hand, in the
Child of the Solothurn Madonna. A similar movement of the arm is also to
be perceived in the child depicted in the woodcut of the Freiburg statute-
book. The manner is very pretty in which Holbein has combined this move
ment, which is natural to children, and in the Holy Child of the Meier
Madonna is perfectly unconstrained, with that which the situation requires.
While it stretches out the little arm, it extends its hand protectiugly over
those kneeling below.
This, however, is a matter which the subject absolutely required.
In representations of the Madonna with the mantle of grace, the Virgin
may be depicted either as the intercessor, or as the dispenser of grace. In the
first case she appears in prayer and without the Child, as in Fra Bartolommeo's
famous picture, the Madonna della Misericordia in San Romano at Lucca,
where Christ, to whom she is turning, appears on high ; also in a painting by
Fra Filippo Lippi in the Museum at Berlin ; in a picture by Hans Scheuffelein
in the monastery church at Heilsbronn, in a sandstone group in St. Stephen's
at Vienna, and numerous other instances. In the second case, when she is
not imploring for mercy, but dispensing grace, she has the Child on her
arm, for only through the Child can she do this. An instance of this is
to be seen in the Pergensdorfer Epitaph by Adam Krafft, and we see it
also here.
The figures kneeling below are not here on a smaller scale, as in Krafft's
picture, but they are of about the same size as the Saint herself, for the
modern age had passed beyond that antique custom. And the divine Mother
does not appear among the clouds, she is not enthroned in heavenly regions,
but she treads earthly soil, she is depicted in the midst of pious petitioners,
she is standing on the same carpet as that on which they are kneehng. No
longer as a vision, but bodily and actually is she represented, and in her attri
bute as a mother, which we see beautifully expressed not only in her relation
to the Child, but which is extended to all who kneel below her. And hence
she seems so humanly near to them and to us, in spite of the glittering royal

158 THE MEIER MADONNA.
crown upon her flowing golden hair. With inexpressible affection the ChUd
clings to the mother, leaning its little head on its hand, which is placed on
her breast, and with equal affection the Virgin nestles her cheek close to the
little one, in perfect self-forgetfulness and wholly identified with the Child
whom she is holding. Only to dispense the blessing of the Son of God made
man is she there ; she is only there as the bearer of the ChUd. With both
hands she holds it, she, the modest handmaid of the Lord, who regards herself
as scarcely worthy of the costly treasure resting in her arms. Mother and
child are as one figure, fulfilling one function. The Child blesses and she
bears Him ; not the giver of grace, only the bringer of grace can she be and
will she be.
Fully struck, however, with the consciousness of this grace, the faithful
burgomaster kneels there with his family, below her ; according to the old
custom, the men on the right of her, the women to the left. A serious tone of
devotion is spread over them all, and each, after his way, takes part in the
prayer. Fixed, calm certainty of happiness is expressed in the elder women ;
believing, enthusiastic conviction in the burgomaster ; and serious and pious
absorption in the young, daughter, though this is indeed only to be seen in the
Darmstadt picture. Obediently, as he had been taught by pious instruction,
the youth kneels there, and the little brother whom he holds and embraces
cannot yet know and understand what is going on ; in chUdUke unconstraint
he stands "among the worshippers, but he has only an unconscious share in the
redemption from above, which is vouchsafed to them all. Praying, they look
upwards, yet, full of humUity, none ventures to meet eye to eye the Divine
manifestation ; but full, hearty certainty of communion with the Holy One
pervades them all and unites them all, and from the hand of the Divine Child,
which is mildly extended over them, His blessing descends upon them :
" Peace be with you ! "
In no picture as in this do we find more truly expressed that feeling of
simple heartiness which we like to regard as specifically German, but the pic
ture is also thoroughly German in external appearance. The simple, absolute,
honest truth, which was the artistic aim of the Germanic north, meets us here
in its utmost perfection. At the same time, however, the artist rested entirely
on the principles of modern representation, as he had become acquainted
with them, directly or indirectly, through the influence of Italian Renaissance.
This is shown in the nobleness of the drawing, in which all hardness is over
come in the beauty of the lines, and in the masterly style of the composi
tion, which here — where the main figure commands the whole, which is arranged
pyramidally, and the masses on each side are balanced with such delicacy of
feeling and are yet placed with such life and variety — surpasses even the com
position of the Solothurn Madonna. The outstretched protruding hand of the
Child is in Mantegna's taste, in whose Madonna della Victoria, in the Louvre,

THE MEIER MADONNA. 159
we see the same idea expressed in the gesture of the Madonna. The foliage
of a fig-tree, standing out from the deep blue of the atmosphere, behind the
heads of the worshippers, also reminds us of the South. Yet a direct remi
niscence of influential models, as we have seen it in the scenes from the
Passion, is never exhibited. Holbein fully made his own all that he has
received from others.

CHAPTER X.
Works of wall-painting— Facade paintings.— The house "zum Tanz."— The painting of the
great Town-hall— Holbein's paintings at Basle.— Original documents.— Pictures of
Justice and citizen Virtue. — Subjects from antiquity.— Interruption of the work. — The
cause for this in the circumstances of the time. — Commencement of the Reformation
in Basle.
Side by side with religious paintings, Holbein found occasion also for works
of a secular purport ; and while he painted the former as easel pictures on
wooden panels, he adopted waU-painting for the latter. We have already
seen him beginning these in Lucerne, and at Basle he carried this branch of
art to the utmost perfection. But in the one place as in the other, aU that
remains to us are only ruins, sketches, and faulty copies, from which we can
with difficulty form an idea of the works that once existed.
Facade painting, which was usual in Switzerland, was also practised by
Holbein to a great extent at Basle. It is true we have only in one instance
records of such work ; but that this was not the only one, is shown by many
sketches in the Basle Museum. There is a slight but masterly Indian ink
etching, exhibiting large pUlar.. with arches, which conceal the inequality of
the windows by skilful perspective arrangement. Between two of these, an
emperor is sitting on his throne.1 In the coUection of drawings in the Louvre
at Paris, there is the sketch of a high narrow-gabled house, with child genii
holding coats of arms and garlands over the entrance, with rich Renaissance
ornament, with columns, which are clasped by bearded Roman warriors, and
with reliefs, which contain figurative representations, contests between men
and women, and, beneath the window of the ground-floor, two dogs biting each
other. Perhaps a passage which appears in the earliest biographical notices
of Holbein, in a paper by Dr. Ludwig Iselin,2 at the close of the sixteenth
century, refers to this episode. It is here said, in order to prove Holbein's
eminent truthfulness to nature : " He painted a dog, at which dogs running
past used to bark." Several sketches show that he was indeed a master in
the representation of animals.
A coloured etching in Vol. U of the Basle CoUection exhibits the ground-
1 Hall of Sketches, No. 26.
2 Discovered by Herr His-Heusler in the Basle Library.

THE HOUSE "ZUM TANZ." 161

floor of a house ; two columns at the side of the Gothic entrance, above the
architrave of which a semicircular arch rests, while the tympanum is filled
with Tritons and such like figures. Everywhere there is rich ornament. By
the side of the door there is a broad shallow-arched window placed high from
the ground. This window is enclosed by pillars and columns, while the space
below is filled with the painting of a wall, a small breastwork of pillars, and
the beginning of a flight of steps. Above the architrave which terminates
the framework of the window above, there is a space ornamented with naked
boys, playing and making music, and genii who are poising themselves on
festoons. Until the middle of the last century, there was a famous painting by
Holbein to be seen decorating a house in the Eisengasse, near the Rhine
bridge, which was called after one of the pictures, the "Haus zum Tanz" (the
house of the dance). Old records1 tell us that Holbein received forty gulden for
this work, a sum which was small even according to the ideas of that time,
not to speak of the present day when such works are paid with thousands.
Fortunately we can almost entirely bring to view what has here perished. In
the Basle Museum there is a large and highly interesting etching of it,2
which does not, indeed, seem to be the original sketch, but the tracing of an
original ; for this clever sheet only lacks power and certainty in the drawing
of the lines.
The manner in which Holbein here handles the matter, shows an extra
ordinary advance upon the Hertenstein house at Lucerne. There, the larger
and smaller pictures covered the whole space between the windows, as though
it were entirely heavy with tapestries. This no longer satisfied the artist ;
instead of the picturesque principle, he now aUowed an architectural style to
prevail in the arrangement. The front was quite irregular, and distinguished
by nothing in particular. What the architect had neglected, the painter
retrieved ; he buUt in colours. There was no straight line, no window was
like another in height and breadth ; indeed, in the different stories, one scarcely
ever stood over anotlier. For picturesque ornament, this was the greatest
hindrance that could be imagined ; but where a master is concerned, the diffi
culties of his task become his triumph. This irregularity and broken character
of the front gave the artist occasion to use every means for its concealment.
Just this became an opportunity for him to give bolder and more briUiant
scope to his imagination.
Tlie building was a corner house. The left and narrower side of the
drawing represents the facade towards the Eisengasse. The broad pointed
arched windows and the narrow entrance door, which was at the extreme end of
1 " Theodori Zwingeri methodus apodemica," Basle. 1857, p. 199. " Domus privata in
platea ferri choream rusticam exhibet ; a J. Holbenio, xl. florenorum stipendio depicta."
2 Vol. U. ii. No. 6. M

162 THE HOUSE "ZUM TANZA

the front, wTere enclosed by heavy short columns with Ionic capitals.
Garlands passed from one to the other. This facade and the ornaments
were so skilfully arranged that the pointed arches, which were in contradic
tion to the Renaissance style of the decoration, looked as though they had
merely arisen from perspective foreshortening. Above the architrave there
was a broad strip reaching to the windows of the second story ; this contained
the Peasant's Dance, which gave its name to the house. A little window
above the house door intersected this strip. From this a table was made, on
which a tankard and glasses stood, and against which two musicians were
leaning. They were playing on the bagpipes ; to this music old and young, all
of them short, stout, vigorous figures, were moving boisterously. They were
exulting and tumbling and chasing each other, and not able to restrain them
selves in their merriment. The hats of the lads, and the hair of the girls,
were wreathed with flowers. The fool, with his cap and bells, was not lacking
in the merry dance ; one wears it for all. In a few places the jest appeared
somewhat more extravagant than would be thought fitting nowadays in the
open street. In the last couple, for instance, we obtain too great a view of
the legs of the dancing girl.
Between the windows of the second story stand pilasters and antique
figures of gods : Mars, Minerva, Venus, and Cupid, and others. Above them,
resting on consoles, there projects a splendid balustrade, which passes below
the windows of the third story. It is enlivened by many festively dressed
figures, who are walking on it or looking down ; there is a greyhound among
them. The windows of this story with their various heights and breadths
are so skilfully placed among the grand columns and arches that they some
times seem to project and sometimes to recede. Above them are medalUons
with heads ; somewhat higher are friezes with rich ornaments, entablatures on
which fabulous figures rest, such as a peacock which terminates in the body
of a fish, or a boy ending in a dolphin ; and by the side stands the paint-jar of
the artist, as if he had left it there at his work. The whole is concluded by
a crowning of small battlements, from which the windows of the fourth and
last story rise aloft like little towers.
The right side of the drawing represents the front towards a smaU side-
street. In the unbroken portion of the wall, next the corner, there is a proud
portal introduced, by the painter. It is arched high above, and we can look
in through the deep perspective. A broad flight of steps ascends from the
portico. Above, we see Curtius brandishing a hammer in his right hand, as
he is on the point of plunging into the abyss with his rearing horse. On an
off-set below there is a Roman soldier who is stooping and protecting
himself with his hand, as if he feared the frantic rider might spring upon
his head.
In that part of the ground-floor which joins the painted portal in the side-

THE HOUSE "ZUM TANZ." 163
street, there are only quite small apertures, and no windows. Probably, there
fore, the stabling lay here. At any rate what Holbein here painted indicates
this. He deludes us with the most graceful deception. We look in between
the arches and the pilasters which support a strong epistyle ornamented with
festoons : behind the breastwork we here see a groom and a noble horse.
The ring to which the latter is fastened is attached to the foot of a strong
column, which extends to the height of the entire horse, and is crowned with
a figure of Hebe. Above the entablature of the lower story, between the
windows of the next story, stands a fat and crowned youthful Bacchus with
the winecup in his left hand ; at his feet lies the cask and a second boy who
has fallen asleep, because he has already taken too much of the good fare.
Not far off from them a cat is stealing softly and slily with a mouse between
its teeth. From here, a stricter arrangement of pilasters is continued to the
roof cornice. Above the windows there are leaf ornaments and figures of
little Cupids ; and above them medallions with heads.
Besides this large drawing, there are sketches of separate parts ; thus in the
same book there is an etching, likewise a copy, in which the lower part of the
second half with the horse and groom is to be seen. There is a larger and
recent water-colour copy of the Peasants' Dance which has come with the
Birmann collection into the Basle Museum.1 Lastly, however, the Basle
Museum possesses an undoubted original ; a highly spirited chalk drawing,
slightly touched with Indian ink in the shadows, and the outline vigorously
and hastily traced with the pen. It represents a part of the facade in the
Eiseno-asse. The whole building here maintains greater architectural strict
ness. A window of the third story which projects in the other sketch, here
more pleasingly recedes behind a large triumphant arch and a splendid
screen of three slender Corinthian columns standing in a line behind
each other.
Both as regards the handling of the Renaissance style in architecture,
and the fresh delight and joyfulness with which he treats profane subjects,
Holbein nowhere displays such brilliant artistic skill as in this facade of the
house " Zum Tanz." And yet one thing more ! While the element of the
fantastic ever forms the most fatal rock for northern art, Holbein has here em
ployed it in such a manner that it reveals his power and magic, without his
defects. With all his boldness, the play of the fancy is kept in bounds by
strict law, charmingly as this is concealed, and little as freedom is limited.
Everything is animated with the breath of perfect beauty. We may compare
this painting with a briUiant concerto, which sometimes with pathetic serious
ness, and sometimes with playfulness and jest, rushes along through a full
orchestra. We may also say, it is the alluring fable world of a changing
dream with its hundred varied pictures.
1 No. 295, Picture Gallery.
M 2

1'54 THE DECORATION OF THE TOWN-HALL.

A still more important work in wall-painting is the decoration of the
principal apartment in the town-hall. But this production also no longer
exists, and when we seek to recall as well as we can what it was, we cannot
enter upon the task nor speak without sorrow of the ruin of so much that
was grand and beautiful. Both the task and its accomplishment stand
unique in German art.
Wurstisen, in his work which appeared in 1577,1 mentioned the fact that
" Delineations of the choicest things by the hand of the German Apelles "
adorned the great council haU. Two years later we hear that the greatest
piece of all had been terribly injured by the weather, and that utter destruction
threatened it. The painter Hans Bock was therefore ordered to make a copy
of it in oUs upon canvas, which could be hung over the original. Subse
quently we lose tidings of all the paintings ; the rest seem also to have fallen
a sacrifice to the dampness of the place. All idea of them had vanished
when in the year 1817, on the removal of an old tapestry, scanty remains of
the paintings were discovered.2 All that were saved — only a few heads —
were preserved in the Museum. Nevertheless it is possible to form an idea of
the greatest part of the compositions. Slightly coloured etchings, some of
them originals, but for the most part tracings after originals, are in existence,
and these pictures again appear in the small modern copies which, on the dis
covery of the remains, the art-dealer Birmann ordered the painter Hieronymus
Hess to make, and which are now in the anteroom of the Museum.
The Town-haU at Basle belongs at the present day to the most interesting-
monuments of the city. It is irregularly buUt, and was constructed at very
different times, aud lying on the slope of the hill, its courts and wings
stand on an unequal level. What a picturesque view is gained from the
market-place of the romantic late-Gothic structure, the ground-floor of which
consists in the centre of a broad open hall, opening in three proud pointed
arches, and affording a glimpse of the courtyard, from which there is an ascent
by an open flight of steps ! The lower arched hall, the open gallery above the
steps, and many apartments in the interior, besides a part of the facade, are
still adorned with wall-paintings. These do not belong to Holbein, but to
the end of the sixteenth century ; they are works by Hans Bock and his sons.
Only one wall-painting, now completely painted over, can be assigned
originally to an earher period, having even been executed before the time of
Holbein, namely, the Last Judgment, on the upper open gallery at the top of
the steps. It belongs probably to the things which in the year 1519 Hans
Dig painted inside the town-hall.8 A later inscription, it is true, assigns 1510
as the period of its origin. But this must be an error, for at that time the
1 Epitome Historise Basiliensis. 2 Hegner, p. 71.
3 Rathsrechnungen, Angarienhefte. 1519, 1520; and " Summenbuchlein," discovered by
Herr His-Heusler.

THE DECORATION OF THE TOWN-HALL. 165

building itself was still in progress. It may therefore be supposed that the
last figure of the date 1519 may have been erroneously read at the restoration.
The expense at which the building and decoration of the Town-hall were
carried on, was the evident result of Basle's political rise which was here
reflected on a small scale. In 1504 the rebuilding was decreed, from 1508 to
1511 the front part was wholly renewed, while the restoration of the interior
advanced still further. It was Tuesday after Mid-Lent, the 12th March, 1521,
when the great Council, who had before assembled at the Augustine monastery,
met for the first time in the new apartment in the Town-hall,1 and the first
decrees which were passed on that day concerned the democratic change in the
constitution before mentioned.2 The new apartment could not be dedicated
more gloriously. At the beginning of June these alterations came into force.
At the same time, on the 15th June, on the day of St. Veit and St. Modestus,
Holbein received the commission to paint this very hall.
At this time, Jacob Meier zum Hasen was still in office as burgomaster.
Perhaps it was due to his influence that the painter, whom he repeatedly
employed in private commissions, and whose importance he knew how to
esteem, received this great public work. But even after his deposition, when
Adelberg Meier, belonging to a wholly different family, became burgomaster,
the work continued undisturbed. This is one of the few cases in which we
have authentic records respecting a work of Holbein. The account books of
the Council furnish us .with information respecting it. It was arranged by
contract, that he was to receive 120 gulden for the entire work ; at the same
time (15th June) the " Drei-Herrn," as the members of the finance college
were styled, were to pay him forty gulden of it in advance, amounting, as it
was said in the accounts, to fifty pounds, the gulden being as much as one
Basle pound and five shillings. The next payments took place in smaller
instalments, on the 20th July and 14th September of the same year, as well as
on the 12th April, 16th June, 23rd August, and 29th November of the year
following. In the winter, when no instalment appears, Holbein was naturally
obliged to discontinue his work.
The Town-hall, in which the pictures were placed is now much changed
to what it was then.3 It consisted of an irregular quadrangle, the depth of
which, in the inside diameter, was 34 feet, the breadth at the centre 65 feet,
the height 12^- feet. The apartment is now almost twice as lofty, but less
broad. The part next the house " Zum Hasen," adjoining it on the south, was
subsequently altered and arranged for a staircase. Three pillars standing in
the centre supported the ceiling. The front of the two long waUs contained
the large windows towards- the front court, as well as the doors leading to the
principal flight of steps. The long wall opposite, also broken by two windows
1 Ochs. v. p. 396. 2 Ochs, v. p. 346 et seq.
3 Cf. the woodcut, from a plan given me by Herr His-Heusler, p. 166.

166

THE DECORATION OF THE TOWN-HALL.

and two doors, and the two narrow walls contained the paintings. The
southern part of the apartment adjoining the house "Zum Hasen," which
belonged to Jacob Meier, was quite undivided ; the northern end, which con
tained the large stove and the heating-room, was separated by a balustrade, it
seems from the plan, from the rest of the hall. The apartment itself was not
distinguished in any architectural point of view, and it was therefore for the
painter to make up for what the architect had omitted. How weU Holbein
understood how to do this, we know from the facade paintings. He changed

10

20

30

to

50

60

a and .. Present termination of the hall. .. Present stove, d. Old stove, e. Little court /. Chamber of accounts
how anteroom, g. Former staircase. A. Little court, i. Wight of steps to the front Town-hall

it into a splendid any hall, open on all sides. Magnificent columns divided
the separate compartments ; five smaUer intermediate paintings contain
separate figures, standing in arched niches on a somewhat higher level. They
belong to the architecture. In the principal paintings, however, the actions
take place further in the distance, either in an open landscape or in a lofty,
majestic, columned hall with a vast perspective, which charmingly deludes
the eye. Greater delicacy and greater architectural understanding in arrano-e-
ment, are scarcely to be found among the most famous wall-paintings of Italy.

THE DECORATION OF THE TOWN-HALL. 167
The present day may take example from this. The monumental painting of
the present day cannot achieve what is right, unless the painter also under
stands architecture.
In subject, the paintings belong to the same class of representations as
those which during the fifteenth century had become peculiar to the Germanic
north, especially to the Belgian cities. The artists here had decorated the
apartments of the town-halls in which judgment was held, with paintings
illustrative of strict and impartial justice. Rogier van der Weyden had
painted for Brussels the now lost picture in distemper, containing the story
of the Emperor Trajan, who even halted on a campaign to sit in judgment on
a murderer, and that of Count Erkenbald, who on his sick bed killed his
criminal nephew with his own hand, as the order to execute him was not
carried out by his people, who knew the count to be near his death. A
counterpart to each of these pictures represents the divine recompense which
followed the act of justice.1 Dir Stuerbout painted in 1468 for the Town-
hall at Louvain two oil-paintings which are now to be seen in the Museum
at Brussels, and which depict the divine punishment upon false witness, illus
trated in the story of the consort of the Emperor Otto III. The Council
Chamber at Bruges was adorned by two paintings, now in the collection of
the Academy of the same city, and probably 2 works by Gerard David ; their
subject, which was taken from the book "Gesta Romanorum," has been
already mentioned as being depicted in a drawing of Holbein ; s it was the
punishment of the unjust judge, and the appointment of his son as judge, over
whose chair the skin of the father was hung.
All these representations have in the first place a didactic object in the
spirit of the Middle Ages. They are, however, at the same time the first great
examples of secular historical painting in the modern sense, and the dramatic
element prevails in the subject, although the artists, with the exception of
Rogier, possessed really httle taste for specifically dramatic matters. In all
respects we find the grand perfection of this style in Holbein's representations.
The pictures, by which he Ulustrated these ideas, are more splendid and more
numerous ; moreover, the ideas themselves are more deeply conceived, and
more variously unfolded. Not in separate easel pictures does he carry them
out, but in compositions of monumental painting, in which the whole is
systematically arranged, and lastly, throughout the mythical element has
given place to a purely historical conception.
Throughout the lands to which the German tongue extended, Basle was
perhaps the only place where at that time such a work could arise. When
1 Respecting these works and representations of a similar character, see G. Kinkel, " Die
Briisseler Rathhausbilder der Rogier van der Weyden und deren Copien in den burgundischen
Tapeten zu Bern ;" Zurich, 1867.
2 According to Mr. Jumes Whale. 3 Cf. chap. viii.

168 TRUE HISTORICAL PAINTING.

the Nurembergers, in the year 1518, had their Town-hall adorned with wall-
paintings after Diirer 's designs, a picture was, it is true, also introduced there,
which exhorted to justice, namely, the Allegory of Calumny, described by
Lucian from a painting by Apelles; but the corresponding piece, the Triumphal
Car of Maximilian, in which he is driving along, surrounded and conducted
by various virtues, which he possessed or did not possess, was only a pompous
glorification of this emperor, and instead of the grand ideas which the citizens
of free cities generally allowed to influence them in such buildings, a place
was conceded here to a purely personal homage. Quite otherwise was it in
Basle, which displays in Holbein's pictures its radical character, the inflexible
sense of right, and the republican feeling of its citizens.
Let us compare with these the greatest works of true historical art pro
duced by Italy : the famous cartoons of Leonardo da Vinci and Michel Angelo,
which the Florentine people ordered to be executed after the expulsion of the
Medici, for the very same purpose as that which was fulfilled by Holbein's
Basle pictures, namely, the decoration of the hall in which the Consiglio
Grande sat. These cartoons were, so to speak, pioneering works for aU
modern art. In the idea, however, which animated them, they cannot
compete with Holbein's work. This is only one side of the matter, but it
is a side which we are justified in looking at. That which ought really only to
be a means became an aim with the Italians, namely, the boldness of attitudes
and movements, the masterly skill in the delineation of sudden incidents, and
all that may be classed under the overcoming of difficulties. In all this
Leonardo trod a wholly new path, and Michel Angelo far surpassed him.
In treatment of form, they raised the art of their nation upon a new plat
form. But they thought not of illustrating grand ideas ; and their subjects
were nothing more than the warlike deeds and triumphs of the Florentines.
In the places which they were destined to adorn, they could be nothing but
remembrances of ancient fame. The paintings at Basle, on the contrary,
possessed a far higher and graver value, although they found no enthusiastic
present to proclaim their fame through all future time, in spite of their ruin.
Holbein's paintings were, moreover, not those which our own age so con
stantly puts forth as historical paintings ; they were no mere chronicle illustra
tions, no mere representation of events that had occurred, but the actions and
incidents are in each only the concrete exhibition of that which is of
universal human interest.
The subjects, however, as was the case before in the historical representa
tions in the Lucerne facade, are taken from classic antiquity. Two lawgivers
of Magna Gratia, mentioned by Diodorus x and .ZElianus,2 are selected as
representatives of a grand love of justice and at the same time of a solid
republican virtue, which does not hesitate to sacrifice itself for the public
J Book xii. 11 — 21. 2 Olaudii iEliani Varia. Historia?. Lib. xiii. cap. 24.

PRINCIPAL SCENES. 169

good. Charondas of Catanea, lawgiver of the city of Thurii, one day returning
from the country, entered the national assembly, and had quite forgotten that
owing to robbers without he was -girded with a sword, it being forbidden by
his own law to appear armed in the national assemblies. An adversary made
use of this to bring reproaches against him ; he, however, exclaimed, " No, by
Jupiter! the law shall be master!" and he thrust his sword into his own
breast. This is the moment which we see before us ; the effect of the deed
is expressed variously and vividly in those assembled : a vast hall, the beams
of which are supported by lofty columns, forms the scene.
Zaleucus, of Locris, a city of Lower Italy, in which he had been chosen
lawgiver, had imposed the strictest laws for the maintenance of morality as
well as against luxury, and the punishment of blinding had been decreed
for adultery. His own son was found guilty of the crime. "When the king
heard this," so says a mediaeval record, " his bowels were moved within him,
and he commanded that both the eyes of his son should be torn out." Then
the great men of the kingdom spoke to their lord : " Thou hast only one son,
who is thy heir ; it would be an injury to the whole kingdom if thy son
lost his eyes." But the king replied : " Is it not known to you that I have
passed this law? It would be a shame for me to break what I have once
established. As, however, my son is the first who has acted contrary to the
law, he shall also be the first who submits to the punishment." Then the
wise men spoke : " For God's sake, sire, we beg you, spare your son." But
the king, overcome' by their entreaties, replied : '" Dear friends, as thus it is,
listen to me : my eyes are my son's eyes, and vice versa. Tear out, therefore,
my right eye and the left eye of my son, and then the law is fulfilled." And
so it was. The subject here certainly passes so far into the terrible, that it is
scarcely endurable, that is, for us, though not for an age accustomed to scenes
of Christian martyrdom. But the energy of the artist in thus representing
the terrible is wonderful : he depicts the excitement of the people, their
prayers, their astonishment, and also the different manner in which both
father and son endure the horrible mutilation. The moment is chosen when
the pincers are just on the point of seizing the eye. The delinquent, in his
court attire, sinks back in his chair, held by the executioners, and expresses in
his countenance the utmost anxiety and torment, as though he were going to
scream aloud. The father, however, with his venerable silver beard, awaits
with the noblest composure what he has imposed upon himself. With both
his hands he is holding fast to the sides of the throne, using his utmost power
to stand against the pain. The incident is represented in the court of the
royal palace, which is surrounded by splendid buildings seen in effective
perspective. The account which we have here given is borrowed from the "Gesta

170 PRINCIPAL SCENES.

Romanorum," which probably formed Holbein's authority,1 as we have before
seen him drawing from this book.
i The two next pictures are not only pervaded by enthusiasm for justice,
but also by political opinion. First comes a representation which we only
know through a copy by Hess, namely, Curius Dentatus, who, kneeling
before the fire, is sending back the ambassadors of the Samnites. He is
turning towards the five men who are bringing him golden cups and vessels
full of wine, in order to move him to keep aloof from the contest against their
tribes, and pointing to the turnips which he is preparing for his meal, he
utters the words which stand by his side : " Malo hsec in fictilibus meis esse
et aurum habentibus imperare." (" I would rather have these in my pot but
command those who have gold.")
This incident is represented in an arched hall looking out upon the
country, though situated somewhat higher, like a terrace ; below it is to be
seen a man in rural costume, raising his hand to his hat in salutation, and a
small shield, with the arms of Basle upon his breast. What this figure is
intended to signify is unknown to me. Three of the heads of the ambassadors
are stiU existing among the fragments of the original, but in a sad state.
To every inhabitant of Basle who at that time saw this picture of repub
lican simplicity and incorruptible love, something must have occurred that
made it necessary at this time in his native city to bear such examples in
mind, namely, the deeply rooted evil of the French pensions, which had
shortly before given such violent offence in Basle itself, and had caUed forth
legal interference against the most esteemed men. Perhaps the choice of this
picture was connected with that political event.
A fourth painting, much narrower than the former, represents Sapor, the
Persian king, who is making use of the captive emperor Valerian as a foot
stool to mount his horse. He is placing his foot on the back of the crowned
monarch with his venerable beard ; the rudest despotism is expressed both in
his bearing and countenance ; we look down a narrow street, in which the
crowd is thronging ; in front is the palace, with its Gothic arched portico, which
has a certain simUarity with the exterior of the Basle Town-haU. The inscrip
tion, which does not appear in the sketch, is in Tonjola's "Bashea Sepulta":
" Jratvs recole, quod nobilis ira Leonis
In sibi substrates se negat esse feram."
("Think in anger, that the noble rage of the lion forbids him to rage against a conquered foe.")
In the original sketch which exists of this picture, Sapor is designated
in old writing as a forester of the name of Mathis, and another figure as
Hans Conrad Wolleb. Like the Florentines of the fifteenth century, Hol
bein introduced portraits of his fellow-citizens into his wall-paintings.
1 Cap. 50. Zaleucus is here called "Zelongus."

INTERVENING PICTURES. 171
The five intervening pictures, single figures standing in niches, are as
follows : Christ holding a panel, on which stand the words : " Quod tibi non
vis fieri alteri non facias." ("What thou dost not wish to be done to thee, that
do to no one else.") King David with the harp ; above him there stands on a
scroll : "Jvste jvdicate filii hominvm." ("Judge justly, ye sons of men.") Then
follow three aUegorical figures. Justice with a crown on her head, holding a
sword in her right hand, while the balances are lying at her feet; she is
standing behind a balustrade, and pointing with her left hand to the inscrip
tion : "0 vos reigentes obliti privatorvm pvblica cvrate." ("0 ye rulers, forget
your private affairs and think on public matters.") Wisdom, a figure with a
double face. In her left hand she is holding a torch, and in her right hand a
book, in which stand the words : "Inicium sapiencie timor domini." ("The fear
of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.") A scroll above her bears the inscrip
tion: "Experiri privs consilio qvam armis prestat." ("It is better to try by
counsel than by arms.") Lastly, Moderation, with the inscription : " Qui sibi
plvs licere wit qvam deceat sve stvdet rvine." ("He who wishes to enjoy
more than is his due, acts to his own destruction.")
Holbein's Moderation is no devotee, and ascetic severity is her smallest
fault. She is a charming, round young woman; the light garments cling-
gracefully to the beautiful figure, betraying rather than concealing the full and
magnificent form ; her neck and shoulders are left bare, and over them fall the
plaits of her braided hair ; a wreath encircles her head. High in her right
hand she holds a mighty crystal goblet, from which she is pouring wine into a
bottle. At the first glance we could easUy take her for the opposite of modera
tion ; but whoever studies her more accurately, understands her better. From
her large bowl she is pouring her small portion into the smaller vessel. In this
manner the northern painters of this period were wont to represent modera
tion. Thus we find her, for example, in a woodcut by Hans Burgkmair, in an-
engraving by Lucas van Leyden, and indeed she is acutely and justly devised.
Moderation is not far removed from the joys of Ufe — that would be the case
with abstemiousness — but while she knows how to estimate their worth, she
finds the just limit for them.
Tonjola mentions also, in his before quoted work, other inscriptions, which
were in the great haU of council in his time ; they are as follows :
" Harpocratem quisquis hue intrat, preestet oportet : •
Non nostra arcana promere jura vetant.''
(" Whoever enters here, keep silence, for the law forbids us to make our secrets known.")
" Musese flaminibus veluti capiuntur in istis,
Sed culices rumpunt viribus ilia suis :
Legibus obstrictum sic vulgus inane tenetur,
Hasque levi infringunt impetu turba potens."
Anacharsis de Jure Bumano.

172 THE TOWN-HALL PAINTINGS.

(" As the flies are caught in this tender web, but the wasps tear it asunder, so are the
people separately kept by the bond of the law, but it breaks easily when, mighty masses
conglomerate together.") Ezechias.
" Fecit quod erat bonum coram Domino, ipse dissipavit excelsa, contrivit statuas, succidit
lucos et confregit seneum serpentem quem fecerat Moses." 2 Regum xviii. 3, 4.
Hezekiah.
(" He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. He removed the high places, and
brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that
Moses had made.")
Evidently pictures formerly belonged to these inscriptions, though no
trace of them now remains, but there was space enough for them on the sur
face of the wall.1 Under the first distich, the figure of Harpocrates may have
been painted, in the position so well known in antique works, with a finger
on his lip, as a token of silence. The second sentence is utterly unintelligible
without a picture. Anacharsis speaks of " this web ; " it must therefore have
been represented, as he alludes to a cobweb.
The picture from the Bible passage upon Hezekiah, which had already
served as a subject for a drawing in the Basle collection, by the painter
Nicolaus Manuel of Berne, had, however, quite another inner purport to that
before mentioned. The subject is not taken from antiquity, but from the Old
Testament, and in it there lives a spirit, which belongs to a wholly different
epoch, the spirit which, in the further progress of the Reformation, removed
the pictures from the churches, whether in peace or by force, as was the
case in the iconoclastic storm of 1529. For this reason, this picture must not
be numbered with those before mentioned, but with two other compositions
of which we have not yet spoken, Rehoboam, and Samuel and Saul.
These could not have been executed until many years later. On the
twenty-ninth of November, 1522, the Saturday before St. Andrew's Day, the
artist received twenty -two pounds and ten shillings, with which the remainder
of the sum formerly agreed upon was paid: " Vnnd dwyl," it says further in
the accounts, " die hindere wand noch nit gmacht vnnd gemolet ist, vnnd er
1 There were also two other inscriptions : " Ne quid non e Reipublica. dignitate consti-
tuatur " (" Let nothing be decreed which is not worthy of the State "), and " Ponderandee magis
quam numerandae sententia. " (" Opinions are rather to be pondered than numbered "), which
belonged to the two carved half-length figures of the prophets, which are still between the
windows of the hall, but which formerly adorned two of the central pillars, while the third
was decorated with four coats of arms. They were executed by Meister Martin Lebzelter, for
the sum of eight pounds. " Item, viij lb gebenn Meister Martin dem bildhauwer fiir die vier
schilt vnnd zwen propheten im sal vnd dem schilt im Hbfflin zu schnidenn.'' Samstag vor
Sixti, the 3rd of August, 1521. From the " TJsgebenbuch," communicated to me by Herr
His-Heusler.

THE TOWN-HALL PAINTINGS. 173

vermeint an dyseni das gelt verdient habenn, sol man dieselbig hindere want
bis vff wytherenn bescheit lossenn an ston." The master who after two years
of honest and laborious work had completed everything but the back wall,
believes in the consciousness of what he has accomplished, that he has already
merited the recompense fixed, and the council is generous enough to raise no
objection to it; they order the remainder to be paid to him, and the further
determination with regard to the back wall is postponed. By this back wall,
in all probability, the great unbroken wall-surface next the house " Zum
Hasen " was intended ; for in entering the hall from the main staircase, the
back was turned to it. Here, however, Rehoboam, and Saul and Samuel,
must have been placed. They adjoined each other, for in the origmal
sketches, which are preserved of both of them, the half of a column in the
framework is to be found in each of them, and the two halves exactly
coincide. But only on this wall-surface would the two largest compositions
have found room together. The original height of the hall amounted to
twelve feet and a half. If we reckon the socle and cornice at five feet, the
height of the picture remains at seven feet and a half. According to the pro
portion of the sketches, the breadth of Rehoboam would be about thirteen feet
and that of Saul sixteen feet and three-quarters. These two paintings formed
also, probably "the large piece," which Hans Bock, in the year 1579, was to
copy on canvas, because, as we have seen above, it had perished on account of
the damp.
In Bock's petition, in which he endeavours to assign a reason for his un
usually high demands, explaining the matter in a very naive manner, and say
ing that far more really is due to the copyist than to one who painted merely
from his own fancy,1 he goes on to say, with regard to the picture, " Among
all the Holbein pieces in the painted hall, this is not alone the greatest in
length, but also contains the most difficult and laborious work, as besides
landscape there are 100 faces drawn perfectly or partially, so that I must
copy them all piece by piece, besides many horses, weapons, and other things."
Length, landscape, horses, weapons, and numerous heads — all this is only to be
found in one picture — namely, in Samuel and Saul. Nevertheless, even here
1 I cannot help quoting the passage here, although it does not really belong to the subject.
Hans Bock says : " Dass unter abmolen oder Conterfehten und eim schlechten aus sein Sin
Molen ein groser Underscheyd sie, dan in disem einer sinem Sin und Neygung schlechtlich
nachvolgen, und wie Im gefeljig das verarbeyten kan, aber das Conterfehten erfordertt auch
von eim geiibten Moler nitt alein grosen fleysz Miih und Arbeytt sonder auch lenger Zydt die
wil man vom fordrigen ales erstlich durchzeichnen, und hernoch widerum alles ordentlich
nachsachen und abmolen und die Augen nitt minder oder weniger an dem ersten Kunststuck
das abgemolt wiirtt, den auf dein so man abmolet heben muss. Derhalben dan ein Conterfeht
ems iedlichen nienschens zweymol so vii costett als ein derglichen grosz vnconterfehen gemeld
verkaufft werden mag," &c, 23d of November, 1579. Communicated by Herr His-Heusler.
Partly also from Hegner, p. 73.

174 INTERRUPTION IN THE WORK.
there are scarcely a hundred faces, so that possibly the adjoining picture
of Rehoboam, only separated from it by a column, was reckoned with it by
the copyist.
The size of the two pictures we have estimated at twenty-nine and a half
feet. The wall is thirty-four feet broad : therefore, beside the two, there
would have been room enough for Hezekiah, if this was a composition of
moderate size.
Having been interrupted by the approach of the winter of 1522, Holbein
hoped that he should be able to continue his work in the following spring.
This, however, did not take place. We find, untU 1530, no payments which
could refer to the completion of the town-hall. The reason why the work
was not resumed in the spring of 1523 is evidently to be explained by the
circumstances of the time and by the movements which followed the outbreak
of the Reformation.
Holbein himself was on this side ; we shaU subsequently confirm this
when we come to the controversial designs which he sketched, and to which
we alluded when speaking of woodcuts. Decidedly, however, as the artist's
mind inclined to the side of the Reformation, he had materiaUy to suffer
from it, as it for the present deprived him of all opportunity of executing
grander works. It was not only that the attention was now too much
engaged by religious affairs to think of art; but at such periods men were
sparing of means, and therefore the council probably avoided fresh concessions
of money for the completion of the waU-paintings. This delay was un
doubtedly increased also by the fact that just at the beginning of the year
1523, not only within the city, but also without, the ferment of the public
mind had become critical. It was the time of the mUitary enterprises of
Sickengen ; at what these aimed, and to what they were to lead, no one knew ;
they must be prepared for everything.
At that time there came to Basle from Landstuhl, Sickingen's fortress, a
man who would have adhered to his friend up to the last moment, had his
heavy sickness not rendered him incapable of all warlike deeds. This was
Ulrich von Hutten, for whose persecuted head Germany was no refuge, and
who nevertheless disdained to enter into the pay of the French king, although
offered a splendid salary by him. Sick and miserable, deprived of all means,
he anived at Basle and remained there for a time, until at length the Basle
Council renounced their promised protection, and he saw himself obliged to
proceed further; soon afterwards he closed his suffering and active Ufe upon the
Island of Ufenau. At first the Basle CouncU had received him with kindness
and honour, and had offered him hospitality. Men high in office, one after
another, people of aU classes came to him and sought his society ; only one
was there who scrupulously closed his house to him, and this was Erasmus,
his former friend. Did Holbein see him also ? We have no record of thisi

ULRICH VON HUTTEN. 175
and shall probably never find any. But we must remember that both were
living at that time in the same place. Holbein and Hutten were kindred
natures ; we shall subsequently perceive this when we take into consideration
how Holbein laboured for the Reformation. Although the knight perhaps paid
little heed to the painter, yet Holbein must have surely known who Hutten
was, and he may probably have seen him personally. Both partly lived in
the same circles. A man, with whom we shaU presently become acquainted
as a patron of Holbein, namely Bonifacius Amerbach, had before promised
Hutten his succour in whatever might befall him. He was now indeed at
Avignon, but the knightly poet was on terms of intercourse with the elder
brother, Basilius Amerbach, and he lived in the famous inn " Zur Blume," a
house in connection with which Holbein's name is mentioned in subsequent
anecdotes, which we will not indeed bring forward as authorities.

CHAPTER XI.
The portraits of this period, and the circle of Erasmus. — Existing and lost portraits.— Froben.
— Bonifacius Amerbach. — The Amerbach collection. — Erasmus in Basle. — His relations
to Holbein.— The different portraits of Erasmus. — Holbein's marginal drawings on the
" Praise of Folly." — Holbein's character and habits.— His own portrait.
At about the same period as that in which the paintings in the Town-haU
came to a standstiU, the orders also for church paintings ceased. Even
portraits by Holbein occur but seldom during the following years. He began
at Augsburg as a portrait painter, and during his subsequent residence in
England, portrait painting was his special branch of art, but during his
sojourn at Basle comparatively few portraits are in existence by him. Some,
which belong to the beginning of his stay there, we have already noticed. In
the Basle Museum, there is under Holbein's name the portrait of the gold
smith Jorg Schweiger, of Augsburg, who was therefore a countryman of the
painter, and who settled in Basle at about the same time that he had done.
In 1517 he was admitted into the guUd zum Hausgenossen. In its present
condition this portrait is not very like Holbein's work, yet many things prove
that it was designed by him, and subsequently retouched by another hand :
the delicate sketch is evidently superior to the coarse painting.
A work probably of this epoch is a large portrait in the Basle Museum,
which belongs to Holbein's most excellent productions : it is the head of a fair
young man of a genuine German type, with a Roman nose, lips which are
parted as if speaking, an expression full of mind aud ardour, and wearing a
broad-brimmed black hat.1 Several portraits of this period may have been
lost. Dr. Iselin knew of a portrait of the printer Oporinus, whose father Hans
Herbster, the painter, had been painted by Holbein in 1516. Upon this
picture, according to the fashion of the time, the handwriting of the person
represented was so strikingly imitated, that all the world asserted that
Oporinus himself must have written it. Iselin adds .that Holbein himself
could neither write nor read, but on this point he is misinformed ; for
numerous notices are extant in the handwriting of the artist on his drawings.
Lastly, from portraits by Hans Holbein, we become acquainted with person
ages who interest us especially, not only on account of the important position
' Hall of Sketches, No. 10, photographed by Braun.

FROBEN. (Basle.)

FROBEN I US.

which they occupied at that time in the life at Basle, but also because the
artist probably stood personally in a certain relation to them : these are
Frobenius, Bonifacius Amerbach, and Erasmus.
Ulrich Hegner mentions these men simply as friends of Holbein. We
must emphasize the fact that this is in no wise certain. We have only
records of a personal connection with the painter as regards Erasmus. At
any rate, however, the two others belong to the immediate circle of this great
scholar. Moreover the painter stood in close business connection with
Froben. Holbein was engaged chiefly by him in preparing designs for title-
pages and other woodcuts. Froben, by birth a native of Hamelburg, in Fran-
conia, who had settled in Basle, was one of the first printers of his time. He
it was, who, as the publisher of his writings, drew. Erasmus .to Basle at first
on a visit, and afterwards permanently. Both men were united in a close
bond of friendship, and we possess a beautiful evidence of this in a letter
from Erasmus, addressed with a sorrowing heart to the Carthusian friar,
Johannes Emstedt, on the death of Froben in 1527. AU the friends of the
belles lettres, he says, should put on mourning attire and shed tears at the
death of this man, and should wreathe his grave with ivy and flowers ; and
study, he says, in the Latin verses which he dedicated to his memory, is now
orphaned, and has lost its father, who nurtured it with art, activity, care,
money, favour, and constancy, Arte, manu, curis, a_re, favore, fide.
Never before, he writes, have I felt how great is the power of sincere friend
ship. I bore with moderation the death of my own brother ; but what I
cannot endure is the longing for Froben. The character which he sketches of
him is touchingly beautiful. So simple and sincere was his nature, that he
could not have dissembled had he wished. To show kindness to every one
was his greatest delight, and even if the unworthy received his benefits, he
was glad. His fidelity was immovable, and as he himself never had evil in
his mind, he was never able to cherish suspicion of others. He had no idea
of envy, just as little as the man born blind has any idea of colour. He
pardoned offences before even asked to do so ; no wrong committed ever
rested in his memory, but he never forgot the most insignificant matter when
he could show a kindness to any one.
It was not a beautiful body which clothed this pure and noble soul.
Froben's countenance is thoroughly ugly. That which, nevertheless, makes
the beardless man with his scanty hair, his large round forehead and broad
mouth, attractive and pleasing, is the trait of kindliness which is so pre
eminent in his countenance. It springs from a sense of inner satisfaction, and
this any one may, indeed, possess who acted like Froben. Added to this, he
possessed a kindly and gentle disposition, combined with a witty humour.

178

BONIFACIUS AMERBACH.

Thus he appears to us in a profile picture in the Basle Museum, which,
however, is in no wise an original, but probably a Flemish copy. Christian v.
Mechel, who had procured the picture from the publisher, Enschede, at
Haarlem, and who gave it to the museum in 1 81 2, boasts in a letter1 that it
is softer, richer, and more powerful than the usual Holbein style. It is just
this stronger laying on of the colour which proves a later origin. The tint is
a very heavy brown. In the manuscripts of Remigius Fesch, which we have
before mentioned, we find the statement that Holbein once painted a double
picture of the friends Erasmus and Froben on two panels connected together.
Two portraits of these men as corresponding pictures, but also only copies,
with backgrounds by the Dutch architectural painter, Strenwzch, are to be
seen iu Hampton Court, belonging to the collection of King Charles the First.

BONIFACIUS AMEKBACH. (BASLE.)
A splendid original in the Basle Museum, and certainly the most beauti
ful portrait of Holbein's whole Basle epoch, is the likeness of Bonifacius
Amerbach. Amerbach's father was a publisher, and, moreover, one of those
who were impelled to devote themselves to this new branch of industry, not
1 Communicated to me by Herr His-Heusler.

BONIFACIUS AMERBACH. 179

by a desire for gain, but by a true love of science. Born at Reutlingen, he
had studied in Paris, had attained the degree of Master of Arts, and had subse
quently worked at Nuremberg in Koburger's printing establishment as corrector
of the press. In 1484, he, the " Trucker Hans von Emmerpach " (Printer
Hans of Amerbach) was admitted as a citizen in Basle. His printing-house
soon became one of the first in the city ; the distinguished scholars with whom
he was connected afforded him assistance. One thing he had especially
set before him as the task of his life, namely, the editorship of the Fathers
of the Church. He gave such a solid and learned education to his three sons
that they were able to continue the work which he had begun. They were
all remarkably gifted, Bruno, Basilius, and especially the youngest, Boni
facius, who was born on the 3rd April, 1495. When he was only twelve
years old, the learned Cistercian monk, Conrad Leontorius, to whose education
at that time the boys in the Engenthal monastery were confided, wrote to his
father that he might expect great things of his Bonifacius. The boy was
afterwards sent to the famous school of Schlettstadt, where he attracted the
attention of the principal Gebwiler, and was the intimate friend of his tutor,
Johannes Sapidus, in spite of the difference of age. In Basle, he attached
himself, in company with the elder Beatus Rhenanus, to the Franciscan monk,
Johann Conon of Nuremberg, who studied Greek, which he had learned at
the University of Padua, and who was employed by Ainerbach's father in the
publication of St. Hieronymus. Bonifacius pursued his university studies at
Freiburg, where Ulrich Zasius, in whose house he resided, the pride of this
university, not only became his teacher, but also his friend, and showed him
paternal kindness. Like Zasius, Amerbach combined the study of lawT with
that of classic antiquity. Subsequently he went repeatedly to Avignon, in
order there to complete his legal studies under Alciat, and in 1524 he was
appointed Professor of Law at the Basle University.
No one knew better how to esteem the qualities of Amerbach than
Erasmus, with whom he soon became intimately acquainted after Erasmus'
first visit to Basle. Bonifacius' elder brother, Bruno, who had died in 1519,
had earlier enjoyed intercourse with the first of scholars. Zasius, whom
Erasmus valued highly, commended to him also his favourite pupil, who felt
the utmost enthusiasm for Erasmus. A thoroughly Erasmic being,1 Zasius
styles him in a letter, and he concludes another letter to Erasmus with the
words: "Farewell, and love our Bonifacius, who honours you like a god."2
Amerbach soon became his confidential friend, and had daily intercourse
with him, and their connection continued close until death separated them.
Erasmus appointed him his exclusive heir. The quahties that must have
made the youth so valuable were not only his enthusiastic zeal for science, to
which he wholly devoted himself, but also his amiable character.
1 9th August, 1513. 2 7th May, 1516.
N 2

180 PORTRAIT OF AMERBACH.
Not only does he extol in his letters Amerbach's extraordinary gifts, by
which he was one day to become the ornament of his German fatherland, but
also the purity of his nature, his manners, and his integrity, which rendered
him agreeable to people of every kind. I am ready to die, he says on one occa
sion, when I have seen any one who is purer, sincerer, and more friendly than
this youth. In him, he says in another passage,1 there is no fault than that
of being modest beyond all bounds. Conscientiousness, faithfulness to duty,
and strict morality had been instiUed into him in his paternal home. And yet
he was far removed from anything pedantic. Those gifts also, which are of use
in social intercourse, he possessed to a great extent, and he formed the centre
of a circle of talented young people. His liveliness, his wit, his poetical and
musical genius, made him welcome everywhere. Gladly was he listened to,
when he played a new dance upon the lute, or sung to the lute a song written
by himself to the melody : " Adieu, mes amors." External physical advan
tages were added to aU others. Contemporaneous records speak of him as a
tall man, with a charming countenance, who made use of brave, serious lan
guage, and appeared modestly attired in a long coat.2
The half-length picture by Holbein fully accords with this. The delicacy
and unassuming qualities of his nature, the decision of character which
belonged to him, with aU his gentleness, strike us at the first glance. The
features. are noble, the large prominent nose not deficient in beauty, the mouth
is finely formed, and the chin is encircled by a fair and delicate beard, in the
treatment of which the artist has shown all his masterly power. His eye,
which does not seek the glance of the spectator, but is calmly looking to the
left,3 is shadowed by projecting brows, beams softly and yet ardently, indi
cating his rich inner life.
The panel, hanging on the branch at the side of the picture, contains,
besides the verses which extol the art of the painter, the names both of Hol
bein and Amerbach, and the date, October 14th, 1519. Amerbach, who was
about the same age as the painter, was at that time twenty-four years old.
He had just quitted Freiburg upon the threatening of the plague, and had
returned for some time to his native city.
To posterity, perhaps, nothing preserves the memory of Bonifacius Amer
bach better than his interest in art. In this respect he stood nearer to the
Italian scholars than to the German, who had but small interest in artistic
matters. He collected sketches, paintings, woodcuts, engravings, coins and
antiquities ; moreover, he examined and drew the ruins of the neighbouring
Augst, the ancient Augusta Rauracorum. The Amerbach art collection in the
little city of Basle — for his house lay on the right bank of the Rhine  was
1 To Alciat, especially in that of Easter, 1522, and in another dated May 31st, 1531, &c.
2 Pantaleon, Heldenbuch, vol. iii., quoted by Hegner.
J The woodcut, from Mechel's engraving, is unfortunately taken from the opposite side.

BONIFACIUS AMERBACH. 181

soon widely famed. His greatest treasures, however, were the works of Hans
Holbein. In the middle of the seventeenth century, the collection was on the
point of being sold, and fortunately his native city obtained them, in the year
1661, for the moderate price, according to our ideas at the present day, of
9,000 rix-dollars. There were forty-nine paintings, among them fifteen by
Hans Holbein the younger ; vessels in gold and ivory carved work, coins, &c,
a chest of thirty-seven drawers, all full of sketches, woodcuts, and engravings,
and among these again, Holbein was strongly represented by 104 original
drawings, a sketch-book, and the illustrated copy of the Praise of Folly, as
well as 111 woodcuts, with two copies of the Bible and the Dance of Death.
In 1823, we may here mention, the museum of the jurist Remigius Fesch was
united with these. In 1667, from his collection of pictures, coins, matters of
art, and antiquities, together with the house in which it was placed, he had
made an entail, the usufruct of which was always to be enjoyed by a Doctor
of Law of the Fesch famUy, or, if one no longer existed, it was to become
the property of the university. Both coUections form the main part of the
Basle Museum.
In the Amerbach cabinet, a faithful hand and acute knowledge had
collected and preserved aU that which would have been otherwise scattered,
wasted, and treated with disregard. In spite of this we must not overlook
the fact that all that is here preserved is infinitely little both in quantity and
value compared with what Holbein produced in Basle, and that in proportion
with what has been dispersed abroad and has perished, all that exists forms
only scanty fragments.
Of Holbein's paintings in this collection, nothing else certainly was painted
by Amerbach's order, than his portrait. By degrees during a period of many
years — for Bonifacius lived in his native city tiU the first of May, 1562, — the
other pictures, drawings and prints were gathered together, probably increased
by the bequest of Erasmus, for his portrait and a few objects of art were the
only things of his property which the generous Amerbach retained, while aU
the rest, in order to honour the memory of his friend, he bestowed in gifts and
charities. The rich correspondence of Amerbach in the Basle Museum has
moreover, contrary to expectation, furnished no material with regard to Amer
bach's interest in art, and above all with regard to his supposed friendly rela
tions with Holbein.1 Much of that which is of interest respecting the
formation of the coUection, has been obtained from correspondences and notes,
but these notices are all belonging to a later period, and it seems according to
them that the principal collector was not Bonifacius himself so much as his
son Basilius. He had inherited the art-interests of his father, the inventory
and catalogue of the collection proceed from him, and we gather from his
1 It was examined by Dr. Fechter of Basle, and recently by Herr His-Heusler, who made
several important discoveries.

182 ERASMUS.

correspondence somewhat of his efforts to arrive at the possession of some
works of art.
It was in the autumn of 1513 that Erasmus x first came to Basle. His
relations with Froben, who had undertaken the publication of his Adagia and
his edition of the New Testament, were the reasons for this journey. No
one was more worthy to publish the writings of the greatest scholar in
Europe than Froben, who devoted himself to the task with zeal and true
enthusiasm. As soon as their connection commenced, Froben looked forward
with expectation to the personal visit of Erasmus. His first arrival is pret
tily described. The stranger announced himself as a messenger from Erasmus,
when he entered the house of the famous printer. But he could not long keep
up the part ; it was soon evident that it was the man himseU, whose messenger
he had proclaimed himself. Froben was so glad that he would not allow him
to leave his house again ; he sent his son-in-law to the inn to fetch his lug
gage, and to pay the reckoning. Erasmus was compelled now, and as often
as he returned, to live in Froben's house zum Sessel in the fish market.2 He
was won for Basle. At that time, it is true, Louvain was still his true resi
dence, in his Flemish home, near the Court from which he received a pension.
But from henceforth he came almost every year to Basle; in 1514, he extended
his residence there to eight months ; at last, in 1521, he took up his perma
nent abode there. Freedom and independence were the elements of his life.
The atmosphere of the court, however little constraint was imposed upon him
there, suited him not. In Basle he found what he needed, a quiet life of study,
which was the principal matter to him, and yet in this repose he had inter
course with those like-minded, and with learned scholars. In a letter to
Sapidus s he calls Basle the most comfortable seat of the muses. He does
not speak, he says, of the great number of scholars, but of their unusual
character : " There is no one," he continues, " who does not know Latin and
who does not know Greek ; most of them know also Hebrew. One is a
distinguished historian, another a zealous theologian, a third an experienced
mathematician ; one pursues the study of antiquity, another of law. Where
else do we find anything like this ? I, at least, until now have not had the
happiness of leading such an agreeable life. And what is of stiU more
weight, is the purity of feeling amongst aU, the cheerfulness of intercourse,
and especially its harmony."
Erasmus was forty-six years old at his first visit to Basle. He then stood
i Works referred to : E. Hagon's before-mentioned work, vols. i. ii., Adolph Miiller's
German biography of Erasmus, the English biography by Burnet, and the French biography
by Burigny. D. Strauss' remarks in his TJ. v. Hutten (ii.. p. 244 et seq.) are excellent.
Above all, Erasmus' own correspondence (vol. iii. of his works, both in Froben's edition and
in that by Clericus, chronologically arranged hovvever in the latter).
2 As all the addresses of his letters show (Fechter Amerbach). 3 Of 1516.

ERASMUS. 183

at the height of his fame, which at length, after a youth full of trouble and
hard privation, had secured him a good outward position in life. The highest
in the State and the Church, the first in all lands, emperors and kings,
cardinals and bishops, even popes themselves, believed that they were
honouring themselves while they honoured him. They endeavoured to
decoy him to themselves by splendid conditions, they offered him positions
at their Courts, or professorial chairs at their universities. His repugnance
to bind himself in any way, made him reject them all ; but though he might
disdain to raise his name by outward positions, he was yet in intellectual
matters the highest authority throughout Europe.
To stand in personal relation to such a man, was of great importance for
the painter who occupied indeed, in the artistic world of Germany, a position
perfectly corresponding with that which Erasmus occupied in the literary
world. His tendency, also, was freer, and more modern than that of his
contemporaries. Moreover, from all we know respecting Erasmus, combined
with the refinement and superiority of his mind, there must have been some
thing unusually attractive in his nature, and this must irresistibly have
drawn to him younger and gifted men, whom he met with gentleness,
friendliness, and interest. In an artistic point of view, he exhibited as much
understanding as love for their pursuits. In his youth he had himself studied
painting as a dilettante. In later years it became a positive necessity to him
to supply his home with all that was pretty and comfortable, and in so doing,
art of course was not lacking. {The right judgment which he generaUy ex
hibited, he possessed also here. Among his contemporaries, who it is true
have had but little to say with regard to art, it is he who has spoken of Diirer
with most understanding.
Respecting Holbein's connection with Erasmus, we have, in the first place,
information from the letters of the scholar himself. He mentions him
occasionally ; never very fuUy, never in such a tone or manner as to allow
us to infer that the painter stood in intimate association with him. A certain
superiority in these few expressions is not to be mistaken. This the scholar
would certainly have found suitable towards a painter, who, according to the
notions of that time, stood many stages below him, in a social point of view.
The acknowledgment of Holbein's distinguished gifts is, however, always
distinctly expressed by Erasmus. It is a pity, that a letter, of which we
know from the answer that it existed, seems no longer extant. It is a letter
to Sir Thomas More, in which Erasmus, on occasion of two portraits of him
self taken by Holbein, which he is sending to England, must have recom
mended the artist to his friend, and must have spoken of his intention to go
to England. Evidently, Erasmus must have here expressed himself most
fully respecting him. This lies in the nature of the matter, and is to be

184 PORTRAITS OF ERASMUS.

inferred, also, from the manner in which More answers him. " Pictor tuus,"
as Holbein is caUed by him, means, according to the spirit of the Latin
language — and a More knew this weU — far more than " the painter who has
painted thee."
Erasmus frequently had his portrait taken, and indeed, by the first
northern artists of his time. The letters of the great scholar show that a
certain feeling of his own importance actuated him in this. Moreover,
portraits of such a man were constantly required by noble personages who
held him in honour, and he, himself, repeatedly presented his own hkeness to
his friends and patrons, as a gift in return for pensions and generous assist
ance. A double picture by Quentin Massys is frequently mentioned, in
which, in the year 1517, Erasmus and his young friend, Petrus .^Egidius, were
depicted, and which was sent by them both from the Netherlands as a
common present to More. Numerous letters speak of it. Erasmus is
represented writing ; iEgidius is holding a letter, on which is inscribed his
address in More's handwriting, which is strikingly imitated. The picture of
Erasmus is not to be authenticated, at least not in the original ; that of
-Egidius is at Longford Castle, and forms now the corresponding piece to the
portrait of Erasmus by Holbein. Besides this, Massys executed bronze casts
of Erasmus.1 Albert Diirer, who became acquainted with him in the Nether
lands in 1520, often took his portrait,2 and pubhshed his hkeness in an
excellent engraving. But of aU Diirer's portrait engravings this is perhaps
the least successful. We can conceive Erasmus himseU complaining that
this picture possessed no similarity with him. The excessively plastic round
ing which is given to every part has an ugly effect ; neither the dehcacy of
form, nor that of expression is attained. When we look, on the other hand,
at Holbein's numerous pictures of Erasmus, we feel a constraining certainty
that only thus did he appear, that this must have been the form suited for
such a mind, that in every line it is the Erasmus of which history teUs.
On the 3rd June, 1524, Erasmus wrote to Pirkheimer : " I have again
recently sent two portraits of Erasmus to England, taken by a most tasteful
artist. He has also sent a portrait of me to France." One of the portraits
sent to England was for Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury, whom Erasmus
used to call his Maecenas. Just at this time Warham had increased the yearly
pension which Erasmus received from him.3 Whether this gtft called forth
this act of generosity, or whether it was intended as an expression of grati
tude for the increase already granted, must remain uncertain. "My noble
patron," wrote Erasmus to the Archbishop, on the 4th September of the same
year, " I hope that the portrait painted of me, which I sent to you, has
i Letter from Erasmus to Henricus Botteus, 29th March, 1528.
" Ibid., and in Diirer's " Tagebuch der Niederlandischen Reise."
s " Pro aucta pensione habes gratiam." Sept. 4, 1524.

PORTRAITS OF ERASMUS. 185
reached you, so that you may have somewhat of Erasmus should God call
me hence I"1
For whom the second portrait was intended we know not. In the
numerous letters, written between the 4th and 6th September, which Erasmus
sent to England at the same time as the above, — to Tonstall, Bishop of
London, Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, Cardinal Wolsey, and the King himself,
and to some others — no mention is made of it. Whether, perhaps, Thomas
More, to whom in 1517 he had sent the picture by Quentin Massys, now also
received one, is not known. At any rate one of the pictures came to his
sight, for he writes soon after to Erasmus in terms of the highest appreciation
of his painter. The tenor of the letter would, however, rather imply that the
portrait had not been presented to himself. The express thanks for such a
present are wanting, while for Quentin's picture More conveyed his thanks in
the warmest and most hearty manner.
The painter of this portrait mentioned in 1524 is undoubtedly Holbein,
many Erasmus-portraits by whom are to be authenticated, and which were
painted in the year 1523. One of these is still in England, and a second is
proved to have been there formerly.
The first-mentioned is the portrait at Longford Castle, near Salisbury, the
seat of Lord Folkestone, obtained in 1754 at the sale of Dr. Mead's collection,
together with the portrait of __Egidius by Massys. Erasmus, with hair already
grey and blue eyes, is attired in a doctor's hat and a fur coat. His face is
taken at three-quarters, and is turned towards the left. The background is
formed by a pilaster with elegant Renaissance ornament and a green curtain,
which, somewhat pushed back, reveals a bookshelf and a water-bottle.
These surroundings, which are represented with delicacy and care, introduce
us into the scholar's world, into the quiet life of his domestic existence. The
painting is exceUent, the conception is full of life and simple truth. His two
hands are resting on a book bound in red, which from a Greek-Latin inscrip
tion on the edge is designated as " the Herculean work of Erasmus of
Rotterdam." One of the books in the background bears on the cover the
date M.DXXIIL, and on the edge the following distich, now partly effaced :
ILLE EGO IOANNES HOLBEIN NON FACILE .... MVS
.... MICHI MIMVS ERIT, QVAM MIHI  T.
We add an attempt at the completion of the verse, which in the first line does
not accord in the last letter but two with the word which we have inserted,
but which in the second line is perfectly correct :
Ille ego Joannes Holbein, en, non facile ullus
Tam mihi mimus erit quam mihi moinus erit.
1 "Amplissime Pra.sul, arbitror tibi redditam imaginem pictam quam misi ut illiquid
haberes Erasmi, si me Deus hinc avocavit."

186 PORTRAITS OF ERASMUS.

This is the sentence which the Greek painters Zeuxis and Apollodoms
wrote on some of their works : fi(o/j,^a-eTai t_? /j,5\\ov q /xifirja-eTat,1 and which,
with some variation, Holbein once before introduced in one of his youthful
pictures, the Madonna with the Lily of the Valley. The authorship of such a
proudly sounding verse belongs to Erasmus himself, who wishes thus to
reward the painter for his care.
The second portrait, smaller in size, is the one that hangs in the salon
carre' of the Louvre ; it originally belonged, according to the cipher inscription
on the back, to the collection of Charles I. of England, who presented it to
Louis XIII. in return for Leonardo's St. John. This is also painted with the
utmost perfection, in a warm colour ; perhaps, indeed, it even surpasses the
other. We here see Erasmus in profile, writing at his desk ; his hair, which
is somewhat silvery, appears beneath his cap. The background is formed
by a dark green curtain, covered with a pattern of light-green lions and red
and white flowers. The small and highly characteristic hands of the scholar
are especially masterly both here and in the picture in the possession of
Lord Folkestone. The studies for the hands of both paintings are to be
seen in two beautiful sheets in the collection of sketches in the Louvre,
one of which also contains the study of the head for the picture in Long
ford Castle.
The Basle picture, given in our woodcut, accords entirely, except in
the more simple background, with the painting at Paris. It is true the
execution in the Basle picture- is not quite so excellent; it is, moreover,
not on wood, but like a study painted on paper; still, in it also we must
admire the nicety and acuteness of the conception and the dehcacy of the
modeUing. " Ein alt mannlein " (a little old man) — thus has Diirer styled Erasmus in
the journal of his Netherland journey, and thus he appears to us in Holbein's
portraits. He stands before us in perfect reality, with his feeble figure, his
dehcately formed and yet characteristic features, proclaiming the noble mind
that animated them, the air of superiority playing about his mouth, the closely
compressed lips, which tell of intense attention, the wrinkled brow, the clear,
calm blue eye, which could perceive and penetrate everything ; at the same
time the upper lid drooping, as though the eye were rather gathering within
itself than striving to penetrate beyond. Mild as the general effect is, we can
still perceive that the acute and ready judgment is prepared at any moment
to assert itself. The whole bearing of the man is equaUy characteristic.
There is no trace of boldness, fire, and energy in the whole appearance. Every
thing indicates the acute thinker, the keen observer, the sure calculator ;
1 From Herr J. Mahly, " Jahrbiicher des Vereins vou Alterthumsfreunden im Rheinland,"
868, p. 269, containing a refutation of H. Grimm's remarks in his journal "Kiinstler
und Kuntswerke," 1067, Nos. xi. and xii.

PORTRAITS OF ERASMUS.

187

circumspection and anxiety are diffused over his whole being, and there is a
touch also of satisfied vanity.
The inscription on the Paris picture is no longer to be deciphered, but
on the Basle picture the words that Erasmus is writing are distinctly to
be read : " In Evangelium Marci paraphrasis per
D. Erasmum Roterodauiium aucto(rem)
Cunctis mortalibus ins(itum est)."
It is the beginning of his paraphrase of the Gospel of St. Mark, which belongs
to the year 1523. This does not only prove the period at which this picture

ERASMUS. (BASLE.)

was executed, but probably also that of the portrait in the Louvre which
accords with it.
This, and the picture at Longford Castle, formed two types, which were

188 PORTRAITS OF ERASMUS.

henceforth again and again reproduced, sometimes by Holbein himself, and
sometimes by other hands. EspeciaUy frequently was the type of Lord Folke
stone's picture repeated ; thus, for instance, in the copy at Hampton Court,
which is used as a corresponding piece to Froben, and in two pictures in the
Belvedere Gallery in Vienna, and at Turin, in which the hands, instead of
resting on a closed book, are lying on an open one, and the background is
quite simple. The Turin picture, according to the opinion of aU judges, was
painted by Holbein himself; the Vienna picture, at any rate, proceeded from
his ateher. The style is very like Holbein's, and although somewhat cold in
the head, it is excellent in subordinate matters. A similar conception is exhi
bited in the small picture in the Fesch collection in the Basle Museum, a good
old copy, and in the engraving by Vorsterman. In this latter, we see, indeed,
somewhat of the hands, but the plate is not large enough to show a book.1
This same type of Holbein portraits formed the model of a beautiful picture of
Erasmus in Windsor Castle, painted in the year 1537, after the death of the
scholar, by George Pencz.
A third type, possessing, however, great similarity with this, is exhibited
in the excellent little circular picture in the Basle Museum, numerous copies
of which are to be found in various places, showing more or less affinity with
Holbein's style.2 Here also the face is seen at three-quarters, and is turned
towards the left, but Erasmus seems to leave the impression of a somewhat
older man. Perhaps it may have been executed at a later period, after
Holbein's return from England.3 This picture forms the basis of the famous
large woodcut of which we shaU speak subsequently, and in which the face is,
of course, seen from the opposite side.
It yet remains to be asked what picture of Erasmus was that which,
according to his letter to Pirkheimer, was taken to France by the- painter him
self at the time that two portraits were sent to England, and whither in
France was this painting carried. It has been supposed to Paris, but although
this is not impossible, stiU no trace is to be discovered, which can confirm it.
Erasmus had numerous friends and correspondents in Paris, but there is no
1 The original of this engraving was, it is said, in the Arundel collection. According to
the auction catalogue of Dr. Meads, the portrait at Longford Castle came from this collection,
and it is possible that Vorsterman engraved the latter, without giving the background. Herr
O. Miindler considers the picture in Parma as an original.
2 There is an original, according to Waagen, in the possession of Herr Fabre,
Lausanne. 3 Herr His-Heusler found among the Amerbach papers some interesting letters of
Basilius Amerbach, which show that several portraits of Erasmus by Holbein were in Basle in
his time. Herr Richard Strein, in Vienna, wished for a portrait of Erasmus, and Basilius
requested him to inform him through Joachim Kbnig, recorder of Nuremberg, which he
wished copied of the five copies that existed, " so von dem fiirtrefflichen Hans Holbeinen
algemeen gefertiget."

PORTRAIT OF MELANCHTHON. 189

mention in his letters there of the sending of the picture, or of a recommenda
tion of the painter, who took it there himself.
Perhaps as this authority fails, we might find out the matter from another
side. Have we, perhaps, besides the portraits at Longford Castle and in the
Louvre, a likeness of Erasmus which was certainly executed at this period ?
Assuredly, the portrait at Basle, which perfectly accords with the Paris
picture, and of which we have seen that it was also painted in 1523. It
belonged, like the circular picture just mentioned, to the Amerbach collec
tion. One of them had been obtained by Amerbach from Erasmus' property
at his death. Of the other, however, it is not improbable that Erasmus may
have given it at an earher period to his dear young friend, his " golden Boni
facius." Where, however, was Bonifacius when the picture of which Erasmus
writes was executed ? In France.
In May 1522, he went to Avignon for another sojourn there, in order to
study under Alcist, and he did not return until May 1524. Is it not most
probable that Erasmus should send him such a token of affection during
his long absence ? That the collection of letters should say nothing on the
matter is not at all surprising, for very little of the correspondence with
Bonifacius has been printed.
The picture executed with the utmost delicacy on the wooden panel traveUed,
therefore, to a patron in England, and the first study from life painted only on
paper was carried to his most intimate young friend. We shall presently
see 1 that Holbein had connection with a town in France, namely, Lyons, a
city which more than any other place in the whole land was in constant
intercourse with Germany, and especially with Switzerland. With this, also,
the supposed direction of his journey would accord, for Lyons lies about
midway on the road from Basle to Avignon. This little notice in Erasmus'
letter is interesting. Although cursorily dropped, it is sufficient to prove that
the Basle painter did not always remain stationary, but that especially at
times, when he had scanty employment at home, he crossed the neighbouring
frontier into foreign lands, to seek work and to offer his productions for sale.
The portrait, also, of another great German scholar, Philip Melanchthon,
was painted by Holbein. It is to be found in the Welfen Museum, at Han
over, and is a small circular picture of most delicate execution, and is evidently
the most excellent portrait we possess of the Reformer. The portraits from
Cranach's atelier appear feeble compared to it, and Diirer's engraving of the
year 1526 is cold and paltry. We see here, more beautifully than elsewhere,
the refined and intellectual character of the emaciated youth, combined with
great truthfulness to life. The form of the head is extraordinarily fine, and
the colouring is cold and delicate on a grey ground. The portrait is in a case,
the cover of which is in the same coUection, and on the inside, in grey, are
3 Chap. xiii.

190 MARGINAL DRA WINGS

graceful Renaissance ornaments, with figures of satyrs, and as a framework,
the following inscription in gold :— QVi cernis tantvm non, viva melancii-
THONIS OKA, HOLB1NVS KARA dexteritate dedit. Holbein's name, his
artistic skill, and the life-like character of the execution, are here proclaimed
in a comparatively simple manner, free from the pomposity usual at that day,
and yet flatteringly enough. Perhaps a tribute offered to the painter by
Melanchthon himself.
We gather from the whole style of this inscription, that Holbein was an
artist of acknowledged repute when he painted the picture. Previous to
1519, when Melanchthon quitted Tubingen, and, in so doing, South Germany,
he had not been made so much of. Melanchthon, also, seems (born 1497) to
be more than twenty-five. • Holbein probably met him in the year 1524, in
the spring of which year Melanchthon visited his native city Bretten in the
Palatinate. He at that time intended to pay a visit to Erasmus, but he did
not carry out his intention, although his companions, among them Camerarius,
went to Basle. Erasmus expresses his regret, in his letters, that he did»not
receive a visit from Melanchthon ; but he ever remained, although opposed to
the Reformation, on terms of friendly intercourse with the young scholar, who
had seriously disapproved of Hutten's unsparing behaviour towards the aged
master of science. Holbein, whose works at Basle had shortly before come to
a standstill, seems at that time to have been often travelling. It is the period
of his journey to France, and his road thither may have taken him by the
Rhine. His relations with Erasmus would then have brought about his
introduction to Melanchthon.1
The most interesting monument of the personal relations between Erasmus
and Holbein, and at the same time a monument of the affinity that existed
between the minds and efforts of the two men in their different spheres, is
the marginal drawing of Holbein to Erasmus ' " Praise of Folly." A copy of
the edition of 1514, published by Froben, and now in the Basle Museum, is
adorned with these drawings. The broad margin which is left round the text,
and the commentary of Gerardus Listrius, is covered with figures, lightly
etched, sometimes more and sometimes less cursorily sketched, but always full
of spirit. Basilius Amerbach, the son of Bonifacius, obtained the book through
the mediation of the painter Jacob Clauser, from the recorder Daniel in Miihl-
hausen, who could scarcely resolve to give up the costly possession to the
art-collector.2 Respecting the former history of the little volume, we are less
informed. Only a couple of notices, inserted in the book itself, afford some
1 Communicated by Fechter from Clauscr's Letters. Baseler Taschenbuch,1858, p. iii.
et seq. 1 Dr. C. Schmidt, Philipp Melanchthon Leben und ausgewahlten Schriften, Elberfeld, 1861.
In 1529 Melanchthon was at the Diet at Spires, which was concluded at the end of April.
At that time Holbein was probably not yet returned from England. (Cf. vol. ii. chap, iii.)

ON THE "PRAISE OF FOLLY

191

clue. In the general title-page of the whole volume we read, " Est Osualdi
Molitoris Lucerni," x while on the title-page belonging to the text, written by
the same hand, which also has elsewhere added a great many marginal
remarks, we find : " Hanc Moriam pictam decern diebus ut oblectaretur in ea
Erasmus habuit." 3 Two former possessors are thus mentioned : the first is
Erasmus himself, who possessed it for the sake of his pleasure in the pictures;
the second, who informs us of the other, is Oswald Molitor, the famous theolo
gian and pedagogue, well known under the name of Myconius. Born in the
year 1488, he lived at Basle till 1516, and then held the position of school
master, alternately at Zurich and in his native city, Lucerne; in 1532 he
returned to Basle, where he was appointed antistes of the church, after the
death of CEcolampadius, and died as such in 1559.8 He was a scholar and
zealous admirer of Erasmus, who esteemed him highly, and from whom a short
but affectionate note to him is still in preservation.4 Probably he received
the book from the property of Erasmus, left at his death ; for Bonifacius
Amerbach, the universal heir, took care that all the friends of the deceased,
even those for whom he had himself appointed nothing, should receive
valuable remembrances of him.
Whether Erasmus himself ordered the drawings, or whether some one
else ordered them of Holbein as a present for the author, the illustrations
seem to infer that the painter possessed a thorough understanding of the
work, and had learned sufficient Latin in the school to be able to read it.
Scarcely can he have merely followed the direction of another who pointed
out to him each time what he was to draw on the margin, and gave him
besides the purport of the respective passage. The understanding of it is far
too thorough and uniform, and at the same time the selection of the passages
illustrated are far too naive. Not merely is it
the actual purport of the satire which was illus
trated. Certain phrases and allusions, espe
cially figurative expressions which struck the
painter, have given rise to these drawings. In
speaking of flattery, there appears the expres
sion muluum muli scabunt, and Holbein depicts
two donkeys rubbing against each other. Then
the simile is used : to understand as much of a
matter as an ass does of music ; and the painter
has here placed the honest roan beast on the
margin, looking with a delightful air and ges
ture at a youth playing the harp. Another time a many-headed man stands
i Belongs to Andrew Molitor, of Lucerne.
2 This copy of the Moria, drawn in ten days, Erasmus possessed for his own amusement,
= H. Pantaleon. " Teutsches Heldenbuch," iii. * 26th August, 1518.

192 THE PRAISE OF FOLLY.

by the passage, in which the common people are casually styled a great
and mighty monster. Occasionally mythological allusions appear, and the
drawing then gives representations of the respective fables which are severally
related by the commentator. Thus, a variously compiled monk's sermon is
called a chimera, the annotation says what the chimera is according to
Homer, and the painter has sketched the monster with a human head and
lion's feet, a fish's tail and eagle's wings. At the expressions "chained
by the bands of Vulcan," or "to unravel Penelope's web" (in allusion to
monkish disputes,) Mars aud Venus are represented on the couch, and round
them Vulcan is drawing his fetters, and the consort of Ulysses is depicted,
destroying her own work at her loom. Where it says in the text that
the yelping of the priests never ceased until a morsel was thrown to them,
the commentator relates how _5_neas quieted Cerberus by a bait, and the
picture exhibits the hero of antiquity in a knight's costume, with a switch
in his hand, holding a sausage to the three-headed dog of Hell. Shortly
after, it is said, that all were so astonished at the subtle ideas of the
scholastics, that they were almost hke Niobe. Her story, which is given
in the note, is iUustrated by a highly burlesque picture. Niobe is stone
from head to foot, and her dead children consist of two small and tolerably
ugly boys. The tall figure of ApoUo, who is slaying them from the
clouds above, is no less comicaL A star is introduced in the place of
the usual fig-leaf.
The travesty of classical subjects, which suits the satirical character of
the whole work, is distinctly shown in the two last pictures ; these, there
fore, afford us a clue in other cases. It is not always true-hearted simplicity,
as we generaUy suppose, when at that time our German artists introduced
antique material in the garment of every-day life ; designed ridicule had here
greater scope than we believe. National feelings could thus assert them
selves against all that was foreign, and could make sport of it. Among
other instances of such travesties in the Praise of Folly, Ca_sar is men
tioned in allusion to the fat monks : he is taking the hand of the pohtely
smiling and complacent Antony in his cap and bells, and is pointing with a
certain air of repugnance to Brutus, who looks somewhat wild;1 or Jupiter
who, his crown in his hand, is making a miserable face, while Vulcan is striking
his skull in order to let the little Pallas come forth ; 2 or another interesting
situation of the father of the gods, who is seizing the naked Ate by the hair
1 ". . . Quemadmodum summi principes minium cordatos suspectos habent et invisos, ut,
Julius BrutumetCassium, cum ebrium Antonium nihil metueret . . . itidem Christus a-oipois
istos . . . semper detestat ac damnat."
* " His atque id genus bis mille nugis horum capita adeo distenta differtaque sunt, ut
arbitror nee Jovis cerebrum a>que gravidr.m fuisse, cum ille Palladem parturiens, Vulcani
securim imploraret."

THE PRAISE OF FOLLY.

193

in order to chastise her with his thunderbolt. Ate's chastisement by Zeus
was given in a note from Homer's account of it, without any mention of
this story appearing in the text, which only casually alluded to her name.
Thus this passage also is a distinct evidence in favour of our opinion that
Holbein, capable of reading and understanding the book, must have drawn
of his own accord whatever struck and amused him, without direction
and order.
The character of the pictures is just as genuinely popular as the character
of the work. Erasmus himself has only on this occasion adopted this tone,
but here more successfully than has ever again appeared in the whole range
of humanistic literature. This little book, which he conceived on his journey
back from Italy, has been disseminated throughout the western nations.
During tlie life of the author it passed through twenty-seven editions, and
exercised greater reformatory influence than any work which preceded Luther-
In a manner just as spirited, keen, and cutting as the author wrote, do we see
the painter scourging the errors of his age, both in the noble and the lowly,
in all circumstances, in all classes, and especially among the clergy. In one
respect Erasmus is indeed even surpassed by Holbein. The latter remains
consistent throughout, while Erasmus does not always let Folly in eulogizing
herself preserve the just position, but sometimes allows her to assume a more
serious tone than becomes her.

<__ZS»^

The happy, hearty humour which we find in these sketches marks the
whole illustrations from beginning to end — from the introductory picture, in
which Moria (i.e., Folly), a plump young woman with a turned-up nose and
cap and bells, has ascended the lecturer's chair, and begins to demonstrate to
the little assembly below, to that in which she is descending from the same
chair with the most comical grandeur and movement of the hand in farewell,
while the auditors to whom she has just spoken her val ete, plaudits, vivite,
bibite, are looking after her with the most various expressions. The folly of
o

THE PRAISE OF FOLLY.

imagination is satirized by the picture of women kneeling before the image of
the Virgin, and holding candles before it, which
are certainly unnecessary in the clear light of
day. And how weU Folly agrees even with the
gods is shown in Bacchus, who is sitting under
a vine with his bottle, and in SUenus, who is
dancing with the goat-footed nymph, and in the
uncouth Polyphemus, who, with his one eye
and his right hand on his heart, exhibits an
expression of the most feehng mirth.
Nicolaus de Lyra is depicted with a lyre or a
barrel-organ in his hand, in aUusipn to his
name, and reading the Holy Scriptures. This
alludes to the fact that he took literally and
not figuratively the passage in St. Luke, in
which Christ commands the apostles to arm
themselves with swords. Thus the next pic
ture also exhibits an apostle with a lance,
sword, crossbow, and shng, and with a cannon
by his side.
That it amused Erasmus to see his book thus illustrated we can readily
believe, as it was done with such thorough understanding and so completely
in his own spirit.

One passage is especially interesting to posterity, because the author and
the artist here seem mutually to have mingled their own personality in the
jest. Erasmus had, by the way, casually introduced his own name, and the
artist here painted the scholar himseU on the margin sitting in his study, and

THE PRAISE OF FOLLY.

195

the name " Erasmus " written by the side. The similarity of the portrait in
the tiny sketch was not very great, at any rate Erasmus looked much younger.
This amused Erasmus. When he came so far
in looking over the book, Mykonius teUs us in
his marginal annotations, he exclaimed, " Oh, if
Erasmus stiU looked like this, he might truly
yet take a wife."1 And to return jest with
jest, he turned over the page and by the side
of the passage, " Pinguis ac nitidus Epicuri de
grege porcus " (a fat and splendid pig from the
flock of Epicurus), illustrated by a wild fellow
sitting at a Avell-spread board, drinking wine
and drawing a slovenly female figure towards
him, he wrote the name " Holbein."
This jest has done the painter mischief with
posterity. It has been inferred from it that
Holbein was a drunkard and a morally de
praved man. But it is apparent that this jest
does not prove this, that nothing is to be in
ferred from it but a tolerably intimate under
standing between Erasmus and the painter, which admitted of such
witticism. Nevertheless, solely upon this, and without any contemporary
evidence for the fact existing, later biographers have been careful to form
a story of Holbein's dissoluteness and immorality. At the present day
the anecdotes gathered together in this way have been regarded in Basle
as old popular traditions. Whence these traditions arise it is not difficult
to discover. They have not afforded material to writers, but they have
sprung from the writers themselves. Mander and Sandrart, who never
allowed it to escape them when there were stories of this kind to produce,
say nothing of it, and Patin is the first to mention it, because he knows the
pictures belonging to the " Praise of Folly."
We possess, indeed, no written records with regard to Holbein's con
duct aud mode of life, but there exists that which refutes such stories
more certainly and distinctly than any authentic attestations of morality,
namely, the works of the master. By his fruits we know him. There is
nothing that is so little compatible with moral degradation as work, and work
is expressed in everything which Holbein has left behind for us. Not merely
do we see this in the number of his creations and in his mastery of the
most various technical knowledge ; but also every single work is brought to
the highest perfection, with earnestness, fidelity, and care. What a solid
1 "Dum ad hunc locum perveniebat Erasmus, se pictum sic videns exclamavit, ohe, ohe,
si Erasmus adhuc talis esset, duceret profecto uxorem."
0 2

196 CHARACTER AND HABITS
grand feeling animates them, proving that it was a whole man who produced
them. There is nothing desultory in Holbein's nature ; it never appears with
him, as is not rarely the case with great artists, that he grew weary of his
works, and suddenly laid aside what he had begun, to begin something else.
His interest in the matter did not quickly vanish ; it increased up to the end.
Genius is sufficient for artistic devising and invention; for execution and
completion, character is necessary. Holbein had both.
Evidence as distinct in favour of Holbein as that afforded by the works
which he produced is exhibited by the men amongst whom he lived. We see
him in intercourse in Basle with such a man as Erasmus, whose refinement of
feehng repelled far from him aU that was coarse and degenerating. After
wards, in England, Sir Thomas More, a man distinguished for his wisdom as
well as for his piety and character, received him into his own house, that house
which Erasmus himself styles the school of true Christian feeling. A more
brilliant justification than this as regards Holbein could scarcely be given ;
this, however, speaks not only for his morals, but for his cultivation, and this
latter is also expressed, as we have seen in his illustrations of the " Praise of
Folly;" while their alleged testimony against his morality crumbles to pieces.
By this we do not, of course, assert that Holbein was a hero of virtue, or
that he merits the halo of a saint. He who could have regarded and con
ceived merry life and the beauty of the world as he has done, must have loved
life himself and must have entered the world joyfully and merrily, with a
heart appreciating its delights. Without this, his artistic peculiarity would have
been scarcely possible. And that this was the case with him is confirmed by
his portrait, which affords us a third evidence respecting him, besides that of
his works and his friends. The beautiful half-length figure by his own hand
(from an exceUent photograph of which our woodcut is taken1) which is in the
Basle Museum, a slightly coloured sketch, belongs to his early period at Basle.
It is named in the Amerbach inventory as " ein conterfehung Holbeins mit
trocken_farben." The character of his appearance accords with the portraits
taken in his childhood, with the boy in the Basilica of St. Paul, and with the
youth of fourteen in the Berlin drawing. We see the painter before us in a
red hat and grey coat with a black velvet border, with smooth nut-brown hair.
He wears no beard. In the original we see plainly that he is shaved. He
seems to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. It is a manly and
nobly formed countenance. Seriousness and mental superiority are expressed
in his whole appearance, and at the same time pleasingly balanced by the air
of a man of the world. Freely, boldly, and with self-consciousness, he is
looking forth into the world ; but from the manner in which the lower eyehds
are drawn up, the clearness of his glance is combined with a touch of softer
1 The engraving also in Mr. Wornum's book is good ; on the other hand, that of Weber's,
though skilfully engraved, is not after the original, but from a drawing by Hieronymus Hess.

OF THE ARTIST.

VM

feeling. A certain look of irony plays about the fine lips, but it is slight ; he
feels himself raised above his surroundings, yet his perfect repose quickly
banishes this feeling within due limits. A noble character is expressed in his

HOLBEINS PORTRAIT.
(Sketch-Basle).

features, especiaUy in his fine brow. It seems just as though a slight shadow
were just passing across it; but healthful feehng and joyous freshness and
power awake and drive it away. — This is Hans Holbein.

CHAPTER XII.
Holbein's designs for wood-engraving.— German wood-engraving in an artistic and historical
aspect.— Relation between painter and engraver.— Hans Liitzelburger.— T. Froben as
metal engraver. — Designs for title-pages.— Wood-engraving in its relations with human
istic literature. — Subjects from Lucian, treated by Ambrosius Holbein. — The panel of
Cebes— Illustrations of the Utopia of Thomas More.— Designs from the legends and
history of antiquity.— Illustrations of the power of women, by Hans and Ambrosius
Holbein. — Illustrations for geographical and astronomical works.— The arms and the
patron saints of Freiburg.— Moral pictures and illustrations from popular life. — Peasants'
dance and fox-hunt. — Children's dances. — Alphabet, with peasants' and children's games.
— Initials of every kind. — Signets of the printers.
Of the works which Holbein executed during his sojourn at Basle, one entire
class has stiU remained unnoticed, namely, the woodcuts which were made
after his drawings. We alluded only briefly to the fact that Hans Holbein, as
weU as his brother Ambrosius, was attracted to Basle by nothing so much
as by the opportunity of making designs for woodcuts- — especiaUy for the
ornamenting of books — and of finding in this work an easy and certain gain.
Immediately after they had both set foot within the city, they undertook these
works, for which manifold occasion was afforded them by the numerous
publishers in this capital of German printing.
At the very beginning of this work we have intimated the artistic and
historical importance of German wood-engraving. Until the close of the
fifteenth century, its importance in the history of civUization is far superior to
its artistic value. We cannot say that up to this time wood-engraving had
attained so high as many of the achievements of the age in an artistic point of
view. These works stand far below tbe contemporary productions of painting
and sculpture, and from the middle of the fifteenth century, those of copperplate
engraving. The stamp-cutters (" Formschneider ") who were at the time card-
makers and card-colourers, that is, editors of calendars and pamphlets, formed
a special trade in the cities, and carried on theh work on a manufacturing
scale. But rough and clumsy as their productions usually were, they are
of great value from the fact that in the first place they show the range of
view open to the people, allowing us to gain a glimpse of their habits,
manners, and views; and in the second place that they comprise that amount
of the artistic ideas of the epoch which had become the common property of

WOOD-ENGRAVING. 199

all. In this respect, wood-engraving stands in the same relation to the
sculpture and painting of that day as antique vase painting did when com
pared with the higher branches of the artistic work of a contemporaneous
period. In a time like our own, it is difficult to understand what part, in an
age of more primitive civUization, was played by pictures as instruments of
intellectual communication. The need for these called forth the invention of
the multiplying arts. Thus, picture-printing preceded book-printing, and was
the preliminary step to its invention. In one of the oldest books printed with
wood-blocks, the precursors of those printed with moveable types, it says
expressly in the introduction: "In order that this subject may bear fruit for
all, it is placed before the eye in writing, which is only of use to the learned,
and also in pictures which are serviceable to the unlearned as weU." 1
While the higher branches of the representative arts were almost entirely
occupied with religious subjects, wood-engraving satisfied far wider demands.
It owes its earliest culture and development to the making of playing cards,
and it was thus essentiaUy directed to secular subjects, though the monks and
ecclesiastics had even pictures of saints on their cards. But not merely card-
playing penetrated from the palace to the cottage, so that costly executed and
ornamentally painted cards were necessarily superseded by those prepared
cheaply, either by printing or stench ; pictures, also, of a religious purport,
were desired by the poor as well as by the rich, for edification and instruc
tion, and thus they were produced in immense masses by the stamp-cutter
and were sold at church-doors and market-places. Religious books appeared
printed by wood-blocks, such as the "Biblia Pauperum," the "Apocalypse,"
the " Salve Regina ; " yet, at the same time, there appeared also xylographic
prints of a secular purport, such as " die acht Schalkheiten," " die zebu Lebens-
alter," " das Glucksrad," and many others. The stamp-cutter prepared letters
of indulgence, new year's congratulations, and pamphlets of every kind, tend
ing not only to serious objects, but also to humour and satire.2 When letter-
printing was invented, picture-printing followed in its wake, adorning the
most various productions, books of a serious purport, as well as poetical
writings, house-keeping books, calendars, and chronicles. If we wish to
become acquainted with an especiaUy splendid specimen of the abundant and
extensive scope opened to representations on wood, we must look through Hart-
mann Schedel's " Weltchronik," which was published at Nuremberg, in Latin
in 1493, and in German in 1494. Side by side with Biblical personages, we
find the kings and heroes of antiquity; we see depicted historical incidents of
1 "Sed ut omnibus ista materia sit fructuosa . . .; tarn litteris, tantum litterato deservi-
entibus, quam imaginibus laico et litterato simul deservientibus cunctorum oculis obicitur."
3 For the early history of engraving, see the splendid work of T. 0. Weigel, " Die An-
f ange der Druckerkunst, in Bild und Schrift."

200 WOOD-ENGRA VING.

the most different kind; we find the fantastic figures with which popular
imagination invested the beings of other quarters of the globe, and more or less
true delineations of the most various cities and countries. We might saj^
that almost everything that is represen table is here depicted.
At that time, however, wood-engraving had almost reached a new stage in
its development. At the close of Schedel's chronicle, it is observed that the
book was printed with the co-operation of the painters, Michael Wolgemut,
and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff, who adorned it with figures.1 Painters now
began to furnish the stamp-cutters with drawings, and thus woodcut represen
tations became on a level with the age in an artistic point of view. The
painters were induced by the very wealth of their imagination, this genuine
German quality, to place themselves in relation with this technical proceeding.
Invention afforded the German artist the highest gratification, while the
Flemish artist was satisfied with delicate and careful execution. The painter,
however, could never let the spring of his imagination gush forth with a
richer stream than by placing himself in connection with wocd-engraving.
To perpetuate his ideas, he needed no other means but the simple pen-and-ink
drawing on wood, the smooth surface of which was far more convenient to the
artist than rough paper. That which he had devised was not merely once
executed, and this for a limited circle of spectators, but it was disseminated
in the most different countries, and penetrated to all classes of people. What
Wolgemut and his generation had begun was continued with greater decision
by the next generation — by Albert Diirer, Cranach, Hans Baldung Grien
Burgkmair, and Holbein. But with the artistic importance of this branch of
figurative representation, its importance in the history of civUization also
advanced more and more. It participated in the extension of intellectual life
and in the advance of science ; it was combined with humanistic literature ; it
served the growing religious movement, both before and after the outbreak of
the Reformation, in a serious manner, by illustrations from the Holy Scrip
tures, and in a humorous manner, by taking part in the disputes of the most
different kind. But whatever its aim and object, wood-engraving ever touched
a thoroughly national chord, and afforded such a distinct and infallible mirror
of the opinions and intellectual life of the people, that it surpassed in this the
most popular production of literature.
The share taken in wood-engraving by German painters has been the
subject of a long and violent dispute in the art-literature of the present day.
The question has been discussed with eagerness, whether or no these great

1 In the Latin edition: ". . . . Adhibitis tamen viris mathematicis pingendique arte
peritissimis, Michaele Wolgemut et Wilhelmo Pleydenwurff. Quarum solerti accuratissimaque
ruiimadeersionc tum civitatum tum illustrium virorum figure inserte sunt, . . ."

PAINTERS AND FORM-CUTTERS. 201

painters themselves engraved their designs on wood.1 Many of the first art
historians joined a party on one side or the other, and the feud became so
obstinate that Kugler ironically spoke of it as the great question of the six
teenth century. Essentially, we side with the view of Sotzmann, Chatto, and
Passavant, that the painters did not themselves engrave on wood. The stamp-
cutters, constituted, as we have just seen, a special trade, and they would
scarcely have allowed interference on the part of the painters. On the other
hand, a division of the work belonged quite to the spirit of the age, the very
language of which expressed a difference between the " designer" (adumbrator)
and the stamp-cutter (sculptor).2 The designing alone was the affair of the
painter. Diirer relates in the journal of his travels in the Netherlands, that
he sketched on wood the Herren von Roggendorff's " coat of arms, that it
might be engraved;"3 and Neudorfe.,4 when he is speaking of Diirer's woodcuts
and his engravings on copper, mentions the first as his designed work (" Geris-
senekunst") and the second as his engraved work (" Gestochenekunst"). The
drawing on wood corresponds with the cartoon in painting, the sketch in
the copper-plate engraving, and the model in the statue. In all these the
execution may surpass the pattern; in the woodcut, on the contrary, "when it
comes to the engraving, invention, alteration, and improvement are at au end.
Even if it occurred to the painter, which may probably have happened,
sometimes to take the knife into his own hand, he cannot escape the necessity
of first distinctly drawing on the wood all that he intends to cut." 2 The
pen-and-ink drawing on wood can become worse, but never better, under
the cutting-knife. The stamp-cutter must follow every line which the master
i On the side of having engraved themselves : " C. Fr. v. Rumohr, Hans Holbein der
Jiingere in seinem Verhaltniss zum deutschen Formschnittwesen," Leipzig, 1836 ; also "Auf
Veranlassung und in Erwiderung der Einwurfe eines Sachverstandigen gegen die Schrift, H.
Holb." &c, Leipzig, 1836 ; also "Zur Geschichte und Theorie der Formschneidekunst," 1837;
— Rud. Weigel, in the Appendix to Rumohr's Holbein, and in other places ; A. E. Umbreit,
" Ueber die Eigenhandigheit der Malerformschnitte," Nos. 1 and -2, Leipzig, 1840, 1843.
On the side of not having engraved themselves: Unger, der Aeltere, "fiinf in Holz
geschnittene Figuren nach der Zeichnung;" J. W. Meils, "Eine ' Untersuchung der
Frage : Ob Albrecht Diirer jemals Bilder in Holz geschnitten," Berlin, 1779 ; Bartsch,
"Peintre Graveur," vii. p. 19; ''Anleitung zur Kupferstichkunde," i. p. 258; Sotzmann,
" Kunstblatt," 1836, Nos. 30 and 83 ; and " Hans Holbein's Altes Testament," by H. Biirck-
ner, Leipzig, 1850, Introduction; Peter Vischer, " Kunstblatt," 1836, p. 198, 1843, p. 63;
Chatto, " A Treatise on Wood Engraving," London, 1839, pp. 283, 386, 418 et seq. ; Passa
vant, " Peintre Graveur," Leipzig, 1860, i. pp. 66—78 ; Ambroise Firmin Didot, " Essai typo-
graphique et bibliographique sur l'Histoire de la Gravure sur bois," Paris, 1863.
2 " Panoplia, de omnibus illiberalibus sive mechanicis artibus," Frankfort, a.M. 1564.
Quoted by Sotzmann.
3 " Campe, " Reliquien von Alb. Diirer," p. 93.
4 " Hans Neudorffer, " Nachrichten von- den vornehmsten Kunstlern und Werkleuten, so
innerhait 100 Jahren in Nuraberg gelebt haben," 1546.
5 Sotzmann, " Kunstblatt," 1836, No. 83.

202 PAINTERS AND FORM-CUTTERS.
has drawn. He hollows out the places between the strokes, and the drawing
itself remains ; so that the carefuUy produced impression of a weU-executed
woodcut is not merely a faithful imitation of the master, but it gives the
original drawing itself. That connoisseurs of delicate feeling did not under
stand this distinct connection, and regarded as the merit of one man what
was due to the co-operation of two artists, arises from the fact that the
technical progress which the stamp-cutters themselves made, began and
increased simultaneously with the participation of painters in their work.
But this is entirely natural. That masters of the first rank allowed them
to work after their drawings, exercised its influence on the stamp-cutters, and
allowed them to advance in proportion with their greater objects. Artistic
guidance developed them into artists themselves.
At the same time, it was a matter of course that the painter should
acquire for himself the understanding of the technical part of an art
which was to multiply his creations. This he needed, in order clearly
to perceive the capability of executing the task, and to know what he might
exact from it, and what not. Evidence of this is given in a letter from
Conrad Peutinger to the Emperor Maximilian, which treats of the works in
wood engravings which the Emperor had ordered at Augsburg. " The stamp-
cutter who has hitherto cut the form of your Majesty's genealogy is absent
from here without my knowledge, and I cannot learn when he is returning ;
as there was no one else in Augsburg who could do the work, I have been
hindered in your Majesty's work, but I will use as much industry as I can to
bring him or some one else to move in it ; the painter here is very skilful in
the work." 1 This affords us a clear insight into the circumstances. Burgk
mair, the painter, although not accustomed to cut, understood the matter, and
in case of necessity, when no stamp-cutter was to be found in Augsburg,
Peutinger was going to induce him to complete the work that had been
begun. In a simUar manner Diirer, who from his very nature dehghted in
practising the most different technical arts, also understood wood-engraving,
and probably occasionaUy made attempts in it. On the other hand, we
have Neudorffer's decided statement, that most of the woodcuts from
Diirer's compositions were executed in Nuremberg by Master Hieronymus
Resch, surnamed Jeronymus Andre, who was regarded as the first and
the most expert in this work. Jost Dienecker, in Augsburg, stands in a
similar relation to Hans Burgkmair. Often, however, the sketches of the
great masters fell into the hands of very inferior stamp-cutters, which is shown
most glaringly by the inequality of the works.
So much as regards the relation of the painter to the works of wood-
engraving. If in this respect it might still be possible to carry on the old
1 Th. Herberger, " G. Peutinger in seinem Verhaltniss zum Kaiser Maximilian," Augsburg,
1851, p. 30.

HOLBEIN NOT A STAMP-CUTTER. 203

dispute, yet, as regards Holbein especially, the matter appears perfectly
clear. It was respecting Holbein particularly that the dispute as to the
execution of the stamp-cutting by the painter himself was carried on with
most vigour; Rumohr having asserted of him, that he had himself cut the
best and the most of the woodcuts of his own designs. We know, on the
contrary, in the first place, that in Basle itself, even in the sixteenth century,
Holbein's woodcuts were not regarded as the works of his own hand, and we
know, in the second place, the name of the master who cut the greater
number of the principal works, aU those in fact which formed the subject
of dispute. As regards the first of these points, the weU-known inventory of the
Amerbach coUection, prepared by Basilius Amerbach in the year 1586,
annexes the woodcuts to the copies of Holbein's works made by others, and
separates them expressly from the works by his own hand. The contents of
the chest which kept the copper plates, woodcuts, and sketches, are thus
noted down: —
" Holbeini imitatio aliena non propria ejus, 64. Getruckt, 111. Biblica historia, cet. 2.
Totentantz, 2 expl.
" H. Holbeini genuina gros klein von seiner Hand, 104. Moria Erasmi hin und wider
mit figurlin," &C1
The wood-engraver who executed all the works which Rumohr regards as cut
by Holbein himself was Hans Lutzelburger. A considerable part of the
most important series of engravings and single sheets are marked with his full
name or monogram. These marks are not to be refuted. The efforts of Rumohr
to assert that the beautiful proof impressions of Holbein's Alphabet of Death,
bearing the name of this engraver, were nothing but etchings, were supported
by no evidence, and are regarded as frustrated ; as was also the attempt to
regard the united H. and L. as Holbein's monogram.2
" Hans Lutzelburger, formsclmiiler, genannt Franck," as the artist calls him
self on the sheet with the Alphabet of Death, is a personage who still remains
wrapped in obscurity, as is the case with so many of the artists of Germany
which possessed no Vasari. Herr His-Heusler has discovered that a family of
1 The first item (imitatio aliena ... 64) includes copies of Holbein's sketches, a great
number of which are in the Basle Museum. The inventory was first brought forward respect
ing this question by Herr Peter Vischer, " Kunstblatt," 1843, p. 63.
2 A number of drawings with the monogram, which were formerly regarded as Holbein's,
belong, as is now proved, to Hans Leu, of Zurich (Cf. Passavant, " Peintre Graveur," iii.
p. 336, et seq.). Three of them were in the collection of Herr Rud. Weigel, at Leipzig (Cf.
his " Aehrenlese auf dem Felde der Kunst," 1856, pp. 5, 6) ; a fourth very beautiful sheet,
under the erroneous denomination of H. Lutzelburger, is in the Albertine collection at Vienna ;
it represents the death of a woman ; a fifth is designated as "unknown" in the photographs
of the Copenhagen collection.

204 HANS LUTZELBURGER.

this name is to be found in Basle. In the Baptismal Register of St. Leonhard,
which extends as far back as 15^9, a Michael Lutzelburger and a Jacob
Lutzelburger are mentioned as fathers of children between the years 1529 and
1533. The same family name appears -in the adjacent town of Colmar. In
the parish register, which contains the weU-known passage on Schongauer's
death, it is repeatedly to be found; in the year 1495, for example, there
appears a Margeretha Lutzelburger ; later, without a date, but after 1536, we
find a Johannes Liitzelburger.1 But that is all we know. As the famous
wood-engraver bore also the second name of Franck, Passavant'2 supposed him
to be identical with a painter, Hans Franck, living in Basle at this time. He
appears in the year 1513, in the red book of the guild " Zum Himmel;" and
under the banner of the guild, he joined in a military expedition to Burgundy.
I have seen his name frequently in the accounts of the council of the years
intervening between 1516 and 1519. The commissions which he executed for
the council are of a subordinate kind ; he made the lions and shields on the
salt-magazine, he painted the Jacobsbrunnen, a house in the Rebgasse, and
the Spalenthor, inside and out ; the highest item which is paid him amounts to
twenty pounds. In my own opinion, Passavant's conjecture appears very
impossible. We also know of a stamp-cutter, Hans Franck, who worked at Augsburg
in MaximUian's triumphal procession, which was begun in the year 1516, and
whose name is inscribed in ink on the back of some blocks.3 His identity
with Lutzelburger is also not to be established.
The first certain records of our master belong to the year 1522. A large
woodcut representing a contest between peasants and naked men in a wood,
after the sketch of an unknown master, with the monogram N.H., bears the
inscription ; hanns levczelbvkgek fvrmschnidek, 1.5.22.4 In the following
year, the German edition of the New Testament was issued by Thomas Wolff
in Basle, and its splendid title-page, designed by Holbein, bears the inscription
H. L. fuk (= Furmschneider). He also cut Holbein's principal work, the
pictures of Death ; one sheet, the Duchess, shows his monogram H. We have
already spoken of the Alphabet of Death, the proof-sheets of which contain
his name. The accordance with these works renders it probable that many
other undesignated woodcuts, such for example as the ChUdren's and Peasants'
Alphabet which we shall presently mention, the unsurpassable portrait of
Erasmus, and many sheets from the pictures of the Old Testament, were cut
by him. More and more he made himself acquainted with Holbein's style,
i The author saw this work with Herr His-Heusler on his last visit to Colmar, Oct. 1866.
2 " Peintre Graveur," vol. ii. s Bartsch, "Peintre Graveur," vii. p. 19.
4 Two little sheets in the cabinet of engravings in the Paris Library, the one containing
the same inscription as above, and the other an alphabet, are only cut off from the edge of the
above-mentioned sheet.

SKETCHES FOR WOODCUTS. 205

adhered throughout faithfully and fully to the master's spirit and manner,
and became even more free and superior in the technical part of his art.
Thus he ranks with Hieronymus of Nuremberg and Jost Dienecker, as
the third great master among the German stamp-cutters of this epoch ; and
he also perfected an entirely new branch of the art, and one not cultivated
by the two others, namely, miniature cutting. Lutzelburger seems to have
died about the year 1538, as we shall learn when discussing the pictures
of Death. A great number of title-frames and initials, very many of them produced
from Holbein's design and drawing, executed not in wood but in metal, bear
the letters I. F. This refers, in our opinion, to Johann Frober, the printer, who
is several times mentioned as a worker in metal, Chalcographus.1 In the
works of Father Hieronymus, which he published with the three brothers
Amerbach in the year 1516, he is thus spoken of in the concluding notice ;
and in the copy in the Basle library, it is written in manuscript that it was
given to the Carthusians by the heirs of Johann Amerbach, the printer (im-
pressoris), and by Johann Froben, the chalcographist. Under this designation
we can readily understand the type-caster, or rather the preparer of the forms
for the casting of the letters ;¦ we know that Froben also carried on this trade,
and provided many printing-houses in Basle and elsewhere with his types. But
both arts are closely aUied. Probably Froben, originally a metal engraver,
subsequently exercised his art not entirely by himself, but at the head of an
atelier, in which metallic engravings for books were made both for his own use
as well as for other Basle printers. Many copperplates of Holbein's composi
tion were to be found in Basle until the year 1852 in the family of the pub
lisher Haas, but they were then sold at a division of the property,2 and have
since disappeared. This art of metal engraving is, both in execution and
result, the opposite of copperplate ; the drawing is left in relief as in wood
cuts, and is thus struck off. But in an artistic point of view, the metallic
engravings of Holbein's sketches are not to be compared with Liitzelburger's
woodcuts, a fact which rests as much with the hand of the executor as with
the work itself. Such freedom and firmness of lines, such distinctness and
equality in the impression, is not to be attained in the metallic engravings. A
hardness of effect is never to be overcome.
We can number about 315 small or large woodcuts, and besides about
twenty alphabets, for which Hans Holbein made the drawings. The extent of
1 See an allusion to this by Hegner, p. 154, Obs. 3. The author owes the following
information to Dr. Fechter and Herr His-Heusler in Basle. Still there is an engraving of
Holbein's English period, done after Froben's death, which bears the same initials, und has
a great relation with Liitzelburger's work. Perhaps he also made use some time of this
monogram. 2 Probably to a Jew of the name of Schmoll. Letter from the heirs to M. Ambroise
Firmin Didot. (Essai . . . Sur I'histoire de la Gravure sur bois, p. 301.;

206 SKETCHES FOR WOODCUTS.
material, which interested us especiaUy in German wood-engraving, as well as
the manner in which the artist's imagination knew how to master this abund-
ance of varied subjects, are the two things which most decidedly attract us in
these sheets. They thus form an important sequel to the other works belong
ing to Holbein's Basle epoch. Almost "universally, the painter seems to have
himself made the design on the block, for, until the present time, among all
his numerous drawings, there has never once appeared a sketch or even a
study for the compositions which have been cut from his designs. Only in
very few instances do the woodcuts exhibit either Holbein's name or monogram,
and the principal works, especially the pictures of Death and those from the
Old Testament, are without any mark which points to him, — a circumstance
which surprises us, if we consider how accurately Albert Diirer was wont to
designate his woodcut designs with his monogram, and for the most part also
with the date. This habit appears in all Diirer's works ; while Holbein seems
to have been of opinion that to establish his artistic property, no other authen
tication was needed beyond the artistic character of the work itself. His
principal works in painting, therefore, such as the Passion, the Meier
Madonna, and many of his most beautiful portraits, bear no signature. The
few woodcuts bearing his signature seem to belong to two categories ; in the
first place they are works executed during Holbein's early residence at Basle,
in which it was of importance for him to make his name known to the printer,
and in the second place they belong to the later years of his residence in
England, when he was already a famous man and painter to the king, and his
name gave a higher value to such smaU works.
Under these circumstances, it is not very easy to form an opinion which
woodcuts were engraved by Holbein and which not ; it is not easy to gather
together the genuine and to reject the spurious. The first clue to this is
afforded by the sheets which are authenticated as his works either by the
artist's own testimony or by that of others. Added to the well-known
evidences, such as that afforded by the verses of the poet Nicolaus Bourbon
upon the pictures of Death and the Illustrations of the Old Testament, a new
one has appeared in the List of the woodcuts and copperplates in the Amer
bach CoUection, which has been discovered in the Basle Museum, by Herr His-
Heusler. It was, it appears, drawn up by Bonifacius Amerbach, who has
specified numerous sheets as certainly or probably the work of Holbein.
Many pictures which were formerly regarded as designs of Holbein thus
receive confirmation as such, others are referred to, and a firmer basis is
obtained for a further investigation.
Besides this, the study of the Holbein-sketches, especially of those in the
Basle Museum, is of importance* and the author has acquired much information
from the marginal drawings of the " Praise of Folly." We can thus consider
ably increase the material which Passavant has gathered tooether in his

TITLE-PAGES. 207

"' Peintre Graveur." Various pieces, however, which hitherto had been con
sidered as Holbein's works, have been withdrawn as spurious.
The woodcuts evidence the great influence which Holbein's countryman,
Hans Burgkmair, exercised upon him, — a master who, in many of his designs
for such works, may almost be ranked with Albert Diirer, and who, with the
great Nuremberg painter, received from the Emperor Maximilian the most
numerous and extensive orders for works of this kind. Holbein had brought
with him from Augsburg a certain readiness for this kind of drawing. The
works that Holbein most constantly designed during the early years of his
residence at Basle were initials and ornaments for the title-pages of books.
These title-pages have always the form of a frame, and contain for the most
part figurative representations of various kinds on the sides above and below.
Larger compositions are usually placed below. Frequently the title-pages do
not consist of one piece, but of four separate borders, which are divided and
combined with other pieces. Many other great German painters, Diirer,
Burgkmair, Cranach, and Grien, have designed similar title-pages, but none so
frequently as Hans Holbein, and in no other place perhaps have works of this
kind such an artistic value, as those in Basle possess. Many of the title-pages
there were for this reason copied by painters of other places — Wittenburg,
Cologne, and Augsburg.
We need only compare Holbein's works with those which were executed
in Basle immediately before his arrival there, especially with some title-pages
by the goldsmith Urs Graf, to understand at once that which specially distin
guished him. It is not in the first place the certainty with which Holbein moves
through the whole range of religious and secular representation ; it is not his
magnificent figures and the bold, free actions which he ever exhibits ; but it is
above all the splendid sense of style shown in the general arrangement to
which he adheres in these sheets. He aspires after genuine architectural
structures, and even in his most modest tasks shows his complete mastery over
the forms and laws of Italian Renaissance. Urs Graf, on the contrary, wavers
between Renaissance and a wild Gothic style, and there is scarcely a sheet
by him which does not betray caprice as regards ornamental matters.
One of the first of Holbein's Basle works is a framed title-page marked
with the abbreviated name HANS HOLB. From the year 1516 (perhaps even
from 1515), it appears in many printed works, especially in those of Froben.
It represents a niche in noble Renaissance style ; two columns in front of it
bear on their capitals two charming winged boys holding the ends of a festoon
hanging over the arch of the niche, in the centre of the festoon a third little
genius has poised himself and is merrily blowing a horn. The title seems to
be introduced on a curtain which falls in front of the niche. It is held in the
centre of two little Cupids, who are half climbing and half hovering. On the
socle below, which is adorned with a representation of sea-gods, there are four

208 TITLE-PAGES.

other boys, two without wings and bearing spears as if to keep watch at the
opening of the book, and two winged ones kneeling, with Froben's mark,
Caduceus on a shield.1 The cutting is clumsy, which forms a peculiar contrast
to the freedom and boldness of the drawing. The hand that executed it could
only with difficulty follow the design, and was not always master of the
cutting knife. In spite of all blunders, the spirit of the master beams forth
from the socle picture with the Tritons, and the children exhibit graceful
naturalness both in form and action.
In the following year a title-page appeared, the framework of which con
sisted in a rich structure after the fashion of a Renaissance altar. In the
socle there was a small train of sea-gods, and above them an empty shield
supported by two children. The top of the frame was formed by a vessel, in
front of which two pretty winged boys were holding festoons, and a third was
balancing in the middle. At the sides of the frame stood two vessels, from
which plant-like ornaments with vases, masks, and such hke things were
growing. Here also the ingenious design had tp struggle with a tolerably
unpractised form-cutter, who attempted fine work but did not understand it,
and who allowed the knife to slip everywhere.
In 1516, a title-page appears marked with H.H., in which Holbein enters
the sphere of ancient history. Mutius Scaevola, who appears on the right
stabbing Porsenna's secretary instead of the king, is seen again on the left
holding his hand in the fire: both are genuine dramatic delineations of the
event, but in execution no less clumsy than the two other pictures.
Other material also was afforded the artist by the newly-gained acquaint
ance with antiquity. Erasmus had published a Latin translation of Lucian's
Dialogues, and had thus made an author, who could not be better appreciated by
any age than the present, the common property of the educated world. Lucian
was a mind which perfectly suited the Renaissance epoch. It must 'have
appeared to men of the sixteenth century, as if the world, which lives in his
writings, were no past age to them. The striking fidelity and suprising
freshness of the scenes which he sketches, the aptness and grace of his
language, his keen wit, his biting satire, the clearness of his views, which were
biassed neither by philosophical phraseology nor by religious superstition, all
this must have found a response in all freer minds. The acute and clear
Erasmus, who was attracted to Lucian by so many points of mental affinity,
understood also how to retain his elegance and masterly power of language in
a Latin intelligible to all.
Yet Lucian possessed one more quality besides his other excellences.
He had retained a delicate Greek feeling for art, at a period of degraded
and wild taste, and he is one of the first, if not the most important judges
of artistic matters among all the writers of antiquity who have come
1 Passavant, 103.

PICTURE OF CALUMNY. 209
down to us. He constantly seizes the opportunity to speak of art, principally in
the Dialogues of the Gods and in the Marine Dialogues, and he refers frequently
to works of art when describing personages or situations.1 For he knows beyond
most writers how to give agreeable and distinct descriptions of paintings.
These descriptions have often incited the imagination of the Renaissance-
artists, especially of the Italian, to produce in painting what he has delineated
by his pen. Creations, such ¦ as Raphael's " Marriage of Alexander and
Roxana," are drawn from it. Similar attempts were now also ventured upon
in the north, and Froben, the publisher of Erasmus' translation, employed
the artists who stood in connection with him for that purpose. On the 13th
November, 1518, he wrote to Thomas More, in a letter which was prefixed to
Hutten's dialogue "Aula:" "Lucian, the most witty writer and inimitable
master of jest and humour, has in his dialogue ' Of the learned in court-pay,'
painted court-life, as you well know, in such appropriate language that no
Apelles nor Parrhasius could depict it more strikingly with a brush. Thanks
to our Erasmus, Latin scholars may now read hiin in a translation, which
perhaps possesses still greater elegance and refinement than the Greek
original. I have, therefore, borrowed this painting from him, in order to
embellish sometimes the title-pages of the books I am publishing." 2
Even before this picture of court-life, Froben had had a design made for
the same object from another painting described by Lucian, namely, Apelles'
representation of Calumny. It was, however, not the young Hans Holbein
upon whom these orders devolved, but Ambrosius, his elder brother. His
monogram, with the date 1517, stands as an authentication on the title of
Calumny; the other sheet is, it is true, not marked, but the conception, as well
as the whole style of the drawing, shows such affinity with the former, that we
are justified in attributing it to Ambrosius.3 A great similarity with Hans,
although never equal to him in power, certainty of conception, and technical
execution ; a feehng for dramatic life, yet without that striking effect in every
movement and gesture which delights us in Hans, hence greater rudeness and
less skill and grandezza in the ideas, still shorter figures with large heads, than
in Hans Holbein's works, who in this often goes to the utmost limits ; a
1 H. Bliimner, " Archaologische Studien zu Lucian," Breslau, 1867.
8 H. Booking, " Ulrichs von Hutten Schriften," Leipzig, 1859, vol. i. p. 220. "Jo. Fro-
benius Thornse Moro regio apud Anglos consiliario S.D. (dated Idibus, November, mdxviii.),
Lucianus salsissimus scriptor et inimitabilis facet-arum artifex, in dialogo quem inscripsit
II./.1 rav .7.1 fuo-Bm a-vvovrcov vitam istam aulicam (ut nosti) sic verbis depingit, ut nullus
Apelles, nullus Parrhasius penicillo potuerit expressius, quem Erasmi nostri beneficio Latini
maiore propemodum gratia redditum legunt quam ille Gra.ce scripsit, unde et nos earn pic-
turam mutuati sumus, qua frontispicium librorum qui typis excudantur nonnunquam
ornamus . . ."
s First of all by P. Vischer, " Kunstblatt," 1838. The two' sheets, see Passavant "Peintre
Graveur," iii. pp. 422, 423 ; Ambrosius Holbein, Nos. 1 and 3.
P

210 THE PANEL OF CEBES.
certain weakness in the feet and legs, which are therefore frequently concealed ;
everywhere pretty, round little women, and a kind of pleasant humour which
reminds of Lucas Cranach, — these are the essential characteristics of a group
of woodcuts, the designs of which may be assigned to Ambrosius.
Soon after, Hans Holbein also ventured upon a task of a similar kind, and
composed as a title-page the "panel of Cebes" (Ke/3?jTo? -nival;), an incident weU
known in ancient literature, and also mentioned by Lucian. The phUosopher
Cebes, whether he be the Thebaic pupil of Socrates or a later individual of
the same name — which is a point much disputed — expresses his idea of man's
path to true happiness by describing a painting which he states that he saw in
a temple of Chronos, and which was explained to him there at his request by
an aged man. Holbein adheres exactly to the description of the author, and
brings it into a just artistic form. The abundance of healthy life and fresh
ness, which imparts real existence to the shadowy fictions of the understanding,
far surpasses the manner of treatment displayed in the works of the other
brother. These ideas are, in spite of their abundance, arranged with distinct
ness on a large folio sheet, which affords space above and below the title, as
weU as on the broader side margins. Above, on the lofty mountain, stands a
castle, " The Castle of True Happiness," as the inscription informs us, sur
rounded by a fence, with which two other fences correspond, each in wider
circumference than the other. Outside the outermost are those who are about
to enter into life, charming groups of children, who are playing or fighting
with each other. That they are children is not told us by the author, it is an
invention of the painter, who in the representation of child-life ever displays
one of the most attractive sides of his art. In the gateway — a Renaissance
portal — stands an old man with a long beard ; in one hand is a written sheet,
to which he is pointing- with his staff, in order to impart advice and precept to
those entering the path of life ; he is the demon, and he is designated on one
sheet in Latin as " Genius." Within the fence, close to the gate, is enthroned
a magnificent lady, " Seduction," surrounded by illusions in the form of
wanton women ; she holds a splendid goblet in her hand to give the drink of
error to those that have entered life. On the other side, however, standing
on a roUingball is Fortune, the goddess of happiness, surrounded by a multitude
of people, some of them her favourites, princes and nobles, warriors and
ladies, who are joyfully adoring her, while others, such as beggars and
cripples, are imploring and reproaching her. Further at the entrance into the
second circle, the traveller on the path of Ufe is received by a number of
women who have the air of prostitutes; they are "Excess," "Intemperance,"
and " Insatiability," and into what extent he faUs into their power is shown
by the scenes of unrestrained dancing, carousing, and too tender caressing,
which we now look upon. But behind the narrow gates "Pain" and "Sadness,"
tattered and ugly women, with whips, are lurking for the traveller, untU he at

THE PANEL OF CEBES. 211

length meets " Repentance," who has pity on him. But all dangers are not
yet over ; in the next circle he again meets an alluring delusive figure, named
" False Discipline," who is regarded by men as true discipline ; she also is
accompanied by a couple of wanton girls, and her adherents, phUosophers of
various kinds, poets and musicians, astrologists and mathematicians, are dis
persed abroad. To pass by here uninjured, a steep and stony path must be
taken, but " Energy " and " Courage " are standing over the last rugged crag
and helping men up. From here the path goes easily and comfortably over a
lovely meadow to " True Discipline," to whom the painter has given a halo of
glory, and who does not stand like the goddess of fortune on a roUing ball,
but securely on a quadrangular stone, surrounded by " Truth " and " Per
suasion." She is standing at the entrance to the proud " Castle of True
Happiness." If the pilgrim has rendered homage to her, he may enter there
to find all the Virtues assembled, with theh mother, " Happiness," enthroned
in their midst, and she places the victor's garland on his brow.
This sheet, full of spirit in its arrangement, well drawn, and happily
executed by the wood-engraver, Holbein found sufficiently important to
designate with his monogram, one H within another, as in the epitaph of
the Burgomaster Schwarz. It first appears in 1522 in the Novum Testa-
mentum of Erasmus, and subsequently in dictionaries, where it was especially
suitable as delineating with what difficulty and labour true instruction is to
be obtained. The composition must speedily have become popular ; there are
several contemporary copies and imitations of it existing.
Hans Holbein's art now became closely linked with a work belonging to
the humanistic literature of that day, the "Utopia" of Sir Thomas More.
Upon this small work, to which were added epigrams by More and Erasmus,
Froben expended all that he could. Erasmus himself had recommended
him to publish this work, in a letter from Louvain written on the 25th
August, 1517, soon after his return from a renewed sojourn in England.
" I should like to see this book published by you, if it seem well to you, and
given to the world and to posterity," he wrote complimentarily to his friend ;
" for your printing establishment is held in such consideration, that its appear
ance from your house would invest the work with a claim to please the
learned." 1 Froben entered upon it, and the book appeared in the November
of the following year. " Your Utopia," wrote Froben to the author on the
23rd November, " we are printing afresh ; 2 you see, the mind of More is
greeted with applause, not only in England but throughout the whole
1 " Proinde misimus ad te Progymnasmata illius et Utopiam, ut, si videatur, tuis excusa
typis orbi et posteritati commendentur, quando ea est tua. officina. auctoritas, ut liber vel hoc
nomine placeat eruditis, si cognitum sit e Frobenianis asdibus prodiisse," Erasmi opera ; ed.
Clericus, iii. pp. 16, 17.
2 The book had already appeared in Louvain.

212 MORE'S UTOPIA.

world." 1 This was no mere flattery. The learned public of that day in aU
lands received with lively deUght a book which More's recent biographer calls
the purest imprint of his cheerful and human mind, and an exceUent fruit of
his study of the ancients,2 a book probably influenced by Plato's " Republic,"
and yet original when compared with its classic model.
The abundance of woodcuts, title-pages, and initials, shows most plainly
how highly Froben honoured the author himself, and what had been the effect
of Erasmus' recommendation. The title of the book was enclosed in a frame
work, which Holbein had shortly before designed, and which had already
appeared in 1517, in Erasmus' discourse upon Death. At the bottom of the
title-page was Lucretia stabbing herself at the feet of her husband — a compo
sition rich in figures, and containing the principal idea of the painting executed
soon afterwards for the facade at Lucerne. The costume is here, as ever,
that of Holbein's own time. The painter reminds us of Shakespeare, who like
wise imagined the heroes of classic antiquity in the costume of his own day ;
who, in Julius Caesar, made the troops approach amid a flourish of drums, and
depicted Coriolanus as an English nobleman, but who nevertheless understood
how to sustain the historical importance of the subject in a manner such as
modern poetry, with all the equipment of archaeological learning, labours in
vain to equal. At the. top of the title-page there was the handkerchief of St.
Veronica, containing the head of Christ and held by two little angels. Here
and on the sides, there was rich leaf-ornament, not yet, however, whoUy free
from Gothic influence.
On two occasions, first of all in More's dedication to Petrus iEgidius, we
find the title-page with the children, already mentioned, and which Holbein
has marked with his name. The title-page of More's epigrams is formed by
Holbein's " Sceevola," with which we are already acquainted, that of Erasmus'
epigrams by a design of Urs Graf, the Beheading of John the Baptist.3 In
the printing marks and initials, of which we shall subsequently speak, Urs
Graf and Hans or Ambrosius Holbein have, in our opinion, both taken part.
Two compositions Holbein has, however, made expressly for this book.
Above the beginning of the text there is a charming genre picture, the
navigator Raphael Hythlodaeus (signifying one mighty in jest), who has been
a companion of Amerigo Vespucci in various voyages, and has even penetrated
stiU further, is seen telling his story of the model city on the Island Utopia.
According to the book this scene took place at Antwerp, in the o-arden of
Petrus -_Egidius. But this spot cannot in reahty have had the splendid
1 " Tuam Utopiam denuo typis excudimus, ut scias, non a Britannis modo, sed ab orbe toto
Moricum probari ingenium." Ulrich von Hutten 's papers, edited by Booking, i. p. 221.
2 Dr. G. Th. Rudhart, "Thomas Moras," Niirnberg, 1829, pp. 119—121.
3 Erroneously ascribed to Holbein by Passavant (No. 71).

MORE'S UTOPIA. 213

prospect of a smiling valley with distant mountains in the Swiss style of
scenery, as we see it depicted by Holbein. Three men are sitting here on
garden-seats.1 Hythlodseus, just as More depicts him at the beginning, is no
longer young ; his beard is long and flowing, and he is dressed in a travelling
mantle, which is carelessly hanging from the shoulder. With lively eagerness 2
he is narrating his story, Petrus iEgidius and Thomas More are listening, the
latter is attired with care as a man of rank, and he is stretching out his hand
to the speaker, as though by this gesture he would interrupt him by a
question. On the left, More's son, John Clemens, a slender boy, is running
forward. The artist has introduced him from a passage in the dedication, in
which More says that he never allows the boy to miss a conversation which
may in any way be advantageous to him.3 It is worth while to refer to the
text for comparison. In a biographical point of view, it renders similar con
clusions possible as those which we drew from Holbein's marginal drawings to
the " Praise of FoUy." It expresses throughout such a certain understanding of
the text, and such a delicate appreciation of many touches which do not lie on
the surface, that Holbein cannot merely have drawn his Ulustrations from the
statements of Froben or Erasmus, but must have understood Latin enough to
read the text himself.
A larger woodcut gives us a bird's-eye view of the Island Utopia itself,
accurately adhering to the description of the place contained in the text, with
its city Amaurotum and the river Anydrus, a rocky island washed by the sea,
with buildings in the German mediaeval style. In the foreground, separated
from the island by the water, stands Hythlodasus, who is explaining the
place to More and -F-gidius. This sheet cannot, of course, equal the effect
of the former ; it is an illustration, not a picture, and not sketched for artistic
reasons, but as an elucidation of the text. Yet here, also, Holbein in nowise
denies himself.
Holbein's epoch not only witnessed the revival of classic antiquity, of its
literature and history, but in it also took place the discovery of unknown
quarters of the globe, of foreign lands and seas, and in this the scientific
literature of Basle took part. The book " Novus Orbis Regionum ac Insularum
incognitarum," which was published here by Hervagius in 1532, and which
was a summary made by Grynseus of various records of travels from distant
regions of the globe, contains a large map of the earth, occupying two folio
sheets, on the margin of which there are representations breathing entirely
1 "Inde domum meam digredimur ibique in horto considentes in scamno cespitibus
herbeis constrato confabulamur," -_Egidius proposes.
2 Vergentis ad senium retatis, vultu adusto, promissa barba, penula neglectius ab humero
dependente, qui mihi ex vultu atque habitu nauclerus esse videbatur.
3 Nam et Johannes Clemens, puer meus, qui adfuit, ut seis una, ut quum a nullo patior
sermone abesse in quo aliquid esse fructus potest . . . (The A dfuit refers to another occasion).

214 THE MAP OF THE WORLD.
Holbein's spirit.1 The execution of the detail renders it nevertheless probable
that Holbein did not draw the whole on the wood-block, but only furnished a
sketch for the figurative representations. The map of the four quarters of the
world, in which America yet exhibits rather a modest circumference, has the
form of an ellipse, and is turned by two angels above and below by means of
an axis. Outside, especiaUy in the four corners, space is left for the delinea
tion of the wonders and remarkable things belonging to foreign zones. Above,
on the right, there are a pair of fantastically equipped huntsmen with a
woman, and various plants belonging to a southern climate. On the left is an
elephant hunt ; the mighty animal has hurled a man to the ground with his
trunk, whUe a second man, concealing himself behind a tree, is just letting fly
an arrow against his adversary. Behind him are a couple of winged snakes,
one of which is strangling a sheep. Somewhat lower are two strange wild
beasts, with large hanging under-lips, a remnant of those fantastic representa
tions which the Middle Ages made of the inhabitants of other quarters of the
globe. Below, on the left side, we see a scene which may easily have removed
aU desire for travel in the curious spectator. Several cannibals are engaged
in cutting up human bodies and roasting them on the spit. Their hut, which
is built of branches, is hung with human arms and legs like trophies, and
the whole representation shows us plainly how comfortable the cannibals feel
in this mode of life. Somewhat in the distance a man is approaching leading
a horse, across the saddle of which two prisoners are bound. Lastly, in the
right corner, the traveller Vartomannus, whose statements are contained in
the work, appears with a firm step and in the costume of a native ; by his side
is a man who is striking down a sheep, while a queen or princess is looking on
from the terrace. A splendid landscape extends beyond. The conception of
the whole thing exhibits that combination of the humorous and the fantastic
for which the German art 'of that period had a predilection. The nest of
parrots also, on page 30 of the book, which the wise birds have so arranged
that it hangs from the slender branch of a tropical tree and cannot therefore
be reached by the serpents, probably proceeds from Holbein. It shows his
life-like conception of animal life, though the stamp-cutting is rather unim
portant. The illustrations of geographical works appear in a still higher stage
in Sebastian Miinster's edition of Ptolemy and in his " Cosmography." These
publications, however, belong to a later epoch in Holbein's career ; he himself
designed nothing more for either of these books, although his influence is not
to be mistaken in many of the drawings. On the other hand, in some of the
editions of both works, several Holbein title-pages, religious and profane,
which had been produced long before and for other purposes, were employed
anew, but the blocks were at that time somewhat worn away.
1 See page 220.

THE ARMS OF FREIBURG. 21.r

Among the illustrations of mathematical and astronomical books, the
pictures of the Zodiac, in Sebastian Mtinster's Horologiographia of 1532 and
in former works by the same author, deserve attention. They are simple and
rudely cut figures, each of them occupying a whole side of the small octavo
volume ; several of them are indifferent as to subject, such as the Ram, the
Balance, the Scorpion ; and the Virgin is an uuimportant figure, which has
nothing to do with our master. But grandly conceived, and certainly from a
sketch by Holbein, is the half-figure of the Bull looking out of the clouds, the
group of the Twins, two boldly sketched youths of vigorous and noble form,
embracing each other, a pair of Dioscuri, conceived thoroughly in the classic
spirit, and lastly, the equally classic Archer, a noble centaur figure, with
extended bow, delineated in a manner similar to that which marks the crea
tions of the same kind by the great Italian masters.
A magnificent sheet of a large size, not conspicuous for its execution, but
grand in design, forms the opening page of the book, " Town-laws of Freiburg
in the Breisgau'' (" Niiwe Stattrechnen vnd Statuten der loblichen Statt
Fryburg im Pryssgow gel-egen.") This work was edited in the year 1520,
under the direction of the great lawyer Ulrich Zasius, the intimate friend of
Erasmus and Amerbach, and was printed, as the concluding notice states, in
the adjacent town of Basle, by the honourable and art-loving Adam Petri.
He would not have thus entitled himself, but the town council of Freiburg
expressed in these words their acknowledgment of the splendid manner in
which the book had been brought out. The artist did not in this sheet
employ the usual- form of a framework, but the whole page is occupied by the
city arms, the supporters of which are two lions. The grand style and the
masterly drawing render it indubitable that Holbein was its author. These
arms can rank with those which were cut after Diirer's design. The reverse
side of the sheet contains the Patron Saints of the city ; the Virgin and Child
enthroned in front of a niche which is half concealed by a curtain ; on the left
St. George, an entirely armed and knightly figure, leaning on his shield, and
the banner and the cross in his hand ; and on the right Bishop Lambertus,
looking up enthusiastically in a heavy priest's stole with a crosier in his
hand. The architectural framework exhibits above some boys resting and
playing, very cursorily executed in the form cutting. This sheet is imagined in
the grandest style, and has great resemblance with the Solothurn Madonna.
What powerfully conceived characters are the two saints, placed so significantly
opposite each other as representations of spiritual and temporal power ! The
Madonna, with the royal crown on her long flowing hair, is sorrowful in ex
pression ; the Child, whom she is embracing with both hands, is stretching out
His ri<mt arm (in the original drawing therefore it was the left), while He is
turning out the palm of His hand — a movement customary with little children,

216 GENRE-PICTURES.

and likewise employed by Holbein in the Solothurn picture. On one of the
steps of the throne is the monogram H H.
In the German literature of that day, the popular tendency flourished
unweakened and in its utmost freshness side by side with the humanistic, and
thus the painter, while he embellished literature, was afforded opportunity for
cultivating the popular element in his art. Martin Schongauer and his con
temporaries had, as we have seen, executed true genre-like representations,
which had indeed never yet ventured to appear in painting, an art which was
still exclusively preserved for religious subjects, but had been produced in
copper-plate and woodcut. The delineation of ordinary life hi the most various
situations, and in the most different classes and ranks, each with its own
customs and manners, had gained ever wider and wider scope, until at length
Albert Diirer raised this branch of art to a new stage. He sought out and
established the ideas and subjects of the entire artistic creations of his age in
Germany, he prepared the soil on all sides, and gained new fields for art, and
to this branch especially he felt himself allured by the rich power of his
imagination. The Courier at Full Speed and the Love-suit are two of his
earliest sheets. Next he engraved a Group of Soldiers on the Sea-shore ; a
Lady on Horseback, accompanied by her Esquire ; the Market Peasant and his
Wife ; the Cook and his Wife; the splendid Sheet of Three Peasants, engaged in
conversation with each other ; the Bagpiper and the pair of Dancing Peasants.
Holbein also executed genre-pictures, opportunity for which was afforded
him speciaUy by his designs for woodcuts. As an instance of this, we find
the side-border of a title-page which appears in the Latin Lucian of 1521,
and which from the initials J. F. was cut in Froben's atelier, and undoubtedly
is from a design by Holbein. It is the delineation of a story from life, such
as may daily happen, and the moral of which is a warning against pride,
luxury, and idleness. Rich architectural frameworks enclose each of the six
separate pictures placed one over another, and containing the six scenes of a
drama, in which we see the same actors appearing each time. In the first, a
tattered destitute youth is begging of an old man ; in the second, he stands
before us as a pedlar, while the old man is giving him admonition. The third
picture shows the good fruit of this instruction : the youth is appearing before
his benefactor in stately attire, with hat and sword, to the utter astonishment
of the old man. In the fourth, the old man is warning the youth not to be
foolishly lavish with the full purse which he has in his hand. In spite of
this, he appears in the fifth scene in the most costly Swiss attire, standing
before us with the utmost presumption, while the old man warns him still
more seriously and urgently. The sixth division shows us the end of the
song: the youth appears just as tattered and destitute as at the first, and is
tearing his hair, whilst his former friend turns his back upon him. The whole
thing is narrated with striking life.

PEASANTS' DANCE.

217

In his delineations from the doings and life of the country people, Diirer
exhibits much vigorous and sound humour. In this sphere of art also
Holbein laboured with especial success. A peasant's dance, similar to that which
he painted on a house at Basle, appears also in wood
cuts. It forms the lower border of a folio title-
page, which we find repeated in many learned books,
medical as well as historical. Two side borders,
with children climbing trees, belong to it also ; the
upper border, given in our woodcut, representing
the fox which has stolen the goose. Like those
depicted dancing below, boys and girls are here
running with all their might, armed with sickles
and sticks, flails and spears, rakes and pitchforks,
and the old man of the village, surrounded by some
representatives from the excited poultry-yard, is
coming forward -with his good advice. How charm
ing in their roughness and truthfulness to life
are these short, steady figures with their large
heads ! No rural country-wake by a later Flemish
painter can surpass this hastily-sketched composi
tion in freshness, racy humour, and characteristic
fidelity. Tlie metal engraving, evidently from Fro
ben's atelier, is no very brilliant production, but
the design of the painter is only given in coarse
touches. In a smaller title-page, the corresponding scene
to a peasant's dance, is formed by a children's
dance, in which ten charming boys are moving to
the sound of drums. A similar dance, of only
eight children, appears as a counterpart to a pro
cession of Tritons. Here, also, we see the same
bold frolicsomeness, and at the same time beauty of
movement. This world of peasants and children lastly find
their true scope in the initials which the Basle
painters delighted in scattering through their books.
Although Holbein also designed an alphabet with
biblical illustrations, he still gives vent to the
humour which one delights to see in these works,
and which, on such occasions, find entrance even
into the most serious books. The series of the twenty-four letters of the
Peasants' Wake is still extant, and beautiful proof-sheets of the entire series

218

ALPHABETS.

are to be seen in Basle and Dresden. Four of them are copied in this volume.
In A we see two musicians playing, and B to K depict dancing couples in
various attitudes and in the boldest movements. At L we find the tender
but not very modest love-scene of a pair of lovers. M shows a quarrel
between some youths, who are fighting each other with swords ; in 0, a
young peasant who is holding a girl has some water thrown over him from a
vessel by his rival. P exhibits a youth who is holding a tub to a girl to
drink. R and S introduce scenes in which the artist's extravagant humour
illustrates highly natural incidents, which we must dispense with describing
more accurately. V, with the game of nine-pins, is charming. The most
difficult foreshortenings are happUy executed. In W, we find the ride home

from the wake: on the horse, behind the peasant, his wife is sitting. X
exhibits the evil results of the merry day, the physician in the peasant's
room. Groups of peasant youths at play form the conclusion in Y and Z.
Equally graceful is the Children's Alphabet, which was printed by
Cratander, and of which also the Basle Museum has preserved a complete
proof-sheet. Boys playing, making music, and dancing (A, B, D, — F, S), boys
wrestling (G), puUing each other's hair (C), lying upon each other (V), tumbling
over (K), riding on each other (H), dabbling in the spring (Wand Y), tUting on
hobby-horses (I). In K, a small boy is chastising a cat, which has a bird in
its mouth. Here, as in the former Alphabet, the engraving seems to be by
Lutzelburger. In the small circumference the delicacy of the execution is
wonderfully admirable. Holbein reminds us of Raphael when he represents
children. In the Berlin Museum there is a proof impression of 111 initials of
various kind and size, partly undoubtedly Holbein's invention, and cut in
Froben's atelier. We meet with all the letters again in most of the different
Basle prints. Evidently this, or a similar one, is the sheet which is mentioned
in the Amerbach List, as " Alphabetum cum pueris triplex animalculis flori-
bus," and the addition " probably Holbein's," but there is none existing in the
Basle Museum. Initials with flowers and animals are also among them, and
the beginning is made by three not entirely complete children's alphabets.
One contains children's sports as before, but the}' are somewhat larger than the
letters we have just described. Many pretty new ideas appear among them ; the
A especially is very graceful : two boys reclining, one with a papal, and the
other with an imperial crown ; a third, sitting upon them, enacts Themis, with

ALPHABETS.

219

sword, balance, and covered eyes. The second, on a white ground — otherwise
the ground is generally engraved with lines — contains children in pairs or
singly, and sometimes winged — M, for instance, is two charming seated,
winged boys. The third, somewhat larger Alphabet, in which only A and B are
missing, is especially ingenious and original in design; it depicts children
engaged in the most various trades and employments of life. We see them
spinning, forging, cooking, and baking ; they appear as masons and carpenters,
cabinet-makers, coopers, tanners, millers, and fishermen ; as painters and
stone-cutters, bath-keepers, and musicians. Some initials also represent mili
tary life and soldiers. M is a couple of boys playing at dice on a drum, armed
and wearing a plumed hat: another time, in P, a boy is loading a cannon,
while a second is blowing a horn. Lastly, W is charming, a boy enacting a
doctor, with gown, doctor's hat, and eye-glass on nose, while a second is
making up a box of physic, and a third is referring to a book.
Similar in size to this latter Alphabet is an A that repeatedly appears,
depicting a Polish or Muscovite horseman, galloping violently, with a fur hat,
a curved sabre, and a couched lance, from which a small banner waves,
such as is worn at the present day by the
Ulans. Parts of one or more very smaU
alphabets, which appear in Cratander's Cy
prian, as well as in Adam Petri's New
Testament, represent a cook at her work
(E), a hermit (P), a bagpipe player (H), a
mendicant with his dog (V), besides various
letters containing love-sjenes and soldiers.
Among various Greek initials, a large A,
with a bacchical scene, is worthy of men
tion. A bloated Bacchus is sitting on a
pig ; a faun, in the form of a slender youth,
is offering him a wine-cup.
Numerous and various are the initials with ornaments and flowers, or with
different animals,— among them a D, with a bear squatted on the ground ; an
N, with a lion, and the signature I. F. 1520. There are also initials depicting still
life, such as pitchers and dishes (Q), musical instruments (I), arms and cuirasses
(J and P), candlesticks, crucibles, and other instruments of trade (R), which
remind us of Holbein. Numerous initials of a highly remarkable Alphabet are
to be found in the Utopia of the year 1 518, as well as in Tertnllian ; they contain
landscapes and architectural views ; a few among them with northern gabled
houses, walls, and gates, but most of them with Italian subjects— buildings of
a'Roman or Renaissance character, groups of columns, vistas through vaulted
halls, richly ornamented facades and niches and landscape glimpses, which,
however cursorily indicated, are unmistakably southern in their character.

220 ALPHABETS.
The cutting of these letters is indeed inferior, but the design is spirited,
and they express a conception of landscape nature and architectural scenery
which does not pass into the fantastic, as is the case with Holbein's con
temporaries in Basle, especially with Urs Graf, but which simply depicts what
is real. Whether Hans Holbein, or perhaps rather Ambrosius Holbein, is their
author, is scarcely to be decided, but we are more inclined to ascribe them to
the latter. We find in them the same taste that is common to both. But
their accordance with a title-page of Ambrosius before-mentioned, namely,
with the pictures delineating the power of women, is most decided. At any
rate sketches of travels and remembrances of an excursion into Italy, form
the basis of these initials, insignificant as they are.
The most beautiful initials designed by Holbein, namely, the Alphabet of
Death, we shall mention presently. We will now only allude to one more
style of woodcut for which Holbein made the sketches, we mean the devices
of the printers.
Among the numerous devices of Froben, a staff held by two hands and
entwined by a couple of serpents, and on which a dove is sitting as a
reminder of the biblical command, " Be ye wise as serpents and harmless as
doves," we can in no wise regard as Holbein's invention. The most pleasing
of all exhibits this symbol on a shield, which is held by two winged boys, while
two other children, bold in idea, but unsuccessful both in the woodcut and
drawing, are resting below. From the stately portal which encloses the whole
scene, we catch a view in the distance of steep Swiss mountains. This com
position, however, seems rather to belong to Ambrosius Holbein than to Hans,
to whom it was attributed. The architectural framework entirely accords
with that which encloses the arms of Basle on the title-page by Ambrosius,
with the pictures of the power of women, which we have before mentioned.
To Hans Holbein, however, we may ascribe, among others, Valentine
Curio's device, which contains the panel of Parrhasius. The hand, which is
drawing on a panel one straight line between two others, is enclosed in a
graceful shield with leaf-ornament. Cratander's symbol is the Goddess of
Opportunity, enclosed in an elegant shield; she is unclothed, with flowing
hair, winged feet, a knife in her hand, poising on a ball. Bebelius' symbol is
a Palm-tree, between the branches of which a heavy weight, a kind of large
tampan, which presses them "down, is placed. Another copy, without the
shield-like framework of the former, exhibits under this tympan a naked man,
who is trying with his hands and feet to resist the pressure. Thomas Wolff's
device is the figure of a phUosopher, in the dress of a scholar, passing out of
a door, and placing his finger, as if enjoining silence, on his lips, with the
inscription " Digito compesce labellum." That this is not his own portrait, as
is usually asserted, is evident from the fact that the figure is here beardless,

DEVICES OF PRINTERS. 221

while at the same time it appears bearded on the title-page of Wolff's New
Testament. Matthias Bienenvater or Apiarius in Berne, in allusion to his
name as well as to his native city, adopted the symbol of a Bear, with bees
swarming round him, as he is climbing up a tree to get honey. A similar
play with names is apparent in the device of Cristoph Froschover in Zurich,
for whom Holbein made three different compositions. Froschover derived his
name from frosch (frog) and auf (upon) ; hence one picture exhibits frogs on a
tree, and the two others a child seated on a frog. In the first, the frogs are
climbing up a tree in a meadow ; in the background there is a splendid land
scape, with hUls and pretty peasants' houses : delicate Renaissance ornaments
form the framework. The cutting is beautiful, such as only Hans Liitzel-
burger could produce. The two other sheets are not much inferior to it. In
the larger of the two, a pretty boy, turning back his head, is riding a colossal
frog, which is surrounded by smaller frogs ; in the distance we see the Lake of
Zurich, on which a boat is sailing, and on the opposite shore of which pleasant
vUlages are lying at the foot of the mountains. The smaUer sheet also
exhibits a boy riding, with his hand upraised to urge on his frog ; in the back
ground there is a mountain landscape, with a castle on the heights. These
three compositions are charming from their truth and naturalness and also
from their attractive humour.

CHAPTER XIII.
Holbein and the Reformation. — Woodcut Illustrations for Luther's translations of the Holy
Scriptures. — Two editions of the New Testament by Adam Petri. — Th. Wolff's New
Testament. — The title-page, with Liitzelburger's device. — The pictures from the Revela
tion. — Holbein's position with regard to Diirer's compositions. — Petri's Old Testament. —
Other woodcuts of a Biblical purport. — Christ under the burden of the Cross. — The
pictures of the Old Testament. — Their origin and appearance. — Holbein and Lyons. —
Bourbon's verses. — Relation of the pictures to the religious state of things. — The sheets
in an artistic point of view. — Initials from the Old Testament. — Satirical sheets of the
time of the Reformation. — The trade in Indulgences. — Christ the true Light. — A sketch
at Erlanger.
We have before alluded to the relation in which Holbein stood to the Reforma
tion. We shall trace this, also, most distinctly and accurately in his designs
for wood-engraving. By means of this the artist entered into relation with
general literature, humanistic as well as religious. Froben, above aU others,
was the publisher who fostered classic hterature ; from his printing-house
issued the editions of Roman writers and poets, Latin translations of Greek
authors, and the writings of Erasmus, as well as of his friends and feUow-
workers. Two other publishers — in the first place, Adam Petri, whom we
have before mentioned as a friend of art, and, secondly, Thomas Wolff — began,
immediately after the appearance of Luther, to take the lead in such publica
tions as related to the new religious tendencies ; they issued the writings of
Luther, of GEcolampadius, and of other Reformers, as well as new translations
of the Bible. We find Luther's writings in great completeness at Basle, and
immediately after their appearance at Wittenberg.
We have already mentioned how the Reformation began to gain footing in
Basle since the year 1521. At the same time at which CEcolampadius
appeared at Basle, in December 1522, the teacher of the Reformation received
the book from which he taught. In the very same month Adam Petri issued
an edition of Luther's German translation of the New Testament, which had
appeared in Wittenberg a few months before. Petri gave some copies to the
Carthusian Monastery in Little Basle, probably for the sake of the Prior
Hieronymus Zschechapiirlin, one of the most cultivated ecclesiastics of Basle,
and who enjoyed universal respect throughout the city. One of these copies
was intended for the use of the lay brothers, and contained an interesting

TITLE-PAGE OF NEW TESTAMENT. 223

manuscript notice to the effect that much might probably be found therein of
Luther's teaching ; that, however, very little or indeed nothing at aU irritating
was to be read in it : that every one should study it with judgment, and not
build upon it further than the universal Christian Church taught and held.1
For this edition in folio Holbein designed a beautiful title-page/ in which
the main supports of the Church, namely, the apostles St. Peter and St. Paul,
stand opposite each other — St. Peter wholly absorbed in the great book which
is in his hand, while St. Paul stands forth boldly and grandly, with the sword
as well as the book in his hand. St. Peter appears as a man lost in con
templation of the sacred doctrines, St. Paul, on the contrary, as a man of
powerful action. The work was executed before Diirer had made his grand
pictures of the so-called Four Apostles, and it is a design which can take its
place by the side of his. In the corners are the symbols of the evangelists ;
above are the arms of Basle, with the so-caUed Basle staff, and supported by
two basilisks ; below, the device of the publisher is introduced — a boy riding
a lion, and bearing a standard containing Adam Petri's monogram and the
date 1523, which is thus anticipated.
On the 23rd of March, 1523, the new Pope, Adrian VI., addressed a brief to
the Basle Council, in which he lamented the Lutheran heresy in Germany,
and admonished the Council to refuse aU adherents of this tendency the
liberty of preaching, and to forbid the publication of all Luther's books.3
Nevertheless, in the same month a second publication of the folio edition of
Adam Petri's New Testament appeared, and at the same time, in March, an
elegant octavo edition was issued, beautifully printed and splendidly illus
trated. The principal subject of the title-page is the same as that of the folio ;
St. Peter and St. Paul, the former with a colossal key, are standing opposite
each other. The symbols of the evangelists are very beautiful, and the chUd
on the lion, behind whom we see a quantity of roses, is charmingly introduced
below. The delicate engraving is evidently the work of Hans Lutzelburger,
who probably cut the folio title-page as well as most of the other woodcuts of
the octavo edition. These are also devised by Holbein. On the first page of
each gospel the figure of the evangelist appears, each with his characteristic
attribute. St. Matthew is engaged in Uvely conversation with the angel, and
seems to be receiving bis instructions. St. Mark, seen from behind, is bold in
attitude, and his lion is masterly in its conception. St. Luke we find occupied
in writino. These three are sitting in their apartments in front of a wall, in
which paintings are inserted. Over St. Matthew we find a charming repre
sentation of the Birth of Christ ; Mary is kneeling before the new-born babe,
and Joseph is kindling a fire with the utmost care. Over St. Mark is the
Resurrection of Christ ; over St. Luke we see the Saviour on the Cross. St.
i Ochs Geschichte von Basel, v. p. 442. The copy is not in the Basle Library.
2 Passavant, 73. '* Ochs, v, p. 447 et seq.

224 TITLE-PAGE OF
John is sitting in the open air, and is looking, with an air of rapture, up to
heaven, where Christ is appearing in his glory.
The Acts of the Apostles is opened by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Before the Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul is standing in a rich and
splendid portal, preaching, with his sword under his arm. Then comes the
Conversion of Saul, and afterwards St. Peter's Vision, related in the tenth chapter
of the Acts of the Apostles. The sheet with the Unclean Beasts, among which
the four-footed are only intimated by their heads, is let down by four angels ;
St. Peter is kneehng in front with lively gesture, while above, God the Father
is looking down, and seems to be speaking with him : the whole incident is
dramatically conceived. Here also the abundance, as well as the variety of
initials, is very great, though they are never of a biblical purport. They depict
children playing in various situations, centaurs and satyrs, a parrot with its
young ones, and a vulture with its prey. Initial letters of a still smaller size
exhibit leaf-ornaments, flowers, or animals, among others a porcupine, A. An
H with a bagpipe player ; a V, a beggar walking with his dog ; a D, peasant
woman with rake ; a second D, a sitting drummer ; a J, Triton and Nymph
sporting together, are especially noticeable.
In the same year, another Basle publisher, Thomas Wolff, issued Martin
Luther's translation of the New Testament, " Klarlich und aus dem rechten
grundt Teutscht," as it says on the title-page. Luther's name is not mentioned
in the book, but Luther's fresh and ardent style catches the reader's ear in the
very first hnes of the preface. With what " transparent clearness " — to use
Diirer's expression1 — how simply, strikingly, and inteUigibly, does he speak to
the heart and mind of the simplest man, as he brings the gospel to his feUow-
countrymen, " auff deutsch, gutte bottschafft, gutte meher, gutte newzeitung,
gut geschrey, dauon man singt, saget, und frolich ist." And just in the same
homely, fresh, and hearty style, utterly devoid of all Gothic pedantry, does
Holbein's art meet us on the title-page. This work evidences, as few of Hol
bein's compositions of that time do, the advances which the artist had made
during the last period, the dramatic distinctness of his representations, the
lightness, freedom; and certainty of every action and gesture, and his masterly
power in the delineation of the nude figure. We here perceive also, the less
favourable characteristics of his style, such as the somewhat too short figures
with large heads. In the centre of the upper diagonal border, St. John is
baptizing the Saviour, who is standing in the river Jordan, and as usual, an
angel is waiting on the banks with His garments. On the right and left of this
are the four symbols of the Evangelists, fuU of lively action. The claws of the
animals are resting on books ; the angel of St. Matthew has also a book in his
hand. The other pictures are taken from the Acts of the Apostles. Below is
the well-known device of the publisher Thomas Wolff : the philosopher standing
1 In the Diary of the Netherland Journey.

THE NEW TESTAMENT. 225
in a niche exhorting silence. On the right is the vision of St. Peter, before whom
two hands appearing from the clouds let down the sheet which is full of all
sorts of unclean beasts, " fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and
creeping things, and fowls of the air." On the left is the conversion of St. Paul,
who, in the dress of a German rider, booted and spurred, is thrown from his
horse. The horror of the man and horse are depicted in a masterly manner. In
the height above, no heavenly apparition, only a lightning flash, appears athwart
the clouds, for in the Bible, mention is only made of the voice which Saul hears,
and of the light from heaven, which suddenly " shined round about him." In
the distance stand his companions, " speechless," as the narrative says, " hearing
a voice, but seeing no man." Such extreme fidelity to the text, even to the
smaUest detail, is the characteristic of all Holbein's Bible pictures. He does
not depict things according to custom in ecclesiastical art, but as he imagines
them after his own reading and examination of the text. This may indeed
be said more or less of the art creations of this entire epoch, especially of those
of Diirer, but it appears in Holbein far more decidedly.
The side-borders on the right exhibit St. Paul on the island of Melita, bring
ing a bundle of sticks, and shaking off the viper that had fastened on his hand
into the fire, feeling no harm from it, to the wonder of the bystanders. In the
background we see the preceding incident of the shipwreck ; this also adhering
faithfully to St. Luke's account : " the forepart stuck fast, but the hinder part
was broken with the violence of the waves." This splitting of the vessel is
illustrated rather naively ; Holbein could not possibly have seen anything of
the kind. All that he had seen, however, he depicted with surprising truth
and life, such as the men throwing themselves into the water, swimming and
clambering up the shore.
On the border to the left, we see the treasurer of the king of Ethiopia kneel
ing in some shallow water, while Philip is baptizing him. The naked figure
is here excellent, and all the separate details — such as the attitude of the bap
tizing deacon, who, likewise standing with one foot in the water, is raising his
garments with his left hand, that they may not be wet — are delineated with
masterly power from life. In the background again, we see the preceding-
period. The painter shows us the whole journey of the eunuch, as far as
is possible in the high narrow space, making him to appear to the spectator at
a turn down a hilly road shaded by pines and forest trees. He is in a four-
wheeled little carriage, drawn by two horses, one before the other ; on the second
the groom is sitting. This must have been the mode of travelling at that time
in Germany for those who preferred easy driving to the more usual riding.
St. Philip is just walking near the carriage, and beginning his conversation
with the eunuch.
On the lower diagonal border, Liitzelburger's device stands on the footstool
cm which St. Peter is kneehng. Not only the work of the stamp-cutter and

226 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE

the picturesque representation deserve admiration, but the train of thought
which is expressed in the whole scene is worthy of great consideration. Above,
the Saviour is consecrated for His work ; and here we find a representation
of the victorious power of His teaching. It overcomes the prejudices of His
adherents, as well as the opposition of His foes, whom it renders His followers ;
it protects the faithful in the hour of peril and need, and with convincing
power it draws men from the remotest lands into the community of Christians.
All that is here proclaimed of early Christianity, the artist and those who
understood him hoped would now also be reaUzed in the new and purified
doctrines of their Master.
Besides the title-page, this book contained another embellishment, unmis
takably Holbein's design, although the execution is less good, the engraving more
inferior, and in some cases quite rude; we allude to the twenty-one woodcut
illustrations from the Revelation of St. John. These are especiaUy interesting
because they exhibit Holbein engaged on the same subject which Albert
Diirer had illustrated. Diirer's first principal work had been his series of large
woodcuts of the Revelation of St. John. These visions, which defy aU visible
form, he had attempted to represent in pictures and to utter the unutterable.
He had never succeeded in truly illustrating, in actuaUy conceiving and
representing things, but his pictures exhibit a wonderful grandness of conception,
and a transporting power of imagination. Any succeeding artist, even the most
independent, can scarcely, in depicting the same subject, avoid the influence of
these compositions.
It is in the utmost degree interesting to observe how Holbein was
affected by this influence. That Diirer's sheets of engravings, which were
disseminated throughout Germany, were known also to him, is a matter
of course. We have seen his brother Ambrosius taking his figure of Christ for
a small painting from Diirer's title-page to his Passion Scenes. In Hans
Holbein's works it is on the other hand surprising how little he usually borrows
from Diirer; thus his pictures of the suffering of Christ are perfectly inde
pendent of the idea which animates Diirer's ever-recurring designs on this
subject, and which through Diirer became the common property of almost all
the German artists of this epoch, even to the remotest parts of the country.
But in the Revelation the case is different. It was Diirer's special creative
art, to have made the artistic representation of these fantastic visions possible,
and thus he compels all who succeeded him to see these things with his eyes.
Holbein also begins with them, but the more decidedly he becomes absorbed
in the subject, the more does he master it himself. In the first sheets we see
him entirely under Diirer's influence, but step by step he becomes freer, until
in his last representations scarcely any trace is left of his original mode.
Yet even in these first sheets he does not merely imitate, but he himself
examines the text of the Bible ; and here also we see that fidelity to the letter,.

REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. 227

which we have before mentioned, and which even surpasses Diirer. In the
very first sheet, the Call of St. John, not only the seven golden candlesticks in
their Itahan form are in better taste than Diirer's intricate and wild Gothic
style, but also the figure in the midst of them " like unto the Son of Man," is
conceived differently. He is not sitting, as in Diirer's picture, but standing ;
and St. John, whom Diirer represents as kneeling, is, in obedience to the text,
fallen down " at his feet as dead." In the two following pictures also, the
Throne set in Heaven surrounded by the beasts and the adoring elders, and
the Four Riders, Holbein has taken the principal idea entirely from Diirer's
wonderful design, but almost all the separate figures are in gesture and ex
pression his own, and are generally far more full of life and character than
those of the great Nuremberg master. So in Holbein's tenth sheet, St. John
eating the Book is far superior to the figure in Diirer's picture, which is entirely
concealed under the masses of drapery ; on the other hand, the angel with the
"feet as pillars of fire," here appears as Diirer designed him; to the dis
advantage of his picture, Holbein has given him more of a human figure, and
has foUowed a more fantastic description in the text than is fit for artistic
representation. As a general rule, Holbein does not come up to Diirer in all
the instances in which the latter has produced his utmost in grand fantastic
and supernatural representations, as in the Four Angels holding the Four
Winds ; he does not here attain to Durer's grand boldness, whUe, on the other
hand, the fifth angel who marks the servants of God is very beautiful and
lifelike ; he is also inferior to him in the Star falling from Heaven, in the
Worship of the Two Beasts, in the Woman taken from the Dragon, in Babylon
the Great drunken with the blood of the saints and sitting on the beast, and
lastly in the Angels who kill the fourth part of men. And lastly, it is
significant that that representation which is the most beautiful of Diirer's, the
unsurpassed archangel Michael casting down Satan with his spear, was entirely
set aside by Holbein.
Holbein's excellences, however, show themselves again in another respect ;
he aims throughout at great simplicity and distinctness, and in order to avoid
accumulation, he prefers to employ twenty-one sheets for that which Diirer
expressed in fourteen.
Scarcely had Luther's translation of the Old Testament appeared in
Wittenberg, than Adam Petri issued an edition of it at Basle, in the December
of 1523. The copy of this rare book, now in the library at Basle, contains at
the commencement of the first volume an interesting notice in manuscript,
testifying to the advance of the Reformation, and the increasing mistrust of its
adversaries : " Disz buch so da zugehortt den Carthusern zu minder Basel hat
Tnen vmb gotswillen geschenckt der erber fiirnem meister Adam Petri Drucker
Herr vnd Burger zu Basel. Vnnd Innhaltet die fiinff biicher moysj (Das ist
den rechtenn waren Vrsprung Vnnd Brunnen der heiligenn gschrifft) niiwlich
Q 2

228 . • A. PETRI'S OLD TESTAMENT.
vertiischt. Vnd vsz Hebreischer vnd Griechischer sprach in das Hochtutsch
den merteil transferiertt. Wie wol vast vii hier Inn funden wirt, besonders
in den eygennammen oder worttern. Die in den altten Biblien gar vii anders
stond. Dariimb auch gare eben warzunemmen ist, das man sich nit zuvil mit
soldier niiwerung bekommere, noch den nebenglosslinen zuvil glouben gebe.
Wer weisst was darhinden steckt. Doch wen gott lert, mag nit Irrgon."
(This book was given to the Carthusians of Little Basle for God's sake by the
noble master Adam Petri, printer and citizen of Basle. It contains the Five
Books of Moses, — that is, the true and right origin and fountain of Holy
Scripture — lately put into German. And the greater part is transferred from
the Hebrew and Greek language into High German. There is, indeed, much in
it, especially in the names, which differs much from the old Bibles. Upon
this point it is to be observed that we must not trouble ourselves with such
innovations, nor place too much trust in commentaries. Who knows what is
hidden beneath . Yet he whom God teaches cannot err.) The title-page was
the work of Urs Graf, but Holbein was the designer of many of the initials,
especially those with animals and chUdren at play, and many of the other
woodcuts in the book, which were executed by various hands, some of them
very inferior, were certainly designed by our master ; such as the Israel
ites standing and eating the Easter lamb, on the point of departure, and the
Sons of Aaron consumed by fire — two very lifelike and powerfully conceived
scenes. Also, although inferior in the engraving, the three Angels appearing
to Abraham, and Balaam's ass.1 Lastly, above all, the large woodcut which
stands at the beginning of the text, and which is distinguished for its charming
grace both in design and representation. "Creatio Hominis in medio
elementorum et coelorum," is the name of this sheet in the Amerbach Catalogue.
With what besides a representation of the Creation could the first chapter of
Genesis be opened ? And the highest and last act of the Creator, the Creation
of Women, is chosen as the subject of representation. God the Father, in long
royal robes, with pointed crown, dignified expression, and long beard — how
different from the Jupiter-like type of God the Father in Michael Angelo's and
Raphael's works ! — is uplifting with deliberate care the pretty little Eve from
the side of the sleeping Adam, while a playful boy-angel is pulling the mantle
of the Divine Father. But all the other already accomphshed acts of creation
are also displayed by the artist, in the glimpse he affords us of the whole
world. In the centre is the earth, on which the event depicted takes place — a
friendly island, covered with green, enlivened by a hare, a stag, and a bear,
and illumined by the glory which surrounds the head of a God, as by a
rising sun, AU around is the sea, a strip of water, from which a couple of fish
are emerging ; round this is a ring of clouds and stars, and beyond this a circle
of angels adoring and making music, among whom, above, we see once more
1 E, f, g, h, not in Passavant.

8

BIBLICAL TITLE-PAGES. 229
the Almighty Father, blessing his work and calling it very good. Lastly, in
the four corners, are the grand and bold heads of the four winds.
Holbein also composed a beautiful title-page for Bugenhagen's Interpretation
of the Psalms, which appeared in the year 1524. It is tolerably well known,
as- it subsequently appears in Munster's Cosmography. There, however, the
wood-block is worn out ; in order to perceive the whole beauty of the arrange
ment, we must have seen an earlier good impression. " Rejoice in the Lord,
0 ye righteous, for praise is comely for the upright. Praise the Lord with
the harp : sing unto him with the psaltery."1 This is the subject of the com
position, and David is, as is due, the hero of the whole. He is depicted below
playing the harp, and "girded with a linen ephod," dancing before the ark of
the covenant, while his old love, Michal, Saul's daughter, is looking down
contemptuously from a balcony with a pillar-supported dome.2 Two splendid
groups are arranged on the side borders. On the left, there are men playing
on different instruments ; one is playing the organ with the deepest feehng,
and another is blowing the trumpet. Above them is St. Heinrich, the patron
saint of Basle. On the right are the four evangelists, St. James the elder, and
St. Peter, all on clouds ; the arrangement and the attitudes are grand and bold,
and caU to mind Correggio's compositions for San Giovanni in Parma. The
centre of the upper division is occupied by the Lamb of God, and on each side
of Him are the representatives of the Old and New Covenant — David, and
behind him Moses ; Christ as the Man of Sorrows, and behind him St. Paul.
The figure of the suffering Saviour calls to mind Diirer's conception of Him,
which appears in such numerous representations.
Among other beautiful title-pages with biblical representations for theo
logical works is that of the Saviour accompanied by the apostles, calling with
outspread arms the sick, the poor, and those who are bearing their cross to
come to him ; it appeared in 1524 in a work of Myconius, published by Fros
chover in Zurich. Also, the Feeding of the Four Thousand, which appeared
in 1528, a composition in which Holbein exhibits his usual masterly power
of representing with simple means an immense multitude, full of life and
action. Lastly, there is a folio title-page in metal engraving, existing since
1523, the four separate divisions of which aU bear the initials, I. F. Below
are the Apostles, who are dispersed in different quarters of the world to
preach the gospel to every creature ; they are all in pairs ; only St. Paul, the
13th, is alone. Each carries a large key ; this too is a Protestant idea, which
reminds us of St. Peter's words in a carnival play of that time by Manuel :
" Die schliissel zum himmel hab ich nicht allein
Christus gab sie alien Christen gemein." *
(Not I alone have the keys of heaven,
To every Christian have they been given.)

1 Psalm xxxiii. 1,2. 2 2 Samuel vi. 3 1522, Griineisen, N. Manuel, p. 3.4.

230 CHRIST BEARING THE CROSS.
This attribute, as well as the scrolls with the names over the different figures,
is somewhat disturbing, otherwise the conception is full of life and effect.
The side borders are in most cases formed by the symbols of the evangeUsts
between magnificent architectural designs. The most important, however, is
the upper part, Christ as Mediator. Under an arch, somewhat less than a half-
circle, we see God the Father enthroned above in royal splendour, with His
left hand resting majestically on the globe, and in His right hand a sword ;
before Him is Christ, in His risen form, the standard of victory on His arm,
with a lively gesture which distinctly expresses that He stands there as
Mediator ; and grace is combined with magnificence in the countless angels
who are grouped around the principal personages, hstening, riding on clouds,
or making music on flutes, violins, lutes, and trumpets — all in wonderful action.
Such a composition, thus grandly conceived within so modest a space, shows
that the master only needed the opportunity of wall surfaces and vaulted
roofs to emulate the greatest Italian masters in monumental paintings.
Equal in merit are two large woodcuts, almost unknown in literature, and
which probably appeared as separate sheets. Only one copy is known, of the
first with the single figure of the Saviour, sinking under the Burden of the
Cross,1 and this Herr His-Heusler found in the year 1864 among some anony
mous woodcuts in the Basle Museum. He recognized Holbein's work in it,
and every touch must evidence this to any one acquainted with him ; moreover
the Amerbach Catalogue adds external evidence, as it mentions a " Christus
sub cruce recumbens, H. H." Holbein here trod on the footsteps of Albert
Diirer, who in the scene of Christ Bearing the Cross in the great woodcut
series of representations from the Passion, so powerfully delineated this sub
ject, that even Raphael followed him in one of his finest paintings. Holbein
also could not escape the influence of his great countryman, but it is not the
single sheet, but the whole style of Diirer, which produced an effect upon him.
The type of Christ, which appears in Diirer's pictures, perfectly deviating as
it does from aU earlier traditions and from his artistic predecessors, a type
which originated with Diirer and which from henceforth appears more or
less throughout German art, now meets us also in Holbein's Bearing of
the Cross. In other prints our master appears perfectly independent. We
find here no abundance of figures, no city-gate from which the procession ad
vances, and no pleasant landscape as in Diirer's woodcut. We have seen this
in other representations of the Bearing of the Cross, in the two scenes in
Holbein's Basle series of the Passion, both in the drawings and paintings.
There, however, a moment was chosen, preceding the catastrophe, the procession
was stiU moving on in equal step, the Saviour was still erect, heavUy as the
burden rested on Hirn. Here, however, where we see Christ breaking down

^b

Not in Passavant, photographed by Braun.

CHRIST BEARING THE CROSS. 231

under the Cross, the painter has placed before us His form alone, free from
aU accessories, only slightly indicating the spot by a few stones on the ground,
a bent tree at the side, and clouds in the heavens. Fallen on His knees,
supported by His right hand on the ground, Jesus is endeavouring to rise ;
His left hand is resting on the cross-beam of the heavy cross, which is bound
to His body by ropes. The crown of thorns is pressing His brows, whUe the
long hair falls wildly down. The deepest suffering thrills through every line
of His countenance, His mouth is opened as though the Saviour was on the
point of crying aloud and had forcibly restrained the sound, and His eyes
look from the picture riveting the spectator and appealing to him, " Weep not
for Me." As the noblest representation of extreme agony, this figure might
be caUed the German counterpart of the Laocoon. The plastic feeling with
which Holbein displays the figure beneath the drapery, the masterly outline,
which does not, however, as is often the case with Diirer's drawings and
woodcuts, make the forms too round, the simple grandeur that pervades even
the smallest detail, the distinction of the attitudes — all these show Holbein's
superiority over Diirer as regards form. The precision and distinctness of
the cutting, the great understanding of the drawing, the technical treatment
of much of the detail — for example, the hair, or the little tree at the side —
render it indubitable that this sheet was cut by Lutzelburger, who shows
himself to be as great a master in stamp-cutting on a large scale, as in
miniature work.
A large woodcut, the Resurrection of Christ, consisting of eight separate
sheets, is also only once to be met with, and is in the cabinet of engravings
at Gotha.1 Here also Holbein's mind meets us, although not quite so con
vincingly as in the former sheet. We do not doubt that the design originated
with him, but it appears probable that he only made a smaller sketch for it,
which was transferred to the large wooden block by another hand. Figures,
heads, and foreshortenings remind us of the Passion scenes in Basle, in both
the painted and sketched series. The figure of the triumphant Saviour himself
is grand and free. A radiant angel is sitting on the tomb ; eight watchmen in
Roman costume, such as we have already seen in the Basle Passion scenes,
naively mingled with armour belonging to the painter's time, and which
Holbein borrowed from Mantegna, are falling or starting back. In the beauti
ful, broadly treated landscape with the distant view of the city of Jerusalem, the
three women are approaching with their vessel of ointment, wrapped in their
mantles, creeping along in the shadow of the twilight; one of them seems to
have observed the risen figure, and is pointing to Him.
Although we have seen Holbein and Diirer meeting in the same range of
subject material, yet these are isolated instances. In general, Holbein did not
i Not in Passavant. First discussed by I. H. Schneider in the " Deutsche Kunstblatt,"
1853, p. 214.

232 OLD TESTAMENT PICTURES.
draw his subjects from the New but from the Old Testament, from which
Diirer has but rarely borrowed. Thus the two masters supply each other's
deficiencies, and have together, therefore, iUustrated the whole Bible. Christ's
life and sufferings, the history of the Virgin Mary, or the legends of the saints
of the Church, attracted Diirer the most ; and while he represents such subjects,
he devises for them that mode of conception which from henceforth pervades
the works of all artists who ventured upon similar representations ; a mode
which prevailed throughout Germany, and even extended its influence still
further. Just the same did Holbein do with the Old Testament. He also
devised the type of figures introduced, and the whole mode of representation.
His productions cling to the memory of both the public and the artists, in his
own as weU as in the succeeding age, and this not merely in Germany but
throughout the whole north, and abroad almost more than at home. Holbein,
we may say, first imparted to these subjects the artistic language which from
henceforth clings to all illustrations of the Old Testament, even up to our
own day.
This work of Holbein's also stands in connection with the Reformation
movement. The dissemination of the Holy Scriptures in the language of the
country was a matter earnestly striven after by the Reformers, and pictures
went hand in hand with preaching in making the Bible accessible and intel
ligible to stUl wider circles. Diirer's woodcuts and engravings, especially his
various series of Scenes from the Passion, had- prepared the soU among the
people for Luther's translation of the Bible ; Holbein's pictures from the Old
Testament followed in their wake and helped forward the work.
This spirit animates the series of pictures, although the first dated edition
may not have appeared earlier than 1538, and this at Lyons, in Catholic
France. The compositions evidently belong to a much earlier period. They
exhibit the style and treatment which mark the works executed during the
later years of Holbein's journey to England, about 1522 to 1526, the epoch at
which the Reformation-literature began at Basle, and with it the corresponding
illustrations. That the greater number of the pictures were in existence before
1531 is shown by copies after them which are to be found in the Bible, bearing
the date of this year, and published by Froschover in Zurich. We have, how
ever, no doubt that the woodcuts were completed before Holbein left his
home in the autumn of 1526. This is proved with regard to the Pictures of
Death, as we shall presently see ; the striking accordance between these two
series of pictures, however, renders it probable that they were executed at
the same time.
The Basle Museum possesses a copy of the entire series of pictures on
sheets printed on one side, and this copy must have been executed at an
earlier period in Basle. The series here begins with the extremely rare sheet
of the Fall of Man, which appears, it is true, in the year 1538, in the Latin

HOLBEIN AND LYONS. 233
Bible according to the Vulgate, published by Hugo a Porta, at Lyons, which is
illustrated almost entirely with Holbein's Illustrations from the Old Testa
ment, but which is missing in all editions in which the pictures are inserted
disjointly, first in that of the brothers Trechsel, and afterwards in that of the
brothers Frellon at Lyons, in the Historiarum ueteris Instrument! icones of the
year 1538, and is replaced by the four introductory sheets to the Pictures of
Death, which are only half suitable to the subject. Two sheets, which are
missing in the Latin Bible and in the edition of 1538, are to be found among
the Basle proof impressions. One of the most unsatisfactorily executed sheets,
that of David and Uriah, appears among these proof impressions a second time
in anotherTorm — with a wall, window, and curtain in the background, while
usually the two figures are to be seen alone, with only a white surface as back
ground. This indication of the locality is, however, executed in such a rude
and inferior manner that the artist may have preferred omitting them entirely
in the publication.
The engraving of some sheets may be with certainty ascribed to Lutzel
burger ; besides him, however, far inferior powers were employed, so that side
by side with master-works in the art of wood-engraving, we find rude produc
tions such as the sheets of Joel and Zacharias, in which it is scarcely to be
ascertained whether they could have been based at all upon a Holbein drawing.
The first movements of the Reformation in Basle, as we have seen, pro
duced the pictures. Nothing else, however, but the change of opinion on the
Protestant side, which soon gained ground in Switzerland, prevented their
publication until some years later. The Reformation party had forgotten how
much art had co-operated in the religious renovation. Iconoclastic zeal was
awakened in many districts. In 1525 and 1526, plots for the destruction of
pictures were made by this party, and were only with difficulty prevented by
the town council. The feeling of the multitude, who desired to extirpate works
of art from the houses of God, was now no longer so favourable as before to
the decoration of religious writings with pictures. The publisher, Petri,
applied the title-pages which had formerly adorned Luther's translation of the
New Testament, and the Psalms, or the writings of C__colampadius, to Ptole-
mceus' " Geographia Universalis," and to Sebastian Minister's " Cosmography."
Probably, we may suppose, it may have been Adam Petri's original intention
to illustrate later editions of his Old Testament in the German language with
this series of pictures, after having in the first edition introduced a couple of
Holbein's compositions among numerous and wholly inferior pictures. But
the circumstances of the time, however, impeded this undertaking.
Productions such as these could nevertheless meet with equal under
standing and approval, beyond as weU as within their native country ; and
thus, after the course of several years, a publisher was found for them at
Lyons. Lyons stood in lively intercourse with foreign countries, especially

234 HOLBEIN AND LYONS.
with Germany and Switzerland ; from its position it was a key to the French
kingdom, and a commercial city of the first rank. Numerous German mer
chants had settled here, and carried on export and transit trade, and they had
received special privileges from the French kings.1 No merchant of the city
was held in such respect as the son-in-law of Pirkheimer, the Nuremberger
Johannes Kleberger. He was the Fugger of Lyons, known there as " le bon
Allemand;" he was the king's banker, and advanced to him large sums of
money, and was famed alike for his wealth and for his beneficence and public
spirit. But, above all, the publishers of Lyons stood in constant intercourse
with Germany, and especiaUy with Basle. Since the year 1472, printing
presses had been at work in Lyons, by the union of the rich Barthelemy Buyer
and the printer Guillaume Leroy, who had learned the trade in Germany. In
the sixteenth century, the wealth of the publishers was so great that, at the
pubhc entrance of the king, many hundreds of them, in silk attire, marched
with him under theh banner. Most of the printers were German.2
Holbein, perhaps, had even the opportunity of personally forming connec
tions in Lyons, which subsequently afforded him occasion for disposing of his
works there. We have already spoken of his journey to France mentioned by
Erasmus, and we have seen that this journey probably took him to Avignon.
In this case, Lyons lay on his way. Lyons was a place with which he sub
sequently entered into business connection, and which stood nearer Switzerland
than any other of the more important cities of France carrying on the
liveliest intercourse with the country, and thus affording the painter the great
est prospect of gain from the number of countrymen whom he found there.
Of German origin were also the publishers who issued Holbein's Old
Testament, as well as his Pictures of Death at the same time, namely, the
brothers Caspar and Melchior Trechsel, whose father, Johann Trechsel, had
been a printer in Lyons from the year 1487. But the Pictures of Death from
the year 1542, and the Old Testament from 1543, were pubhshed at the same
place by the brothers Franz and Johannes Frellon, whose business had been at
its prime since 1530, and who likewise printed "under the shield of Cologne,"
as is to be observed on the title-page of both works. Probably they had become
the proprietors in 1538, and the Trechsels had only conducted the printing at
their order, for the preface to the Pictures of the Old Testament, published in
this year, is signed 3 by one of the brothers " Franciscus Frellaus." 4
At that time Holbein was court-painter in England, and a man of renown.
And thus, a poem by the French poet Nicolaus Bourbon de Baudceuvre, who
1 1— B. Monfalcon, "Histoire de la ville de Lyon," Lyon et Paris, 1847, i. p. 536 et seq.;
also p. 607. 2 Monfalcon, ii. p. 549 et seq. 620 ; ii. 660.
3 See regarding the Trechsels and Frellons, " Breghot du Lut et Pericaud ain_, Biographie
Lyonnaise," Paris and Lyons, 1839. Pernetti, " Recherches pour servir a I'histoire de Lyon,"
Lyons, 1737, i. p. 366.
4 Sometimes spelt so, and sometimes " Frellonius," according to the Latin termination.

N. BOURBON'S VERSES. 235
knew Holbein personally in England, was added to the Pictures of the Old
Testament.1 It consists of Latin distichs, in praise of the master who is
called the highest ornament of his art, and is extolled above the greatest
painters of antiquity. In Elysium, such is the purport of the poem, Apelles
is bewailing to Parrhasius and Zeuxis, the living painter, by whom their fame
is now perfectly eclipsed : — •
" Holbius est homini nomen, qui nomina nostra
Obscura ex claris ac prope nulla facit."
Bourbon has also elsewhere done honour to our master. In the new
edition of his poems " Nugas," which appeared at this time, there appears the
foUowing epigram : —
" Videre qui vult Parrhasium cum Zeuxide,
Accersat a Britannia
Hansum Vlbium et Georgium Reperdium
Lugduno ab urbe Gallia.."
This Reperdius whom the poet somewhat rashly introduces as the worthy
rival of a Holbein, is the engraver Reverdino.2 He is said to have come
from Padua, but we know nothing of his life, and even his Christian name,
" George," is only established by these verses, as the signature to his engrav
ings merely shows the first two letters of it. Regarding his residence in
Lyons we have also no further authority ; yet this is rather confirmed by
the fact that Reverdino chiefly engraved after the Italian master Primaticcio,
who was engaged in France. That he was thus one of the first who aided in
disseminating through France the new Italian taste may have been the
reason why the poet esteemed him beyond bis due.
It is a remarkable fact that Holbein's sheets, animated as they are with
Protestant feeling, were welcome to the Cathohc party on their publication at
Lyons. The Cathohcs had learned much from Protestantism. Stricter views
were now gaining more and more ground on the Catholic side; they had begun
to oppose the secular Renaissance spirit, which had just found its centre
in the capital of the Catholic world, and they were endeavouring to bring into
iU-repute as heathenish, the adherence to the literature and art of antiquity.
A preface was added to the Holbein pictures by the publisher, exhorting
people to reject the frivolous pictures of Venus, Diana, and other goddesses,
which entangled the mind with error, and seduced from the path of right,
and to turn their attention instead to these religious pictures, which unveiled
the innermost treasures of the Holy Scriptures.3 The same thing was
1 Of this later.
* Proved by Sotzmann, " Kunstblatt," 1850, p. 153.
3 "Illud imprimis admonentes, vt reiectis Veneris et Diana., ca.terarumque dearum libidinosis
imao-inibus, qua? animum vel errore impediunt, vel turpitudine labefactant, ad has sacrosanctas
Icones qua? Hagiographorum penetralia digito commonstrant omnes tui conatus referantur."

236 GILLES CORROZET.

expressed in some pretty verses, added to the preface by the French poet,
Gilles Corrozet: — " Ces beaux portraictz seruiront d'exemplaire,
Monstrant qu'il fault au Seigneur Dieu complaire :
Exciteront de lui faire seruice,
Retireront de tout pech6 et uice :
Quand ilz seront insculpez en l'esprit,
Comme iis sont painctz, et couchez par escrit.
Donques ostez de uos maisons, et salles
Tant de tapis, et de painctures salles,
Ostez Venus, et son fils Cupido,
Ostez Heleine, et Phyllis, et Dido,
Ostes du tout fables et poesies,
Et receuez meilleures fantasies.
Mettez au lieu, et soyent nos chambres ceinctes
Des dictz sacrez, et des histoires sainctes,
Telles que sont celles que uoyez cy
En ce liuret. Et si faites ainsi,
Grandz et petis, les ieunes et les uieulz
Auront plaisir, et au cceur et au yeulx."
Many of the greatest modern artists have taken subjects from the Old
Testament for their principal works. We have only to recall to mincl
Lorenzo Ghiberti's Gates to the Baptistery at Florence, and Michael Angelo's
ceiling of the Sistine chapel, and Raphael's Loggie. A fresh advance in the
German painting of the present day also began with the fresco paintings from
the history of Joseph, which Cornelius, Overbeck, and their companions in
Rome, painted in the Bartholdi house. Holbein's pictures from the Old
Testament were no monumental creations like those mentioned, and yet, in
spite of the modest character and the small scale of their execution, they
must rank with them both in mind and imagination.
The sacred books of Judaism might be compared with Homer, as regards
their effect upon the artistic fancy. W7hat an abundance of grand and naive
poetry is here uttered in the simplest and most thrilhng language ! And all
these narratives, whether stories from domestic life or records of warlike
deeds, have such a genuinely human core, that they are ever fresh, and
awaken sympathy in every heart. The personages who appear in these
writings are thoroughly men, in their feelings, as well as in their passions,
when they act, and when they err. They give themselves up to everything
that moves them ; pain, as well as joy, speaks in them with the strongest
tones of nature. Every action is completely done, every motive is clear and
intelligible. The stories touch every healthy and simple heart at the present
day, just as they did thousands of years ago.
This genuinely human element, which pervades the books of the Old
Testament, particularly attracted Holbein. He never allows himself to be led

ARTISTIC CHARACTER. 237

by special ecclesiastical hypotheses, he never in his conceptions, approaches
those artists who play with religious fervour as a lucky hit. He does not
grasp these subjects otherwise than the profane ones which he had treated,
and he allows himself to be led by nothing but the spirit of the narrative
itself. All the personages introduced exhibit that compact figure, in which
Holbein delights, and which, indeed, in proportion to the size of the head, is
occasionally somewhat too short. These figures are a perfect contrast to the
men of the fifteenth century, with theh lean and slender figures in the
fantastic and closely-fitting attire which confines the limbs and hinders all
free movement, and with their bearing, in which artificial and acquired grace
is combined with awkward constrained actions, so that the personages, in
their appearance, are as the children of that transition epoch, incomplete, and
uncertain. Holbein's figures are modern men, complete and independent ; free,
easy, and decided in their appearance. In their walking and standing atti
tudes, in their gestures, in their behaviour to each other, one common charac
teristic pervades them all, and that is dramatic power. This Holbein possesses
to an extent beyond, perhaps, any other artist who has ever lived. He knows
what depends upon placing everything in action, — an action, the full meaning
of which is distinctly and strikingly manifest to the eye. Nevertheless,
he ever keeps within the necessary bounds, guided by his correct sense of
style. The historical representation never degenerates into the genre-picture.
And, however directly the artist draws from life, he ever keeps aloof from all
that is common. He introduces a coarse element where it is befitting, but
even in it, a simple nobleness is preserved. In the composition, everything
seems to come, as it were, of itself, and yet, the acute thought of the master,
in combining the whole, is to be perceived by any one who profoundly studies
the separate sheets. Throughout, Holbein makes use of the simplest means,
and limits himself to a moderate number of figures, none of whom, however,
are idle. He satisfies himself, also, with what is absolutely necessary, both
in scenery and detaU, in furniture and attire ; he, the son of a land whose
artists delighted in bright and glittering variety and in rich accessories, and
at the same time himself a master in the most delicate perfection of
detail. Landscapes, architectural perspectives, and the like, are given in a
masterly manner by the slightest indications, but they only attract the eye
where the matter requires it.
The picture, Abraham's Sacrifice, is very grand. The altar is piled up
with rough stones, for it is said in the Bible that Abraham built it himself.
On the top, on woods and sticks, the boy Isaac is lying, bound hands
and feet. Abraham, a true patriarchal figure, with a long beard and sinewy
arms, has already stretched forth his hand with the knife, whUe, with
the other hand, he is seizing the boy's hair. The utmost terror has over
whelmed Isaac, who, with his eyes fixed and opened mouth, is awaiting the

238

OLD TESTAMENT PICTURES.

death stroke. But the angel of the Lord approaches with the speed of
lightning, to bid him stop. The manner is not to be surpassed, in which
the preceding moment is indicated as well as the present, as Abraham raises
his knUe, and at the same time at once lets it fall again, whUe internal

emotion pervades his whole form from head to foot. Behind is the ram, caught
in the thicket by his horns, there is a flock of birds in the sky, and quite
in the distance, indicated by a few touches, and yet with the utmost distinct
ness, are Abraham's two young men waiting with the ass.

The picture, from the history of Hannah, Samuel's mother, is one of the
most beautiful. It was also just mentioned among the Bible pictures by
Carel van Mander, and was extoUed as admirable. Elkanah is sittino- in

OLD TESTAMENT PICTURES.

239

a simple apartment, by his wife Peninnah, the pair of doves on the table
before them indicating the sacrifice which they often presented in the temple,
when Peninnah blessed her husband with children. Hannah, however, his
second wife, who was not thus blessed, is standing bent clown and weeping
before them. Coldly by Peninnah, but with deep sympathy by her husband,
the inquiry is made, " Hannah, why weepest thou ? " How feeling and
touching' is the scene with all its simplicity !
We see David overcoming Goliath as a youth, and again tearing his
raiment when the crown of the deceased Saul is brought to him ; we see him
as the brave knight Uriah is receiving his fatal missive from him, and as
Nathan reproaches him with his crime. This scene, which is enacted in an

open hall, through which we see the country beyond, is conceived in a surprising-
manner. Not as we might expect, with reproachful gesture, not as Samuel
appears before Saul in Holbein's town-hall painting, does the prophet here
meet the king, but in a kneeling posture he addresses David, who stands
before him in full royal robes. Only all the more forcibly does the artist
bring before us the whole weight of the moment ; we see what it is to
unmask the mighty king, aud tell him his guilt to his face. The artist has
attained what he intended; the standing and crowned figure is yet the
humbled one. The incidents in the distance relate to the events related at
the close of the chapter. At the steps of the hall we see the messenger of
Joab arriving, and demanding assistance from David for the complete con
quest of the Ammonite capital, Rabbah ; and in the background the besieged
city is to be perceived.
Solomon appears on his throne, receiving the embassy of Hiram, king of
Tvre ; and again imploring God for Wisdom. His whole figure is conceived in

240

OLD TESTAMENT PICTURES.

the finest manner. He is kneeling before the seven-branched candlestick alone
in a beautiful temple hall, a model of noble church architecture in .the
Renaissance style.

Among the Prophetical pictures, two are especiaUy distinguishable for the
figures of the Prophets, which are pervaded with the utmost feeling, namely,
Isaiah mourning over the sinful City Jerusalem (this one unfortunately is
badly cut), and Jonah before Nineveh, who is sitting praying under a withered
tree, on a height above the splendid and pinnacled city, whose ruin he expects.
Other illustrations to the Prophets, however, exhibit the limits of Holbein's
powers of imagination. The truly fantastic element does not belong to him ;
he who was obliged to rest on Diirer in the Revelation of St. John, whenever
he had to depict what was supernaturally grand and incomprehensible, here
arrives at no grand conception of his own, when he endeavours to express
figuratively the bold visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Ezekiel's new
Temple and Daniel's four Beasts are rather cold illustrations, not executed
with half the care and spirit which appear in the illustration of the Temple
vessels in the Second Book of Moses. Even the concluding sheet, the Vision
of the Fighting Horsemen, which appears in the sky over Jerusalem on the
inarch of Antiochus to Egypt, stands scarcely much higher. Holbein, in his
realistic mode of conception, prefers to represent nothing but what is purely
human in action and feeling, though he does this in the profoundest and
noblest manner.
A kind of completion to this book is formed by an entire alphabet of
twenty-four rather large initials in metal engraving, the design of which
undoubtedly proceeds from Holbein. They begin with the fall of man, and
seem by preference to represent scenes which do not appear in the pictures we
have just discussed, such as the Expulsion from Paradise, the Sacrifice of Cain

SATIRICAL PICTURES. 241

and Abel, the Death of Abel, and Jacob's Dream. The second half is entirely
devoted to the history of Joseph, which is portrayed with the utmost detail.
The representation of Potiphar's wife using her seducing arts upon Joseph is
interesting : the bed on which she is sitting bears, certainly not without a
touch of satire, the French lilies on the curtain. Jacob's journey to Egypt
forms the close.
The connection of woocl-engraving with the Reformation presents itself to
us also from another point of view. Holbein appeared on the side of the new
religious ideas with the weapon of ridicule. In the marginal drawings to
the " Praise of Folly," we have already become acquainted with the satirical
pictures of the master, who, co-operating with the author himself, spared no
age and no class, but poured forth the most violent ridicule against the clergy,
against ecclesiastical abuses, aud the superstition of the people. A similar
chord, bold and national, is struck by Holbein in some of his woodcuts.
These sheets are extremely rare, for they were seized on all sides. Not only
did the adverse party destroy them as far as they could, but the authorities in
Basle strictly censured all religious controversies. On the 12th of December
1524, a unanimous order was issued by both councils, great and small, specially
with regard to such writers. "The publishers are neither to print themselves,
nor cause to be printed, either in Latin, Hebrew, Greek, or German, anything
that has not before been inspected and allowed by the magistrates who have been
appointed for this purpose by an honourable council. Whatever has received
permission from these magistrates to be published is to bear their names.
— Whoever disregards this, will, according to his deserts, be severely
, punished according to the verdict of the council."1 This edict also affected
these pictures, the whole character of which shows that they scarcely appeared
alone, but as loose sheets with text.
The two compositions, copies of which we have inserted, are in form and
breadth exactly fitted to have formed the top of a folio sheet with text. The
delicacy and masterly power of the engraving, so entirely different from the
coarse execution of the loose sheets both before and afterwards, shows that
Hans Lutzelburger was the stamp-cutter, and they perfectly accord with his
authentic works. We know of three copies of the flrst sheet : one in the
Museum at Basle, another in the cabinet of engravings of Queen Marie at
Dresden, and a third in the Bodleian Library at Oxford ; and there are three
copies of the other sheet, one in the Berlin Museum, one in the British Museum,
and one in the coUection of Herr Culemann in Hanover.
The first sheet is directed against those abuses which called forth Luther's
. appearance, — namely, the sale of indulgences. At the end of a church nave,
which throughout, on the choir-stalls and the tapestry, exhibits the Medicean
1 Ochs, v. p. 467.

242 THE SALE OF INDULGENCES.
arms, Pope Leo X. is enthroned,1 surrounded by cardinals and bishops, and
placing a letter of indulgence in the hand of a kneeling Dominican. In the choir-
stalls in the foreground, different ecclesiastics are sitting, delightful priestly
countenances, such as Holbein is incomparable in depicting. The fat canon
to the right is laying his hand on the head of the kneeling youth, whose
confession he is hearing, and is emphatically pointing to the chest of offerings.
A citizen's wife — in the respectable attire such as we see in Diirer's sketch in
the Albertina, with the motto " Also gett man zw Normerk In die Kirchn," is
also putting in her mite. In the centre, however, stands a table, at which
three Dominicans are engaged in preparing and seUing indulgences. One of
them is looking with a somewhat too satisfied manner at a woman to whom
he has given a document ; the second is stiU holding back the letter and is
greedUy reckoning up the money which the simple purchaser is counting out
on the table; and the third on the point of writing, is coldly and rudely
repelhng the beggar who has slipped in on his crutch, and who, though he has
no money to pay, begs for remission of his sins. On the left, however, in the
open air, as though they had quitted the church in which traffic was thus
carried on with the Divine grace, true penitents are bowing before God.
Overwhelmed by a feeling of repentance, David has thrown himself on the
ground, with folded arms and looking up in fervent prayer ; the idolatrous king
Manasseh is standing behind him, of whom it is said in the Bible : " And when
he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself
greatly before the God of his fathers " (2 Chron. xxxiii. 12). Their example
is foUowed by the " offen Synder," who, with bowed head, contrite, and with
tattered garments, is depicted like the prodigal son in the parable, imploring
forgiveness with all his might. The Almighty Father is extending his arms
lovingly towards them out of the clouds.
The whole scene is fuU of the spirit which filled Luther's first appearance
against the sale of indulgences — namely, that " the repentance which Christ
teaches is not such as the most arrogant hypocrite can outwardly exhibit, but
it is to be done in spirit and in truth. This repentance is open to aU, to the
king in his purple robes, to the ecclesiastic in his vestments, as well as to
the beggar in his poverty, and no priest's mediation is necessary, but faith
alone." 2 With this tone of feeling art now harmonized, as did also the national
pamphlet-literature of the day, or, as Hutten says in his " Clag undv ermanung
¦gegen dem gewalt des bapsts :"—
" Gott hats gegeben alls vmbsunst
Vnd mag nit sein der gottlich gunst

1 Possibly Clement VII., if we assume that this picture did not exist till after 1523.
3 Sermon on the Sacrament of Penance, 1518. Cf. C. Hngen, ii. p. 18 et seq.

s >.

CHRIST THE TRUE LIGHT,
(Woodcut.)

CHRIST THE TRUE LIGHT. 243

Wo man die Sakrament verkaufft.
Kein hat gott nye vmbs gelt getaufft.
*****
Denn wo man solichs koufen mbcht,
Das reychtumb mer dann armut docht,
So wer nit war das gott hatt gseyt,
Den aren sey sein rmeych bereit.
Wo bleibt nun Bapstlich hinderlist,
Durch den man iiberschwetzet ist
Zu Kauffen ablas vnd genad,
Vff das man vns des gelts entlad." ]
(God has given to all men his free grace, and the divine favour cannot be
bought and sold. God has baptized none for the sake of money ; for if this
were to be bought gratis, and if riches were higher esteemed than poverty,
God's word would be no longer true that his kingdom is open to the poor.
What, then, avails the Papal cunning, by which men are persuaded to pur
chase remission and grace, in order to rob us of money ?)
Equally true and distinct as Hutten's words is Holbein's figurative repre
sentation, Equally severely, boldly, and plainly does he go to the bottom of
the evil, and with equal certainty does he pass from the biting satire to the
serious language of conviction. Both appear boldly and' simply side by side
in the Indulgence sheet, but combined with such noble feeling that the
spectator is aware of no cleft between them.
The second sheet, " Christus vera lux," according to the Amerbach Cata
logue, exhibits in the centre a splendid candlestick, adorned with portraits of
the apostles and evangehcal symbols, and in which a lighted taper is placed.
On the left hand stands Christ, pointing to it with a grand gesture, as though
He would say, "I am the true light." Full of devotion, and ready to follow
Him, a group of various persons listen to His words ; men and women, simple
citizens, even the barefooted beggar and the honest peasant with flail and ragged
hose, under which the knee is visible, just such as one might imagine the
peasants, Heini Filzhut and Rufli Pflegel, in Manuel's Carnival plays ; lastly,
a peasant woman, who concludes the train. On the other side, however, the
assembled clergy are turning their back on the light and on the Saviour — the
pope, the bishop, the canons, and the monks of every kind and attire, with
closed eyes, so that no one sees where he is going — each only holding to the one
before him, they pass away, with Plato and Aristotle in advance of them all,
characterized as heathens by their Turkish costume. The first has already
fallen into the abyss, and the second is on the point of following him.
We here find evidences of the altered state of feeUng which was gradually
gaining ground among the Reformation party. Aristotle was regarded, indeed,
as the light of the scholastics ; when, however, he and Plato are in this way
1 Ulrich von Hutten's writings, edited by BocMng, iii. p. 486 et seq.
K 2

244 CHRIST AND THE POPE.
represented as leaders on the path to the abyss, it is an evidence of that
division which was now taking place between the former allies, the Reformers
and the humanists, and of that contempt for classical study which increased
more and more among the theologians of the new doctrines, which was shared
even by Luther, and which prepared deep sorrow for men such as Erasmus,
and indeed even Melanchthon. Indeed, among the clergy there even appears
a form whose similarity with Erasmus has been perceived by many persons.
The artist therefore seems, in spite of personal relations, to have directed his
satire even against this great scholar, who now, indeed, stood in hostUity to
the Reformation. Holbein's woodcut was an expression of the popular
element which, with national onesidedness, resisted classic literature as some
thing foreign, which was now becoming more and more radical, and trans
gressed all moderation in animosity against the clergy.1 In the picture we
see also the peasant playing his part ; the time was not far distant when he
appears entirely otherwise, and wields the sword instead of the threshing-flail.
Among these woodcuts we may number a drawing, in the coUection at
Erlangen, of about the same breadth as these, but not so high ; it represents
the Pope surrounded by armed men, borne on a litter, and followed by a
splendid procession. On the other side Christ is approaching, humbly riding
on an ass, and accompanied by the apostles. On the Pope's Utter stands the
date 1524. To the same year belongs the fir. t edition of a carnival play of a
similar purport by Nicolaus Manuel, who first suggested this kind of represen
tation. This play was acted at Berne in the year 1522, and consists of a
dialogue between the two peasants, Rude Fogelnest and Cleywe Pflug, who are
watching the approach of the processions of the Pope and of Christ, and in
popular and rude verses are expressing their opinion on them.1 We shall
meet with similar religious satires during Holbein's English period. The same
key is also struck by the painter in many parts of his principal work, "The
Pictures of Death."
1 See Hagen, iii. p. 13, et seq.
2 Griineisen, N. Manuel, p. 393. The author cannot, however, let this notice pass without
a word. The harmony between picture and poem demands renewed examination, whether
perhaps the sheet does not belong to Manuel himself. The author saw the drawing many
years ago, when he was not sufficiently acquainted with N. Manuel, and was, moreover, not
sufficiently advanced in his Holbein studies to be answerable for his criticism at that tune in
all cases.

CHAPTER XIV.
Pictures of Death and Dances of Death.— Sandrart's report of Holbein's Pictures of Death,
and of Rubens' opinion of them. — The antique and mediaeval conception of death. — The
ascetic conception of the Middle Ages increased by the circumstances of the time. —
Pictures in churches of the transitoriness of life. — " The three dead and the three
living," both in poetry and painting. — Triumph of Death at Pisa and at Clusone. — Death
as a demon snatching away aud casting down men. — Ironical conceptions find a place by
the side of simple and serious ideas. — Dying represented by games and festivity. — The
Dance of Death. — The originally milder element which here prevailed, supplanted after
wards by one of irony. — The Dance of Death originally in the Drama. — Various monu
ments of the two Dances of Death at Basle. — The freer form given to such subjects by
the arts of Painting and Sculpture. — Various pictures of Death by Diirer, Manuel,
Bugkmair, and others. — The comic element in pictures of Death. — Humour and satire. —
Death as an equaliser. — Satire in pohtical and ecclesiastical matters. — The Dance of
Death at Berne — Manuel and Holbein.
Although Joachim von Sandrart has not been able to furnish us with many
accurate records respecting Holbein, yet at the close of his short biography of
the painter he introduces a pretty notice, which is intended to prove how
highly he was esteemed by the artists of the seventeenth century, both in the
North and in Italy. In the year 1627, when Sandrart was studying with
Honthorst at Utrecht, the great Peter Paul Rubens came on a visit there, and
Honthorst and his pupils accompanied him to Rotterdam. As they went in
the vessel, they "speculated upon the sketches of the Dance of Death in
Holbein's little book." It is a picture which the imagination would gladly
follow — these three men in the slowly gliding vessel occupied with the httle
book, and among them the prince of painters, famous throughout Europe, who
is explaining to the others the advantages of these compositions. " Rubens,"
says Sandrart, " praised this Dance of Death very highly, and advised him as
a youth to pay attention to the book, for that he himself had copied the
drawings in his youth. And after this Rubens held a beautiful and laudatory
discourse almost the whole way upon Holbein, Diirer, and other old German
painters." Holbein's Dance of Death — or, as we more justly call it, adhering to its
original title, his Pictures of Death — may be considered as his principal work
as far as regards artistic imagination. Nothing else secured him such reputa
tion and spread his name so widely. Even in times in which artistic views

246 HOLBEIN'S PICTURES OF DEATH.
differed widely from his own these works were not forgotten, and in his own
time this work was spread over aU the lands of western Europe. In this series
of smaU woodcuts, Holbein has given to a subject which for centuries in these
lands had occupied the imagination of the entire people, the most beautiful
and definitive form.1 " Pallida mors _equo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas,
Regumque turres . . ."
These words of Horace were inscribed by Francis Douce as a motto to his
Enghsh work upon the Dance of Death. Yet the Roman poet's conception of
Death has nothing in common with the representations which the Middle
Ages produced. When he thinks of pale Death, who approaches the cottage
of the poor as well as the castle of kings, Horace is reminding his friend to
wreathe his brow and to enjoy life aU the more fully. To the Greeks and
Romans, Death is the mild genius who does not himself rob them of life, but
who comes as a messenger to announce its end. The fareweU scene is the
favourite representation introduced on tombstones. The departing one extends
his hand for the last time to his family, sadly yet calmly ; he is not snatched
from them, he turns and goes. A ruder tone, indeed, marks a custom of the
old Egyptians, of which Herodotus speaks, and which, according to Petronius'
description of the banquet of Trimalchio, also prevailed in the time of the
Roman emperors, namely, the exhibition of a picture of Death at festive enter
tainments. But to this also was added a reminder, not dissimilar from that
of Horace : " When thou seest this, drink and rejoice ; for one day thou wilt
die, and be as he." 2 How little the Christian mind can understand such an

1 Literature . Jakob Grimm, " Deutsche Mythologie," Gdttingen, 1835 (and 1844), chap.
xxii. Tod ; Gabriel Peignot, " Recherches historiques et litt-iaires sur les Danses des Morts
et sui- l'Origine des Cartes a jouer," Dijon et Paris, 1826 ; Francis Douce, " The Dance of
Death," London, 1833 ; 0. Griineisen, "Beitrage zur Geschichte und Beurtheilung der Todten
tanze;" "Kunstblatt," 1830, Nos. 22 to 26 ; Naumann, " Der Tod in alien seinen Beziehungen,"
Dresden, 1844 ; G. H. Langlois, " Essai historique, philosophique et pittoresque sui' les Danses
des Morts," 2 vols. Rouen, 1851 ; W. Wackernagel, " Der Todtentanz," in Haupt's "Zeitsehrift
fiir deutsches Alterthum," vol. ix., Leipzig, 1853 (of essential importance); H. E. Massmann,
" Literatur der Todtentanze," Leipzig, 1810 ; Ibid., "Die Baseler Todtentanze," Stuttgart and
Leipzig, 1847, with Atlas ; Jubinal, "Danse des Morts de la Chaise-Dieu," Paris, 1841 ; W.
Liibke, " Der Todtentanz in der Marienkirche zu Berlin," 1861 ; J. G. Hilscher, " Der
Dresdener Todtentanz," 1705 ; Fiorillo, " Geschichte der zeichnenden Kiinste in Deutsch
land," &c. iv. p. 117 ; Jul. Lessing, " De Mortis apud Veteres Figura," Bonn, 1866.
2 Herodotus, ii. 78. 'Ev 8. tt/o-i avvova-irjo-i, ro'un evBaiiioa-i aireav, ineav airo 8elwvov
yevavTai, nepicpepei avr)p vexpbv ev tropa £v\ivov irewoirffievov, fiefiifj.rjfj.evov es ra pakurTa. koi
ypacpfj Kal epyco' p.iya8os otrov re itavrrf irrfxvaiov, rj b'mrjxw- beuuivs de eKaa-Tco rav ovinroTeav,
X.yei" " 'Es- tovtov opiav, pive re Kai rep-ireV etreai yap a7ro8avcov towvtos."
Petronius, 34 : " Potantibus ergo et accuratissimas nobis lsetitias mirantibus, larvam argen-.
team attulit servus sic aptatam, ut articuli ejus vertebr_eque laxatee in omnem partem verte-

REPRESENTATION OF DEATH 247
idea is shown by the remarks on the Egyptian custom, which we find in a
book, belonging not indeed to the Middle Ages but to- the sixteenth century,
namely, Sebastian Munster 's "Cosmography." The matter is here entirely
reversed. " Ir brauch ist gewesen," it says-, " wan sie zu sammen seind
kommen in ein wirtschafft das einer hat getragen auff einem stecken ein
geschmeltzt todten bild, eins oder zweier elenbogen lang, vnd sprach zu den
disch genossen ; Sehen zu, also wie diser miissend jr werden nach eiiwerem
todt, darumb trincken vnd freiiweneuch nit zu vii." (Their custom when
they met together in a hostelry was for one to carry round on a pole an
image of death, one or two elbows long, and to say to his fellow-companions,
" See ! like this must ye become after your death ; therefore drink, and rejoice
not too much.")
According to the Christian notion, it is- not the earthly life in which the
destiny of man is fulfilled. From a world of preparation amd trial, the eye of
the Christian is directed to a higher world, where he receives recompense for
his earthly conduct. Such a religious- view would, we should have thought,
have afforded aU the more decided reason for representing departure frdm this
earthly existence under a consolatory aspect. And yet it was reserved for a
painter of our own day to be the first to design a series of pictures of this
purport for the adornment of a cemetery. Cornelius designed the pictures for
the Berlin Camposanto, which, beginning with the works of Christ and his
Apostles upon earth, represent the Saviour's victory over Death, and the pro
phecies of the latter days — compositions, the pervading idea of which lies in
the words of the Apostle, " Death, where is thy sting ? Grave, where is thy
victory . " The Middle Ages emphasized exclusively the other side of the
expectation of a life to come. This idea is, indeed, the hope of the poor and
the comfort of the sufferer, but the life to come offers not merely blessedness-
and heavenly joys, for all are awaiting a strict judgment which separates the
chosen from the rejected, and commits to everlasting destruction those who-
have died in their sins. This idea contains, indeed, a serious warning of
death, of whose approach no man can know, and for whom it behoves to be
ever prepared.
In the mediaeval narratives, Gesta Romanorum,1 the king inquires of a
phuosopher, " What is man ? " The latter replies, " Man is a slave of Death, a
visitor on the earth, a passing traveller. He is a slave of Death, for he cannot
escape the hand of Death ; all his labours end in it, and from it he receives
rentur. Hanc quum super mensam semel iterumque abjicisset, et catenatio mobilis aliquot,
figuras exprimeret, Trimalchio adjecit :
" Heu, heu nos miseros quam toties homuncio nil est!.
Sic erimus cuncti postquam nos auferet Orcus.
Ergo vivamus, dum licet esset bene."
1 Chapter xxxvi.

248 REPRESENTATION OF DEATH.
reward or punishment, according as he deserves. Man is a visitor on the
earth, for as he comes, so he goes, and is as soon forgotten. He is a passing
wanderer, for whether he sleeps or wakes, whether he eats or drinks, or what
ever he does, he is ever passing onwards to death." In a book written in the
fifteenth century, in a conversation between Death and a widower who is caUing
him to account,1 the passage occurs : " As soon as man is born, so soon has he
received the pledge that he must die." Ay}
This employment of the imagination upon the subject of death assumed
another form after the fourteenth century. The misery and unhappiness,
which at this period more than at any other visited the nations of the West,
increased more and more the ascetic views of this subject. The great aims
and ideas of mediaeval Ufe had passed away, and the ideas of a new period
were now fast beginning to form themselves, though they made their way
only with difficulty and by degrees, and still met with vigorous resistance
from the old influence, decayed and ruined though it might be. The old
powers, the papacy, the imperial dignity and chivalry, had declined, but the
powers- which were to furnish new bases for pohtical relations were not yet
developed and established. Licentiousness prevailed in all lands, immoderate
festivity, and boundless excesses of sensuality gained more and more the upper
hand. No fixed regulation of the State was able to check the domination of
rude violence, depredation, and immorality. Upon this life of self-wUl and
self-indulgence, of riot and revelry, the terrors of death burst aU the more
fearfully. That they were exhibited at that time in a more terrible form than
scarcely ever before, we have already clearly seen. In addition to the
constant wars, the acts of violence, and the shedding of blood, which prevaUed
among men, we find the most various alarms in nature. Famine and deso
lating pestilences, and in the middle of the fourteenth century the Black
Death, made their fearful and triumphant progress through Europe. To escape
the dread and the thought of this misery, men gave themselves up on the one
side all the more passionately to the intoxication of the senses, but on the other
they believed themselves struck by the vengeance of God, and sought for
safety in contrition and repentance, which often led them into the most
repulsive forms of ecstasy. But the most forcible sermons exhorting to
repentance, those sermons which spoke to the people in the most intelligible
form, were the figurative representations which proclaimed the transitoriness
of all earthly things, and the Almighty power of Death.
This theme was handled in the most various ways. In many places, a
canvas stretched on a frame was suspended from a rope in the churches, con
taining on one side a beautiful youth and a maiden, looking at themselves in
a mirror, and on the other the picture of Death with scythe or shovel, and his

1

Bamberg bei Pfister, about 1460. Passavant, " Peintre Graveur," i. p. 58. "Die Klagen
gegen den Tod : " a typographic work, and not a xylographic work, as Passavant states.

REPRESENTATION OF DEATH. 249
body entwined with worms and snakes. Every breath of wind turned the
picture round, and thus the rapid change from life to death was exhibited.1
A panel picture, of a similar lcind, executed in the year 1383, existed at
Minden, with the words "vanitas vanitatum,'' as weU as German verses inscribed
over the pictures. There is also a beautiful group in wood, executed at the
close of the fifteenth century in the Ambraser Gallery at Vienna, which is in
accordance with these representations.2 Thus, also, the poets of the thirteenth
century depict the world as a woman, beautiful before, but behind half corrupt
and eaten with worms,3 and in the same form we see it also represented in a
statue in St. Sebald's church at Nuremberg.
Similar in spirit is the poem, likewise belonging to the thirteenth century,
of the three dead and the three living (les dis des trois mors et trois vifz).
First three dead persons appear to a hermit, and then he sees three living
persons coming, on horseback, in splendid attire (sur trois cheuaux trois biaux
hommes vis). Horror seizes the latter, when they see the terrible spectres in
the way, calling to them, " What you are, that were we ; what we are, that
will you be." The pious brother, however, comes, and makes the text of
his exhortation, to think on the transitoriness of all earthly things. This
subject became the possession of art. It was applied to monumental paint
ings, an early example of which is to be found in the church at Badenweiler,4
and it was represented in woodcuts.
This idea appears also in Italian pictures. The famous wall-painting of
the Camposanto at Pisa, " The Triumph of Death,5 " executed in the second
half of the fourteenth century, shows to the left a stately hunting train
passing through a defile, with three princes on horseback at its head. Sud
denly the animals start, and the riders are seized with terror, for three half-
decayed and crowned corpses are lying in open coffins before them ; but from
the height where he dwells in quiet peace with his companions, an old hermit
descends and addresses his solemn words to the mighty of this world. But to
the «rand mind of the Tuscan artist, this representation of the transitoriness
of Ufe, and the fear of death, was not sufficient. The second half of the
picture, separated from the first half by steep rocky mountains, contains
another and greater expression of the same idea. On a turfy seat, under orange
1 Hilscher, p. II.
2 Three naked figures, a youth, a maiden, and a horrible old woman, in a case made to
turn round, so that one is seen after the other in succession. Cf. Schnaase, " Mittheilungen der
K. K. Central Commission," 1862, p. 241 et seq. W. Liibke, " Geschichte der Plastik," p. 581.
3 J. Grimm, "Deutsche Mythologie," 1835, p. 494.
« Discovered by W. Liibke. Cf. his paper in the Supplement to the '' Allgemeine Zeitung"
in the autumn of 1866. Other works of the kind are described by Langlois, ii. 185 to 190.
6 Formerly supposed to be by Orcagna, but ascribed to Pietro Lorenzetti by Crowe and
Cavalcaselle, '" History of Painting in Italy." Cf. the description in Schnaase, " Geschichte
der bildenden Kiinste," vii. p. 433 et seq.

250 TRIUMPH OF DEATH.

trees, a richly-dressed company of noblemen and ladies are lingering and
talking, stroking the hunting falcons on their wrists and the dogs on theh lap,
and listening to the sound of the violin and lute. They have no foreboding of
the fearful destiny approaching them with lightning speed. Flying through
the air, we see Death (la morte) in the form of a powerful woman with bats'
wings and waving hair, brandishing the scythe with both hands. Already
kings, princes, popes, bishops, and noble ladies have faUen beneath her, and
angels and devils are contending for their souls ; but the goddess of Death hears
not the beggars and cripples who are imploring her for release from their
misery; she only presses onwards unceasingly towards her aim, that she
may break in again in the midst of joy and hfe, when she is least expected.
A Triumph of Death, rushing over all the living in his path and mowing
them down, was also written by Petrarca — an idea chosen likewise by German
art, in the sixteenth century, as a subject for representation; for instance,
in a work by George Pencz, who foUowed out the poet's design. A similar
conception of Death, who appears as a mighty demon or a victorious ruler, is
common in Italian representations. There is a grand fresco-painting on this
subject, executed in the beginning of the fifteenth century, which adorns the
outer waU of the Chiesa de' Disciplini at Clusone, in the district of Bergamo,1
On the socle a dance of Death is introduced, such as we shaU presently
become acquainted with in the north, and the principal picture above accords
with the story of the three dead and the three living. On the left, the paint
ing is terminated by three noble youths in hunting attire. The arrow of Death
has just pierced the heart of the first, and the two others are quickly, yet in
vain, turning their horses round. But the three skeletons themselves occupy
a far more mighty position. They are standing upon a sarcophagus, fiUed
with noble corpses ; the central one is adorned with a crown and a royal
mantle ; the two others with a bow and a harquebus are aiming on both sides.
Below them are kneeling ecclesiastics and laymen, the Pope and the princes of
the Church, kings, counts, and doges ; they are offering theh crowns and then
gold to the fearful demon, but in vain ; already many of their number have
faUen to the ground as corpses, and on the scroUs held by the middle skeleton
stands the verse : — " Grange la morte piena de gualeza
Sole ue uoglio e non uostra richeza.
Digna mi son de portar corona
E che signoresi ogni persona."
(Death comes to all with equalising hand :
I wish yourselves, and not your riches grand.
Worthy I am to show a crowned brow
When every mortal to my power must bow.)
1 "Trionfo e Danza della Morte. . . ..A Cluzone, &c.con Osser v azioni storiche ed artistiche
di Giuseppe Vallardi," Milano, 1859 (with lithograph of the picture by Terzaghi).

TRIUMPH OF DEATH. 251
With similar power Death often appears in many works of northern art, as
in the before-mentioned complaint of the widower who is robbed of his wife
by Death, and who calls the latter to account, until Christ at length decides
the dispute between them both. Here the mortal accosts Death with respect
as "Lord," while Death speaks familiarly to him, and mentions himself as
"we," in the plural of majesty. In accordance with this, in the woodcuts of
the book, Death is represented as sitting on his throne, attired in a robe of
purple and a crown, with an axe and shovel in his hand. Among these
pictures, the scene appears, as in Clusone, of the Pope and Emperor offering
their crowns, and the rich man his purse, to purchase freedom from Death.
Another woodcut in the book exhibits Death as a mower, under whose scythe
old and young, men and women, are faUing ; and as an archer on horseback who
with- drawn bow is pursuing some horsemen. Thus Geiler von Kaisersberg
compares him in his sermons "De Arbore Humana;" 1 with " a peasant bearing
a scythe on his shoulder, an axe in his girdle, a bow in his hand, and a quiver
full of arrows at his side." He hews the old down with the axe ; the young,
who flee from him, and think themselves far from him, he shoots with his
arrows ; and lastly, with the scythe he mows down the green grass and the
blooming roses of the little children. Thus he is seen not merely in the
woodcuts of this book ; but all three distinctions appear combined in the
concluding picture of Nicolaus Manuel's Dance of Death, to which we shaU
presently allude. Before the preacher in the pulpit, who, with the Death's
head in his hand, is speaking of the vanity of earthly things, we see the
hearers of every age and sex faUing, as the arrows strike them on their
forehead. Death, with his quiver and murderous bow, comes to them ; he is
raising his scythe for the gleaning, and other men are faUing from a tree to
which the axe has been laid. In a work published at Paris in the year 1527,2
there is a woodcut of Death with an hour-glass, scythe and crown, riding on a
black horse over the fallen bodies of men. At the side of the fearful sovereign,
above whom a black raven is flying, two other skeletons are doing their
dreadful work as mowers. Quite a different spirit is exhibited in a woodcut
from the " Schatzbehalter," probably after a drawing by Wohlgemut, and
depicting Christ wrestling with Death. This is one of the rare instances in
which these pictures of Death express an idea of comfort and reconcihation.
But in this simply serious and grand style, Death was only exceptionally
depicted in the north. In the pictures before described, a touch of irony
lay concealed ; in those which immediately followed, it was openly exhibited.
This irony is to be seen in the choice of images, under which poetry, painting,
and sculpture depicted Death. Thus, for instance, it was often represented as a
1 German, Strasburg, 1521.
2 " Heures a luisage de Paris," published by Simon du Bois for Geofroy Tori of Bruges.
Fac-simile of the woodcut in Dibdin's " Decamerone," i. p. 98.

252 DEATH AS A CHESS-PLAYER.
defeat at a game of chess. The most beautiful specimen of this is to be seen
in an engraving by the master B. R. with the sign of the anchor, in the latter
part of- the fifteenth century.1 A king is sitting at his chess-board surrounded
by his court and by his nobles temporal and spiritual. His adversary is Death,
who has just made a fatal move : the countenance of the lring expresses his
vexation, and behind the table stands an angel of God holding the hour-glass
in his hand. In the cloister of Strasburg Cathedral, there was formerly
a picture which represented Death at the chess-board, and opposite to him
the representatives of all classes : Death, however, was saying :
" Alles, das do lebt, gross und klein,
Das muss mir werden gemein ;
Bohst, kiinig und cardinal,
Bischoff, -herzog all zu mal
Graven, ritter und frauen,
Burger, knaben und junkfrauen.
Ich sag iich uss friem won,
Keinen ich des spieles erlon.
Bewarent iich, junk und alt :
Uwer jar sind uss gezalt.
Lenger will ichs nit gestatten
Zu tod will ich iich matten."2
(All that liveth, great and small,
Must to me as subject fall :
Pope, and cardinal, and king,
Bishop, duke, and everything.
Boys, and maids, and city squires,
Earls, and dames, and knightly sires.
I tell you all the very same,
None of you can win the game.
Heed ye then, both young and old,
For your years are nearly told.
Short the respite to you fated,
Death decrees you all check-mated.)
Still more cutting is the irony, when bloody fights are conceived by the poets
as banquets, and every fatal wound as a draught poured out.3 " I am pre
paring a grand feast," are the words put into the lips of Black Death by
Hermann Lingg, a poet of our own day. The idea is completely in the spirit
of that time. Thus, in northern art, the image of a great festival, with music
and dancing, was the favourite representation of death. It was opened by
the half-decayed figures at a charnel-house, beating drums and sounding
trumpets for the dance. Then come the dancers, pair by pair, ecclesiastics
1 Pass. ii. p. 277, No. 11, in which, however, the authorship of the sheet is disputed
groundlessfy in our opinion.
2 Edel, "Die Neue Kirche in Strasburg." Cf. Wackernagel, in "Haupts Zeitsehrift,"
ix. p. 308. s Wackernagel, p. 309.

THE DANCE OF DEATH 253

and laymen, men and women, old men and children, the noblest, from the
pope and emperor, down to the lowest.
The meagre fellow with the grinning skull, who is joined with each — for
the most part he is no real skeleton — does not here appear as the personifica
tion of Death, as a demon or god, but on the contrary — after the fashion of the
old representation of the three dead and the three living — it is not " Death "
himself, but deceased mortals who call away the living. It is really " a dance
of the dead," and not " a dance of death." In the French " Danse Macabre,"
"lemort" is coupled with the male persons, and "la morte" with the female:—
" Da regt sich ein Grab nach dem anderen dann,
Sie kommen hervor, ein Weib da, ein Mann" . . .
(One grave is in motion after another,
They come forth, here a woman, there a man),
just as it says in Goethe's ballad; for in the picture the sex is for the most
part recognizable, the women generally are seized by a figure of Death, with a
bosom eaten by worms, and with long hair fluttering from the skull. The
appalling companion joins each as his equal, and the dead ape the living in
dress and gesture, as the beasts in the fable do the men.1 This idea, though
rarely adhered to with much consistency, is to be seen even in Holbein.
These representations thus became more and more a mixture of coarse
and cutting sarcasm and of genuine popular humour, trifling with the
serious and even with the fearful. This, however, was not the case at first, for
the idea was in its origin of a milder character, compared with that of Death
with his scythe and bow assailing and cutting down mortals. The deceased do
not appear as a destroying power, but as messengers of death; musicians, espe
cially, were wont formerly to be messengers, and thus the idea readily arose that
they should play before the living, and thus allure them to the dance. This
milder character belonged to the Dance of Death in its early form, as it was
depicted in poetry and the drama. It was not until these gave place to its repre
sentation in painting that the humorous element gained greater scope. There
lies a touch of the burlesque even in the figure of the meagre form of Death.
The Dance of Death, in French " Danse Macabre," 2 was originaUy a drama
acted by living persons, and belonging to those dramatic pageants and repre
sentations which were favoured by the clergy in the Middle Ages, and were
even instituted by them.3 The drama, in its original form, was not to be
1 J. Grimm.
2 The etymology of the word Macabre cannot here be discussed. We must satisfy our
selves with referring to Wackernagel's opinion (p. 314), that the Latin expression " Machaba.-
orum chorea " is sufficient to exclude all other derivations. Probably the representation first
took place on the feast of the seven Maccaba_an brothers.
3 Wackernagel, p. 315, et seq. Douce, pp. 14 — 16. Langlois, i. pp. 116 — 163. Principal
evidences : Carpenter's Suppl. to the Glossarium of Ducange, under " Machab-eonun Chorea.''

254 THE DANCE OF DEATH.
separated from the dance, and these dances of the dead were dramas of the
simplest kind, consisting of a dialogue between Death and those whom he was
carrying away. Even in the fourteenth century a performance of this kind
was usual in France and Germany, from whence it passed to England and
Spain. Soon, the passing drama was made a permanent one by the help
of the art of painting. In the places in which these dramas were wont to be
performed, they were perpetuated by painting, and occasionaUy by sculpture.
Under the couples depicted, verses of the drama were written as a text. On
the waUs of the cemeteries, in the interior of churches and chapels, in the
cloisters of convents, even in the court-yards of castles,1 or on tapestries for
the decoration of choirs, these representations were introduced. They are
especially frequent in Dominican convents.2 This order, which exercised the
office of preaching, may have specially favoured the dramatic as weU as the
figurative representations of the subject, in order to secure to their teaching a
stronger impression upon the multitude. The lost Dance of the Dead formerly
in the Kliugenthal Monastery in Little Basle, probably belonged to the
beginning of the fourteenth century, while the better known painting in the
monastery of the Dominicans in Great Basle was executed in the middle of
the fourteenth century. A famous picture of this kind, but which seems not
to have lasted long, existed in the monastery des Innocents, in Paris. In the
year 1824, the pictures in the former Dominican church at Strasburg,3 and in
1860 those in the porch of the Marienkirche at Berlin,4 were discovered under
the whitewash, and are recognized as monuments of the end and the middle of
the fifteenth century. In England, the Dance of the Dead on the north side of
St. Paul's Cathedral was especially famous ; it was painted in the time of
Henry VI., and was destroyed under the rule of the Protector Somerset.
Among older works still in existence we may particularly mention, as
belonging to Germany, the Lubeck Dance of the Dead, often indeed retouched,
which was executed in the year 1643 ; and in France, the wall-painting in
the abbey church de la Chaise Dieu, in Auvergne,5 which was produced at
about the same period.
The poem of the Dance of the Dead was preserved in manuscript ; on the
invention of book-printing it was multiplied typographically, and was fur
nished with woodcuts. Thus it appeared in High German, Low German,
French, English, and Latin. In the principal matter, the text was ever the
same, and began in the original form with the prologue of the preacher, or
of the acteur, in German with the verse, " 0 diser werlde weysheit kint," &c,
and in French, " 0 creature raysonnable, Qui desires vie eternelle," &c. The
i Blois, Dresden. 2 Cf. Douce, p. 36, after Urtistii Epitome Hist. Bas.
3 F. W. Edel, "Die Neue Kirche in Strasburg," 1825, 8vo. 4 Edited by Liibke.
6 Edited by Jubinal, Paris, 1841. Wackernagel supposes an earlier date for this as well
as for the Lubeck Dance of Death, pp. 317, 321.

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 255
text, at first, was always the principal thing, and the pictures were only a
supplement and iUustration : " Todtentanz mit Figuren," " Dance of Death with
Figures," was the original title. Hence the pictures were subject to more
change than the words. But these also were affected by the alteration of
dialect and language. The poem, and with it the illustration, became
gradually enlarged,- and the dance went further and further beyond the
original number of twenty-four couples.
With the change in the age, even in the fifteenth century, the whole matter
changed. The pictures occupied the first place, and the verses assumed only
the position of a supplement and of an explanatory writing. This change
was especially possible in Germany, for there is here, at this time, no longer
• auy trace to be found of the representation of the drama of the Dance of the
Dead, of which we have records in France until the year 1423.1
The arts of painting and sculpture, on the point of new and grand develop
ment, heedless of all literary basis, grasped the subject throughout in a spirit
of their own. The second Basle Dance of Death, that of the Dominican
Monastery, evidences this, and it affords great interest if we compare it with the
earlier Basle Dance of Death, which adorned the convent of Klingenthal,
founded in 1274, by Walter von Klingen, and standing on the opposite banks
of the Rhine. This is said to have borne the date 1312, 2 and it exhibits still
the style of conception belonging to early Gothic art, in the soft and partly
bashful movements, and in the naive freshness of feeling. The Dance of the
Dead in the Dominican Monastery, on the other hand, is a work of the
fifteenth century, belonging, indeed, as its artistic execution would lead us to
suppose, to tbe end of it, for the oft-repeated tradition that it owed its origin
to the plague which was raging in 1439, during the CouncU of Basle, is
to be traced to no certain information. Probably the Klingenthal picture was
originally the famous one. The Dominicans, who exercised spiritual super
vision over the nuns in Klingenthal; must have found that such a representa
tion would have done better service to their own monastery, where it
could be more accessible than in the secluded convent, and could be daily
seen by all. They ordered, therefore, a transfer of the Klingenthal painting,
that is, they gave not merely a representation of the same subject, but they
borrowed from the older model, as far as concerned the succession of the couples,
in which only a few deviations took place, the arrangement of the separate
scenes, and even many of the ideas, both in the action and in the movements.
Nevertheless, the entire difference of the age is exhibited. Everywhere
appear bold and humorous fancies, of which there is no idea in the other, and
especially the figures of the dead show the greatest boldness and activity in
their positions and gestures.
1 At Besancon. Cf. Carpentier zu Ducange, "Glossarium MachabEeorum Chorea."
2 This statement must, however, be received with caution.

256 PICTURES OF DEATH.
It is also a significant fact, that the verses inserted below are not, as
in the Klingenthal picture, the original, but a mere addition to the figures to
which they are adapted, and which in many places they attempt to explain.1
Since this period, since the end of the fifteenth century, almost all the
artists of Germany have been occupied with similar phantasies of death,
which they depict in woodcuts and engravings, in drawings and panel pictures.
They no longer bound themselves to the limited framework of the dance, but
instead of that primitive form of drama, they have delighted in intro
ducing separate and richly developed dramatic scenes. Infinite is the wealth
of imagination, of profound and spirited ideas, revealed in these pictures.
The greatest designer among German artists, namely Albert Diirer, here also
stands foremost. A woodcut belonging to his earliest period (1497) exhibits-
three horsemen, surprised in a desolate ravine by three skeletons, and the
desperate contest that ensues.2 Still older is the etching of the powerful old
man, Death, drawing a young woman into his arms, an idea which Diirer has
subsequently repeated in one of his most perfect engravings, the coat of arms
with the Death's head. One of the best known engravings of his early hfe is
the Walk. A young couple, in elegant attire, are walking in a pleasant
landscape. They are engaged in conversation, and the cavalier is attentively
listening to the lady, whom he is tenderly embracing ; yet sad forebodings
seem to overcome him, and this with reason, for Death is lurking behind a tree.
Lastly, one of Diirer's grandest creations is the engraving of the Armed
Knight, going steadily and directly on his way, not misled by Death and the
DevU, who have joined themselves with him. Death with his crown entwined
with serpents is here again conceived in the grand style of the early Middle
Ages, and there is a touch of heathenism in his being represented on horse
back, like the Valkyrie of the northern sagas.3 This sheet, as weU as that
before mentioned,4 designed by Diirer's master, Michael Wohlgemut, belongs
to the few in which the reconciliatory element is combined with the fearful.
Side by side with the power of unescapeable Death, the artist here also brought
before us that spirit, which banishes the fear of these gloomy powers and
overcomes Death.
Some remarkable pictures of Death are to be found among the drawings
in the Basle Museum. Two sheets by Nicolaus Manuel5 exhibit Death in
terrupting the life of love. A cavalier and a maid are feasting and caressing
in a landscape scene, when Death approaches them as a huntsman, directing
his bow towards the man; he tries to conceal himself and knows not how;
1 Cf. Massmann. — Wackernagel.
In the Albertina at Vienna, and in the Museum at Stuttgart. V. Rettberg, " Anzeiger
des Germanischen Museums," Nuremberg, 1855, p. 314, 1857, p. 80 ; Passavant, iii. p. 226
et se1- s J. Grimm, " Deutsche Mythologie," p. 489.
4 P- 86. •-• Mappe, U. ix.

PICTURES OF DEATH. 257
in vain the woman endeavours to protect him. The second sheet, which is
unfinished, represents a couple walking familiarly together. Presently Death
approaches and seizes the woman by her garment ; her companion stares at
him, lays hold of his shroud, and draws his sword, but his adversary raises
against him a still stronger weapon, the bones of the dead. Urs Graf 1 depicts
a merry company of soldiers at a meal; presently Death is discovered among
the guests; he springs towards the one sitting last, and, thrusting his knee
against his back, he speaks the words —
" Ich wett vch gern ein wil zu lossen
Was Ir rettend vnder disser Possen." 2
(I would gladly listen for a'^ while to what you are saying amid your jests).
The most famous woodcut of Urs Graf, this genuine painter of Swiss military
life, exhibits two rough soldiers in conversation with a girl of doubtful
character, while Death is lurking above them on the tree. Soldiers and
maidens are also joined with Death in a woodcut by Hans Scheuffelin, in
which Death appears in splendid military attire, as though he were also a
soldier, and a scythe on his shoulder. Death and the Soldier appear also in
a title-page designed by Ambrosius Holbein. Fortune, a naked female figure
on a fiery steed, with the drinking-cup in her hand, is springing towards the
warrior, but at the same moment the arrow of Death, who is approaching
behind, pierces his breast.3
Diirer's idea of Death, as embracing a young woman and plucking off the
richest blossom of her beauty, appears also among other artists, frequently, for
instance, in the works of his pupil, Hans Sebald Beham. We have copper
plate engravings by him, in which winged Death is embracing a standing
female fio-ure, or is climbing on the couch by the side of the beautiful woman
reclinino- there. Two corresponding sheets are especiaUy worthy of attention.
A beautiful woman, with flowers in her hands, is walking in a garden, while a
lover in a fool's cap is embracing her and looking in her countenance. On the
second sheet, the lady is walking just as before, and again a lover joins her ;
but this time the Death's head is grinning at her from under the fool's cap.
Here, as on the two first sheets, stand the words, " Omnem in homine venus-
tatem mors abolet." (Death takes away all beauty from man). Similar in
purport are two beautiful paintings by Hans Baldung Grien in the Basle
Museum.4 Each exhibits a naked female figure in the full bloom of youth.
The first is embraced by Death, who seeks to kiss her with his grinning skull ;
he is seizing the second by her hair, and is dragging her to an open grave.
1 ]y[appe XT. ix. 2 Wett wollte, lossen lauschen, rettend redet.
s Ambrosius Holbein, No. 9. He is also probably the designer of a title-page depicting
Death as a mower (No. 10). Both sheets are in Passavant under Hans Holbein's name (88, 89).
4 Nos. 75, 76. S

258 PICTURES OF DEATH
He is pointing towards it with his right hand, and above stand the words
"Hie must du in" (Thou must go in here). Still more powerful is the effect
of a composition by Manuel, on the back of his painting of Bathsheba.1 The
manner in which Death here seizes the maiden breathes at once both sensuality
and horror. Nothing more bold was ever painted. On a column to the left
is the statue of a Cupid, who is stabbing himself. It is a terrible reminder of
that fearful sickness which spread over Europe like a scourge at the end of
he fifteenth century, and which suddenly deterred all from sensual pleasure
and from the enjoyments of love.
In portraits also the introduction of emblems of Death was usual. Thus,
Lucas von Leyden, in his portrait, engraved by himself, is holding in one hand
a death's head, and is pointing with the other hand to it in a most significant
manner. The figure of Death with an hour-glass is frequently introduced
behind the person depicted ; among Holbein's works we shah later see a
portrait of this kind, that namely of Sir Bryan Tuke. Hans Burgkmair intro
duced a mirror in his picture in the Vienna Belvedere, which contains his
wife and himself, and in this mirror, instead of their faces, two death's heads
are seen. By the side is the couplet; —
" Solche Gestalt unser baider was,
Im spiegel aber nix dan das."
(This was the figure of us both ; in the mirror, however, there is nothing but this).
Burgkmair besides this executed a chiaro-oscuro woodcut, which, with
Manuel's painting and Diirer's " Knight, Death, and the Devil," holds the first
rank among the pictures of Death which we have mentioned. Death is
represented as throwing a knightly youth to the ground, placing his foot upon
his breast, and strangling him with both his hands, while he seizes with his
teeth the garment of a maiden fleeing by. There is here a wild passion and a
boldness of movement such as Holbein alone exhibits in his pictures of Death.
No work of Burgkmair's stands so high as this ; none at the same time shows
to such an extent his influence upon Holbein, his young fellow-countryman.
Everything here breathes Italian Renaissance : the figures and attitudes are
ItaUan, as weU as the architecture of the surrounding scenery, which reminds
of Venice, with its view of a canal on which a gondola is gliding. In the
lofty irony, moreover, which pervades this sheet, it is the precursor of
Holbein's famous compositions.
Far more inclining to irony than to pure humour is the comic element
which appears, sometimes weaker and sometimes stronger, in the pictures
of Death belonging to the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries. This
comic element is not of such a kind that it softens the fearful and helps the
1 Basle Museum, No. 42, painted in brown.

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 259

spectator to set aside the terrible, but it rather increases what is alarming
and heightens the horrible.
This comic element plays its part in the entire art of the Middle Ages.
It is ever linked with the serious and sublime, and nothing is so solemn
that it is excluded. In the religious Mysteries the ludicrous takes its
place by the side of the highest and the holiest. In the plastic art, in the
stoneworks of ecclesiastical buildings, especiaUy in the consoles and water-
pipes, or in the edge ornaments and initials of manuscripts, and subsequently
in printed works, a light and exuberant playfulness prevails, an inexhaustible
humour, which delights in showering forth all the wealth of mediteval
imagination. It is the reaction of the popular mind against the strict
constraint of the ecclesiastical classes, against the onesidedness of mediaeval
Christianity, its asceticism, and its world-despising, supersensual bias. The
fresh youthful power of the northern nations burst asunder these chains,
and popular wit became the vehicle for natural feeling, thus contemned and
repressed. So brightly and gushingly did it burst forth, that ecclesiastical
severity could not curb it, but, obliged to make a compromise, it was compelled
to award it a place in its own territory. Yet not always is this comic element
playful, cheerful, and jovial ; often there prevails also a touch of satire,
especially directed against the Church and the clergy. Of this the animal
fables are particularly fuU, and from these plastic art also borrowed designs,
and did not shrink from introducing them into consecrated places. How
delightfully, for instance, has Jean Trupin represented the fox in the
monk's cowl preaching to the hens, in the choir-stalls of the cathedral
at Amiens. In the same manner a humorous and satirical element lies at the bottom
of the representations of the Dance of Death. It was not that ascetic spirit
alone which had originally called them forth, and had made them subservient
to the purposes of ecclesiastical admonition, which thus secured for them such
an important position in the art of many centuries, but it was that touch of
humour and ridicule which was necessarUy added, as springing from the truly
popular mind.
Cuttingly as the transitoriness of aU earthly things were exhibited,
fearfully as the terrors of death were depicted, one thing may nevertheless
have comforted popular feeling and reconciled it with death, namely, the
thought that death equalizes all. To Death, the high are as good as the low,
the rich are subject like the poor, the clergy can as httle escape him as the
laity. No earthly power can resist him, no treasures can purchase re
demption, no youth nor beauty can soften him. Upon this Equaleza of
Death, the wall-painting at Clusone places the main weight. And in the
oft-mentioned book of the lament of the widower, Death says to him in
self-justification : " Wir nymans adel schonen "grosser kunst nicht achten,
s 2

260 SA TIRE INTROD UCED
keinerlei schon ansehen, gab, Ueb, leides, alders, iugent, und allerlei sach
nicht wegen, wir thun als die sunn die do scheint uber gut unde poss, wir
nemeii gut und poss in unsern gewalt." (We neither spare what is noble,
nor do we esteem great art ; we regard nothing beautiful ; we weigh nothing,
neither gifts, love, suffering, age, and youth ; we do as the sun, who shines
alike on the evU and the good — we take good and bad under our power.) In
the bitterest irony is this idea expressed in the words which stood over the
charnel-house in Little Basle at the beginning of the Dance of Death : —
" Hie richt got noch dem rechten,
Die herren ligen bi den knechten,
Nun mercket hie bi,
Welger her oder knecht gewesen si."
(By God's decree of equal right,
The king and peasant here unite ;
Distinguish, therefore, if you can,
The high-born from the peasant man).
In the Dance of the Dead one is regarded as much as another. Regard
less boldness is expressed in the manner in which Death, both in words and
demeanour, meets the Pope, the Emperor, and the temporal and spiritual
princes. Thus, the Dance of Death was essentially an expression of the
democratic feelings at that time awakened, feelings which were revived
especially in cities, and which estabUshed a new state of things in the place
of the old and decayed relations.
Side by side with political satire we have seen religious satire, which
became aU the more lively, the more that dissatisfaction with ecclesiastical
affairs gained the ascendency in the general feelings of the time. In the
Dance of Death in Great Basle, it is already more strongly developed than in
most preceding and contemporaneous pictures. Some years later, however,
a production appeared in which freedom of opinion rose to annihilating scorn ;
we allude to the before-mentioned Dance of Death of Nicolaus Manuel at
Berne. This work, which perished in 1660, and which is only preserved to us
in some drawings taken of it, was executed for the cemetery of the Dominican
monastery. This spot had been a few years before the theatre of events which
more than anything else had spread the Reformation in Switzerland. It had
been the scene of the transactions of Brother Hans Jezer, whose stupidity had
been taken advantage of by the superiors of the Dominican monastery at
Berne to make him a compulsory saint, to delude him by heavenly appari
tions, and to produce Christ's wounds on his hands and feet. In the year
1509 this deception was unmasked, and the authors of it were brought to the
stake. It was a kind of atonement when the inmates of this monastery gave
the painter liberty to sit unsparingly in judgment on the disorders of the
clergy. In this work, which was completed before 1522,1 we see the germs of
1 Griineisen, p. 164 et seq.

IN PICTURES OF DEATH. 261
that opposition which was first confirmed by the appearance of Luther and by
Zwingli's teaching in Zurich. The satire in the picture itself, as well as in the
inscription, is directed against the ecclesiastics who are opening the dance,
apart from the laity. " Vff erdt scheint gross min heiligkeit, die toracht welt
sich vor mir neigt " (My sanctity appears great on earth, the foolish world
bends before me), is the Pope's answer to Death, who is tearing the triple
crown from his head ; and on the litter on which he is borne, the expulsion of
the Money-changers from the Temple, and the Woman taken in Adultery
before Christ, are depicted, the Pharisees and scribes appearing as bishops and
monks. With especial vehemence, Death proceeds among a group of monks,
whom he thus accosts : — ¦
" Ir miinchen mestend iich gar wol,
Ir steckend aller siinden vol,
Reissend wolff in eim schafls kleid
Ir miiessend mit dantzen wers iich leid."
(Ye monks with fatness rounded,
With sins besides unbounded,
Like raging wolves disguised as sheep
Ye must the dance together keep).
In this introduction of satire into ecclesiastical matters, Manuel's Dance of
Death is the precursor of Holbein's Pictures of Death, the origin of which,
both as regards time and place, is so nearly allied to it. We will now return
to Holbein himself, after having seen how the subject of his principal work
was conceived by others before him, and what part this subject played in the
art of this as weU as of the preceding epoch.

CHAPTER XV.
Holbein's Pictures of Death. — Death variously represented by him. — The end of the Righteous
and the Godless. — The Dance of Death on the Scabbard. — The woodcut series of the
Pictures of Death. — Relation to the views of the Middle Ages, and influence of other
kinds. — Death as a skeleton. — Want of anatomical. knowledge. — Period at which the
pictures were executed. — Editions of Basle and Lyons. — Preface to the edition of
1538, its author, and its enigmatical passage. — Intentionally anonymous appearance. —
Characterisation of the separate pictures. — Exposition and further course of the Drama.
— Compositions added subsequently. — The two concluding sheets. — The group of children.
—Initials with pictures of Death. — The pictures in relation with their age. — Ecclesiastical
and Political Satires. — Holbein and Shakespeare. — Influence and dissemination of the
work. — Its reception at home and abroad.
Xylography, wall-painting, and poetry had long usurped the representations
of the Dance of Death. In Holbein's time it formed the most usual subject
for artists, harmonising as it did with their imagination as weU as with that
of the people. For Hans Holbein, who lived in Basle, there was, however,
a special and lasting incitement to it. He could daily have before his eyes
the Dance of Death in the Dominican church there. Old and young were
familiar with it, far and near it was known ; the Basle Death was at that time
almost proverbial, and appeared in popular songs.
Whether the older Klingenthal picture was to be seen in Holbein's time is
not known. It was utterly forgotten, and was in a thoroughly ruined condi
tion, when the baker, Emanuel Buchel, discovered it, and copied both works
in the year 1773.1 Subsequently the Klingenthal picture by degrees com
pletely perished. The great Basle Dance of Death also existed only to the
year 1815, and this in a very faded state. At this time the wall of the
cemetery of the Dominican monastery which contained it was broken down by
order of the Council, but on account of the great interest of the people in this
public monument, this could only take place by night. The opposite row of
houses are stUl designated as the Dance of Death. A few remnants of the
great Basle picture are preserved in the gaUery of mediaeval art near the
cathedral ; for the rest copies must suffice, if we would form an idea of the
i His coloured copies are to be found in the Basle Museum. Massmann's copy of the
Basle Dances of Death is from these. The great Basle Dance of Death has been engraved in
various editions by J. J. Merian, since 1621.

HOLBEINS PICTURES OF DEATH. 263
two creations, with regard to which modern times have been so unsparing. It
was formerly current in Basle that Holbein was the artist of the great Basle
Dance of Death, an error which has been fostered by the fact that repeated
copies of his woodcut compositions have been published with the verses of the
old wall-paintings under the title of the Dance of Death, painted in Basle.
The matter is now regarded as settled, although sextons and cicerones at Basle
are not wanting who point out the remains of the paintings in the mediaeval
collection to those who will credit them, as Holbein's works. We cannot hope
for any enlightenment respecting the master of the work, who must certainly
have been an able artist. And Holbein, if he did not execute it himself, yet
received lively influence from it. The figures which he here saw filled his
imagination, and not only their deep feeling impressed his mind, but many of
their bold forms and movements stimulated him to similar creations. Wisely
indeed, he borrowed the idea of a figure of Death from them for his own work.1
Death appears in various forms in Hans Holbein's compositions. Two
title-pages with representations of a similar character we cannot indeed
impute to hini, but to Ambrosius Holbein, and they have already been dis
cussed.2 On the other hand, a drawing by our master, although perhaps only
a smaller sketch, formed the basis of a large woodcut, which is to be seen in
the Albcrtine Gallery at Vienna, and in the ducal museum at Gotha.3 The
subject is the Death of the Sinner and the Death of the Righteous, a composi
tion which calls to mind the pictures of the " Ars moriendi," which appeared
in the fifteenth century, both in manuscript and woodcut impressions. In
this work the temptations in the hour of death and the victory over them are
represented ; and by the deathbed, side by side with tempting devils, appear
helping angels and Christ with his saints, upon whom the hope of the dying
is directed. The idea which these earlier representations afforded the painter is here,
however, fully realized. Instead of one dying figure we see two, one of whom
is passing into bliss, while the other is delivered to destruction. Above, Christ
as judge is enthroned on the terrestrial sphere, and at the sides, in six medal
lions, are works of mercy; beneath, on clouds, are two angels with trumpets.
Below, at the right of the Saviour, the dying righteous man is lying in his
bed, surrounded by Love, Faith, and Hope, who are consoling him. The
latter is looking up full of confidence to an angel who is separating the sheep
from the goats ; a second angel, holding the garland of thanksgiving, is
bending over the bed. On the opposite side, the sinner is turning anxiously
on his couch ; the World — a beautiful figure, who, with Hope, is one of the
1 Respecting Holbein's Pictures of Death, see, besides the works mentioned on p. 246,
Massmann, " Text zu Schlotthauer's copien," and the additions to this in the " Wiener Jahr-
biicher der Literatur," 1832, ii. Anzeigeblatt.
2 Page 257.. 3 Passavant, 30.

264 A TITLE-PAGE.

best in the picture — is fleeing from him ; at his head, Death 1 is standing with
his hour-glass and badge, a standard with a death's head. The devil also is
seizing the sinner's arm as he passes from earth amid flame and smoke.
Holbein also, just like Diirer in his pictures on the Revelation, makes
Death appear rushing along with the three apocalyptic horsemen, trident in
hand, dashing all the living to the ground. But he also devises scenes more
in affinity with the true Dance of Death. A true dance only once appears in
Holbein's works, and then on a smaU scale, consisting only of six pairs,
sketched as an ornament for a scabbard. Two original drawings are existing :
one is in the Beuth-Schinkel Museum at Berlin ; 2 the second, from the opposite
side, and thus probably an impression subsequently completed with Indian
ink, is in the Basle Museum. Numerous old copies appear besides. Scabbards
with the same composition were also roughly executed by a Swiss armourer. Of
Holbein's numerous drawings for subjects of art-industry, this is one of the
most beautiful and the most spirited, both as regards the drawing and design.
What can be more ingenious than to decorate the fatal dagger with the
picture of the almighty power of Death ? The whole thing is wonderfuUy
composed within the narrow, tapering space. The boldness and wUd move
ment of the figures of the dead evidence the influence of the great Basle wall-
painting, but they far surpass it ; demon-like scorn is expressed in their
grinning skulls and in every gesture. The first dead figure is grasping the
hand of a noble young king, whose orb has fallen to the ground, and he is
kicking it away with his foot ; the second, who has twisted a veil round his
head, is puUing away the queen and her dog, however much she may resist
her unwelcome companion. The third is playing a military march on pipe
and drum to a standard-bearer, and bidding him obey his word of command.
The companion of the soldier, a girl with short petticoats, pouch, dagger, and
plumed hat, is suddenly seized by a skeleton, so that the lute falls from her
hand. Another, attired with a traveUing hat and beggar's bag, and a broken
two-handed sword in his hand, has seized the fat begging friar with his
rattling box, and springs away with him so hastily that the fat old fellow
cannot keep pace with him. The last is a sweet little boy whom the sixth
dead figure is leading by the hand. This composition is a true dance, in
which aU are moving to the same quick time.
In a milder form these ideas upon death and transitoriness are expressed
in a title-page3 bearing the date mdxx., and which, in spite of its faulty execu
tion, fully manifests Holbein's style in its composition. Below is a bubbUno-
i In the fable of the Gevatter Tod (Grimm, " Kindermarehen," No. 44), Death also stands
at the head of the sick man's bed, if the sick is to be his prey ; he stands on the contrary, at
his feet, if the sick is to recover. Cf. also " D. Mythologie."
2 Engraved in a masterly style by Otto. Photograph after the engraving in the author's
Holbein Album. (Berlin-Schauer.)
3 Passavant, 113.

PICTURES OF DEATH. 265
spring, on the edge of which two little boys are sitting and blowing a horn.
Round about them are children drawing water and playing. On the sides
grow palm-trees, up which other boys are climbing. Above, however, an old
man with bald head, and a woman, both unclothed and absorbed in sad reflec
tion, are sitting beside a death's head. This representation, in its soft elegiac
character, seems rather to recall the conceptions of antiquity than the mediaeval "
delineations of Death.
From 1524, there appear in Basle editions, fragments of that initial series
of pictures of Death, the complete proof impressions of which bear the signa
ture of Hans Lutzelburger, and which, in this smaU space — eleven lines
square — exhibit to the utmost the delicacy and skill of this incomparable
wood-engraver. They stand in the relation either of an abridgment or of a
preparatory work to the famous woodcut series of Pictures of Death which have
appeared in such numerous editions and have been so frequently copied,
which treat the same subject more in detail, and on a somewhat larger scale,
and are also cut by Hans Lutzelburger, whose monogram, HL., appears on one
of the sheets, namely, that of the Duchess. " So admirably," says Chatto,1
'' are these woodcuts executed, with so much feehng and perfect knowledge of
that which the art of stamp-cutting can achieve, that I know of no wood-
engraver of the present time who can surpass them. The manner of cutting is
proportionally smooth. There are no difficult and unnecessary cross-hatchings,
where the same effect could be obtained by simpler means; no ostentation
of fine work only to show the artist's ability to cut deUcate lines. Every line
is expressive, and the artistic intention is throughout obtained with the
simplest means. In this the genius and feeling of the stamp-cutter are
especiaUy exhibited. He does not lavish his time upon mere mechanical
execution, which at the present day is often erroneously regarded as masterly
skill. He endeavours to give expression to every character which comes before
him ; and when we consider the smaU extent of the cut, he seems to have done
this with better success than any other wood-engraver either of the past or
present." A part of this praise must, however, be referred to Holbein himself,
who understood so fully how to suit his drawing to the nature of the art of
engraving. This series of woodcuts is generally known under the name of Holbein's
Dance of Death. No denomination could in truth be more false, although it
appeared in the Amerbach Inventory at the end of the sixteenth century. In
the original editions, on the other hand, it never appears ; the title here is :
" Simulachres de la Mort," or " Imagines Mortis," — Pictures of Death. This
alone Holbein has in common with the old Dances of Death, that he intro
duces the different classes one after another. The separate scenes are, how
ever, perfectly distinct ; each sheet contains a perfect dramatic scene, in
1 Treatise, pp. 389, 390.

266 HOLBEIN'S PICTURES OF DEATH.

which there are generally more personages introduced than the two principal
figures. Holbein grasps the fundamental idea far more grandly and profoundly.
In the spirit of the old song, " Media vita in morte sumus," the artist shows
how Death appears in the midst of life itself.1 Not merely the enjoyment of
earthly desires and delights are suddenly interrupted by him, as is represented
in the wall-painting at Pisa, but each individual is seized by Death in the
midst of his daily walk, and in the exercise of his vocation, each in the work
which corresponds with his distinct position and character, each unexpectedly,
be his position ever so brilliant or so poor, be his actions ever so good or so bad.
Tliese separate scenes are, however, combined with grandly poetic power into
a whole, which in itself is systematically organized, ingeniously contrived,
and effectively concluded. WhUe Diirer, Hans Baldung Grien, and Burgkmair,
gave separate scenes in the sheets, we have before described, Holbein depicts
a perfect drama, which stands, nevertheless, in the same relation to his pre
decessors' Dances of Death, as a Shakesperian tragedy does to the religious
dramas of the Middle Ages.
Thus the painter who of all Germans was the first to be imbued decidedly
with the modern spirit, imparts to this genuinely medifeval idea a highly
artistic form. But the conceptions of antiquity, so far as they were at that
time known, and the influences of the humanistic tendency, which Holbein
may have experienced, could scarcely have affected him otherwise. In
Lucian's Dialogues of the Dead, which exercised such great influence in
Erasmus' circle, there is the same touch of irony. The same importance is
here also laid upon the fact that death equalises all. The outward appearance
of the dead in the lower world is so depicted, that they accord with the
figures in the Dance of Death. '¦' Thou could'st give no reason to the judge
why thy skull should be more beautiful than mine," said Diogenes to
Mausolus ; 2 " both are bald and bare, both our teeth are grinning in the same
way, and we have both empty holes instead of eyes and snub noses."
And when in another passage,3 Menippus sees nothing but bones and
bare skulls in the forms of the deceased, Holbein accords with him perfectly
in this, for the painter acts in variance with his predecessors and contempo
raries, and represents the figures of the dead as complete skeletons. We
might indeed regard this as not exactly an excellence in his pictures. In the
first place, Holbein's anatomical knowledge is of a very subordinate kind.4 In
this respect he stands under the influence of the Middle Ages, when the
i Wackernagel, p. 355. 2 Dialogues of the Dead, xxiv. 3 Ibid, xviii.
4 See L. Choulant, " Geschichte und Bibliographie der anatomischen Abbildungen nach
ihrer Beziehung auf anatomische Wissenchaft und bildende Kunst," Leipzig, R. Weigel, 1852 ;
Dr. Davidson, " Zur geschichte der anatomischen Abbildungen. Demonstrativer Vortrag. "
From the " Jahresber de Schles Ges." Breslau, 1861.

WANT OF ANATOMICAL KNOWLEDGE. 267
dissection of the body was regarded as forbidden. Much as he adopted Italian
Renaissance, the anatomical knowledge which Leonardo had obtained was
closed to him. The form of the skeleton rested with him upon no knowledge,
it was entirely guessed at. Even the amount of medical science exhibited in
the large woodcuts of anatomical iUustrations which appeared in Strasburg in
1517 by Johann Schott, the first beginnings of real examination in the north,1
are not turned to account. Often a similar formation is to be seen in the
shoulder-blades and on the breast, the pelvis is wrongly formed, the joints are
perfectly misunderstood, the shin-bone or the lower part of the arm exhibit
only one bone, while the upper arm and the thigh are often allowed the
luxury of a double bone. The Great Basle Dance of Death only presents
one true skeleton, which approaches the physician with the words —
" Herr Doctor, b'schawt die Anatomey
An mir, ob sierecht g' machet sey. . . ."
(Doctor, look at my anatomy, and see if it be rightly made).
This skeleton is far more just than any in Holbein's woodcuts. It is
indeed not to be ascertained whether this is wholly the merit of the original
artist. Sotzmann 2 asserts that Holbein's deviations from osteological truth
are only to be explained by artistic freedom, which adhered alone to what was
absolutely necessary. This, however, is false. The manner in which the
artist deals with the . skeleton form neither tends to simplification nor to
beauty. The want of perfection on this point only leads us the more to
admire the sure and masterly power with which Holbein, without this help,
knew how to adhere to the outward physical form. What command of obser
vation does it not pre-suppose ! Moreover, it is to be imagined that Holbein's
scabbard design of the Dance of Death does not exhibit the faults and errors
we have mentioned to an equal extent. From this we may infer that this
sketch was executed subsequently, and that Holbein meanwhUe had increased
his anatomical knowledge. On the scabbard, the figure of Death is sometimes
far removed from the skeleton, as in that which allures the soldier, and this
appears to us far more fitting. The figures of Death are represented in the
utmost motion ; yet how should they be able to move, but by the help of
muscles ? Hence the ancients always justly bestowed muscles on the dead and
on the spectres which represented them; for instance, in the pictures of
dancino- Lemures in the reliefs of a tomb at Cuma. : 3 and the artists of the
Middle Ao-es did the same in the figures of their dances of the dead, and both
have avoided the representation of the true skeleton. Holbein's skeletons
have something demon-like in character, but in grand sublimity they do not
i Davidson 215. 2 " Deutsches Kunstblatt," 1852, p. 7.
3 Von Offer's " Ueber ein merkwiirdiges Grab bei Kuma. " (Abhandl, " der Akad. d. Wissen-
schaften zu Berlins phil. hist. CI."), 1830, p. 30 et seq. See also Goethe, xxxi. pp. 390—396.

268 EDITIONS OF BASLE
attain to the lean, bearded figure of Death with the indented crown, who has
joined the armed horseman, in Diirer's engraving.
Before we pass to the characterisation of the separate sheets, we must take
into consideration the question as to the period in which the Pictures of Death
originated. The first dated edition appeared at Lyons in the year 1538, yet
there is no doubt that the woodcuts had been printed in Basle long before.
We possess impressions of the original plates on sheets printed only on one
side, and with German inscriptions, which evidently were produced there, but
it is not easy to decide respecting them, whether they were proof impressions
or actual editions. Complete copies of this kind are in the Basle Museum, the
Berlin Museum, and the British Museum, as well as in the Imperial Library
at Paris. A fifth I have discovered in the Grand Ducal cabinet of engravings at
Carlsruhe ; they are impressions of incomparable distinctness and sharpness,
in that beautiful black tint only obtained in Germany. They accord perfectly
one with the other, their inscriptions are in a somewhat inclined Itahan
writing, and the number of sheets is forty. The edition of 1538 has one sheet
more, viz., the Astrologer. The Paris copy is of especial interest, because it
exhibits different arrangement to the later editions. After the fashion of
many Dances of Death, for instance, in the Berhn and Berne waU-paintings, the
spiritual and secular classes are divided. After the four introductory sheets,
the ecclesiastics appear first, from the Pope to the Physician, who, according to
old custom, was reckoned among the clergy. Then come the laity, from the
Emperor to the old man, who seems to correspond with the cripple in the Great
Basle Dance of Death ; afterwards the women appear, from the Empress to the
old woman ; and lastly the chUd. Strangely enough, after this comes the sheet
with the title, " Gebeyn aller menschen," which subsequently far more suitably
was inserted before the Pope. The whole is concluded by "Dass Jiingst
gericht" and "die wapen dess Thotsz." A similar arrangement, with but
small deviation, is exhibited in the BerUn copy, the pictures of which are
now separately mounted, but the first of every two woodcuts has an old
number on the back, so that probably two pictures were placed on one sheet.
The Paris Library possesses another Basle edition, which is different from the
former, and of which we know no other copy. The back of the sheets is also
not printed, but the series is incomplete, and nothing can be ascertained with
regard to the old arrangement. The German inscriptions are printed with dif
ferent characters, that is, in upright Gothic letters. Orthographical differences
also appear in the names. The Last Judgment is here styled " Das letzst Urteyl
Gottes," and over the arms of Death stands " Gedenck das end," which accords
with the Bible passage placed over it in later editions, " Memorare novissima,"
&c. The Astrologer is in existence among these. From these two circum
stances we gather that this edition appeared subsequently to the former.

AND LYONS. 269

All outward statements respecting the period of their origin are lacking.
Earlier, untrustworthy authors speak of a Basle edition of the year 1530, and
thus this year was for a time regarded as probable. But the state of feeling
excited by the peasants' war — this we shaU presently find confirmed — is
plainly expressed in them. This would point to the years 1524 and 1525,
and the initials with pictures of Death, which were certainly contemporary
with them, first appear in print in the year 1524. When the danger had
passed by Basle, and the wisdom of the Council and of the confederate ambas
sadors had appeased the riotous peasants, who had marched against the city
on the 3rd of May, 1525, matters proceeded all the more wildly in the Basle
bishopric, in the Breisgau, and in Alsace, and tidings of various horrors and
bloodsheddings arrived from all parts of the empire. The following year
also was rich in misery, and must have afforded the artist occasion to
employ his gloomy fancies still further, for the plague raged from April till
October, 1526.
That the drawings were at any rate completed before Holbein left Basle
in the autumn of 1526, appears from a circumstance until now wholly un
noticed. The rich collection of the Dance of Death in the cabinet of engravings
in the Berlin Museum, contains copies of twenty-three sheets of the woodcut
series, in Indian-ink etchings on brown-coloured paper, of a circular form, about
five inches in diameter. The copies are true, although enlarged, and are only
so far different as resulted from the change of form. Coarse, but executed
with understanding, they seem to be sketches for smaU glass paintings. They
are made after originals, which appear in the first proof impressions, and it is
also to be perceived that they are not executed after drawings but after the
woodcuts themselves ; otherwise they would be taken from the contrary side,
and would scarcely bear Hans Liitzelburger's monogram on the sheet of the
Duchess. On the fourth sheet, that of the Emperor, the date, 1527, stands
over the throne.
Eleven years later, contemporaneous with the pictures of the Old Testa
ment, the first edition of the Pictures of Death were published in Lyons by -
the brothers Trechsel. There were forty-one sheets without any title above
the separate pictures, but with inscriptions instead from the Latin Bible, and
French verses by Gilles Corozet, which were translated into Latin for subse
quent editions by Luther's brother-in-law, Georg Demmel or Aemylius. The
succession of the sheets was different in 1538 ; the clergy were no longer
separated from the- laity, nor the men from the women. The Pope, as in the
two Basle wall-pictures, is followed by the Emperor. In this succession,
which is often highly ingenious in the combination of the sheets, we shall
subsequently consider the separate pictures. The impressions in this edition do
not exhibit the black tint of the Basle proof-sheets, but a paler colour ; they
are also executed with the utmost care, such as the delicate work demanded.

270 VAUZELLES' PREFACE.
A long French preface precedes them, bearing the inscription : " A moult
reverende Abbesse du religieux couuent S. Pierre de Lyon, Madame Johanne
de Touszele, Salut dun vray Zele." The convent of Saint Pierre les Nonnains,
of which Madame Johanne was appointed abbess, was an old and famous
institution, the ladies of which at that time were known for their birth and
wealth, and also for their want of cloisteral discipline and the opposition
which they showed to the bishop.1 The author of the preface did not, indeed,
sign his name, but he indicated it sufficiently: it was Jean de VauzeUes,2
one of the three famous brothers VauzeUes, who at that time played a
great part in the literary life of Lyons.3 "D'un vray zelle," was his usual
device, which appears also in other writings ; he also reminds the abbess at
the beginning that, with the exception of her initial letter T, her surname
and christian name are completely like his own.4 Jean de VauzeUes was
pastor of Saint Romain at Lyons and Prior of Montrottier ; he is weU known
as a poet and scholar, and as the author as weU as the translator of
religious writings.
His dedication has caused much difficulty to the authors who have been
interested in the Pictures of Death, on account of the following passage :
" Done retournant a noz figurees faces de Mort, tresgrandement vient a
regreter la mort de celluy, qui nous en a icy imagine si elegantes figures,
auancantes autant toutes les patroness iusques icy, comme les painctures de
ApeUes ou de Zeusis surmontent les modernes." " For," to continue in English,
" his Pictures of Death, with their solemn descriptions in rhyme, inspire
spectators with such admiration, that they fancy they see the dead as living,
and the living as dead before them. Hence it seems to me that Death has
feared that this excellent painter might depict him in so life-like a manner
that he would be no longer feared as Death, and that thus the artist would
make himself immortal. He therefore shortened his days so much that he
could not complete many other pictures which he had already sketched.
Among others, the picture of the driver thrown down and crushed under
his shattered carriage. The wheels and the horses were so fearfully over
turned, that it was as terrible to see their fall as it was delightful to observe
the eagerness of Death, who was sucking the wine through a small tube from
1 " Histoire de la ville de Lyon Ancienne et Moderne," par le R. P. Jean de Saint Aubin,
de la Compagnie de J_sus, Lyon, 1666, pp. 211, 349. Monfalcon, i. p. 6.
2 First perceived by Langlois, ii. p. 89. Cf. also Amb. Firmin Didot, 54 et seq.
3 Breghot du Lut et Pericaud aine, " Biographie Lyonnaise," Paris et Lyon, 1839, p. 308 ;
Peinetti, " Recherches pour servir a I'histoire de la ville de Lyon," 1757 ; Le P. de Colonia,
de la Compagnie de Jesus, " Histoire litt.raire de la ville de Lyon," 1730.
4 " Lequel bon Jesus non sans divine prouidence vous a baptis.e de nom et surnom au
mien unisonantement consonant, except, en la seule lettre de T. lettre, par fatal secret, capitale
de votre surnom . pour autant que c'est ce caractere de thau, tant celebre chez les H<_breux et
vers les Latins, pris a triste mort. . . ."

ITS ENIGMATICAL CHARACTER. 271
a staved cask.1 To these uncompleted representations no one has ventured
to put a finishing touch — just as little as any one would venture to touch the
incomparable rainbow in the heavens2 — on account of the bold drawing,
perspective, and shading, which are so pleasingly carried out in this masterly
production, that they inspire us with a feeling of joyful melancholy, and
of melancholy joy, sorrowful and yet charming."3
This passage cannot refer to Holbein, the designer, who was at that time
alive; there is no doubt that it alludes to the engraver, Hans Lutzelburger.
That he had died shortly before is probable, from the fact that the other
pictures mentioned by VauzeUes, which were left behind unfinished and which
only appeared in subsequent editions, betray indeed the hand of anotlier
engraver of less importance. Indeed, the very passage taken by most authors
in the modern sense, and hence misunderstood, " la mort de celluy, qui nous
en a icy imagine si elegantes figures," refers expressly to the wood-engraver.
There is no mention here of him who designed the pictures. "Imagine-," Latin
"imaginatus," has the same meaning as "sculptus"; just as "ymaginier" is the
same as "tailleur d'images," and " sculptor" the common Latin expression for
stone-cutter or for engraver.4
But still, all difficulties are not set aside. The deceased, whose name he
forbears to mention, is called by VauzeUes "painctre;" that the painter who
designed the picture is another person and stUl alive is intimated by no single
word.5 Was the author so ignorant, as it has been asserted, that he knew
nothing of Holbein, and blended the engraver with the painter in an unknown
greatness ? Could this be thought possible, which is scarcely conceivable in
such a man as VauzeUes, still the publishers could not have let it pass, who
had received pictures from the Bible and pictures of Death from the same
1 Here the learned author has seen erroneously. Death is turning the tap of the cask.
2 VauzeUes is speaking of the real rainbow, and does not refer, as many have imagined, to
an unfinished work.
3 " Car ses histoires funebres auec leurs descriptions seuerement rithm_es, aux aduisans
donnent telle admiration, qu'ilz en jugent les morts y apparoistre tres viuement, et les vifs
tresmortement representer. Qui me faict penser, que la Mort craignant que ce excellent
painctre ne la paignist tant vifue, qu'elle ne fut plus crainte pour mort, et que pour cela luy
mesme n'en deuint immortel, que a ceste cause elle luy accelera si fort ses iours, qu'il ne peult
paracheuer plusieurs aultres figures ia par luz trass^es. Mesme celle du charretier froiss,, et
espaulti soulez son ruy-e-charriot. Les roes et Chevaulx duquel sont la si espouentablement
trebuchez, qu'il y a autant d'horreur a veoir la precipitation, que de grace a contempler la
friandise d'une Mort, qui furtivement succe auec vng chalumeau le vin du tonneau effondr..
Ausquelles imparfaictes histoires comme a I'mimitable au celeste appell. Iris, nul n'a ose
imposer l'extreme main, par les audacieux traictz, perspectiues, et vmbraiges en ce chef-
d'ceuure comprises et la tant gracieusement d_lini.es, que Ion y peut prendre une delectable
tristesse, et vne triste delectation, comme en chose tristement ioyeuse."
4 Ducange, " Glossarium medise et inf. Latin," " Ymaginatus ; " " Glossaire francais,"
" Ymagine." See M. Ambroise Firmin Didot, p. 57.
6 Which is the main reason with Fr. Douce for contesting their execution by Holbein.

272 THE ANONYMOUS ALLUSION INTENTIONAL.
source, and who were pubUshing the former at the same time with Holbein s
name, as Nicolaus Bourbon's Latin verses testify. Why was not a similar
course pursued with the pictures of Death ? It would have set the matter at
rest. The new edition of Bourbon's " Nug_e," which appeared in the same
year 1538, at Lyons, contained also the foUowing epigram : —
" De morte pieta a Hanso pictore nobili :
Dum mortis Hansus pictor imaginem exprimit,
Tanta arte mortem rettulit, ut mors vivere
Videatur ipsa ; et ipse se immortalibus
Parem Diis fecerit operis huius gloria."
Do not these verses seem as if made to precede the Pictures of Death?
And they were certainly written for no other object; when they were omitted,
their point was at any rate conveyed to the preface ; the allusion " ut mors
vivere videatur ipsa," &c, may be justly recognized in the words, " la mort
craignant que ce excellent painctre ne la paignist tant vifue, qu' elle ne fut
plus crainte pour mort, et que pour cela luy mesme n'en deuint immortel."
Only intentionally can Holbein's name have been here suppressed, and the
reason for this is not difficult to perceive.1 It lies in the original satirical
character of the pictures, with which we shall presently become acquainted.
Holbein's interest, like that of the publisher, rendered it desirable that they
should appear anonymously. In Lyons, every movement towards the Refor
mation was zealously opposed by the bishop and the authorities, and the bloody
edict against heretics issued by Francis I. was put in force.2 Many of these
pictures of Death, however, especially sheets such as the Pope or the Nun,
might have given offence to the strict Catholic party. This might have been
all the more serious, had the book appeared with the name of Holbein, who
. was_at that time residing at the Court of the Protestant King of England, and
was a citizen of^asfe" belonging to Switzerland, from whence the new
doctrines emanated. He was, therefore, not mentioned, and the death of the
engraver was employed in a manner which would evidently put the public on
a false track. And still more, a highly esteemed ecclesiastic and orthodox
writer was engaged to draw up the preface, and the abbess of an esteemed
convent, standing immediately under papal authority,3 accepted the dedication.
If they found no offence in it, others would have no pretext for doing so
either. Holbein also may for his own sake have used some precaution. At
the same time in England, after the death of the queen, Jane Seymour, a
religious reaction had begun in that country and had chpped the wings of true
Protestant freedom of speech.
" The Emperor who has reigned unconquered, over the living since the
beginning ofthe world,"4— .such is Death styled by VauzeUes in his preface.
1 Cf. Chatto, " Treatise," p. 439. 2 Montfalcon, ii. p, 660 et seq. 3 Ibid., i. p. 612.
4 " L'imp.i-atrice sur tous viuans invictissime des le commencement du monde regnante."

DANCE OF DEATH.

273

Adam bdwgt die trden <

The idea of the artist was hovering before him, for Holbein begins his grand
drama of pictures with the beginning of the world. The first four sheets,
those which, though less suitably, are introduced also among the pictures of
the Old Testament, form a kind of exposition. Death is the reward of sin.
Hence, the painter of the great Basle Dance of Death introduced a representation
of the FaU of Man at the conclusion. Manuel borrowed the idea from him,
but more suitably placed the Fall of Man at the beginning. He was followed
by Holbein, who, however, carried out the idea far more fully. He begins
with the Creation of Eve, a composition which seems as if taken from that
picture at the beginning of Adam Petri's Old Testament, although it is not so
beautiful. Then foUows the Fall of Man ; the serpent as usual with a human
head ; Eve is sitting, and Adam is gathering the fruit of the tree ; all sorts of
animals are round about. When after
this the angel is expelling the guilty ones
from Paradise, Death springs towards
them, and makes music upon his lyre at
their flight. Adam now appears working
with the sweat of his brow ; in the dis
tance his wife is sitting half-naked, with
her spinning-wheel, and suckling her child.
He himself is rooting up a tree, and Death
at his side imitating him is digging the
ground. (See iUus.) The action itself is
opened by the sheet, " Gebein aller Men-
schen," (bones of all men). In both theBasle
paintings and in the Bernese waU-paint-
ings, Holbein has placed the skeletons who
are making music for the Dance, in front
of the charnel-house. Horrible forms,
partly covered with grave-clothes, and
with women's caps or taU felt-hats, are
striking up the concluding dance, with kettle-drums, trumpets, and barrel-
organs. Death knows how he can best touch every man. He seizes the Pope
at the height of his presumption, as he is placing the crown on the head of
the emperor who, kneeling before him, is kissing his foot. Thus had Death
shortly before the designing of this sheet, snatched away Leo X., who, a few
years before, had had himself painted in Raphael's " Stanzen," as placing the
imperial crown on the head of the French king, Francis I., under the figure of
Leo III. crowning Charlemagne. A group of noble ecclesiastics are standing at
the left of the throne ; in front is a proud, worldly-looking Cardinal, and behind
him a skeleton, who, equipped with hat and cross, is scoffingly imitating his
T

274 THE EMPEROR, KING, AND CARDINAL.
demeanour. The figure of a siren is at the back of the papal chair, and behind
the magnificent baldachin, there lurks a devil, ready to receive the soul of the
High Priest, whUe a second devil holding a bull with five seals is hovering over
the ecclesiastics. The boldness of the satire here went so far, that subsequently
it was guarded against. The Cologne copies omitted the devUs ; the Venetian
copies contained them, it is true, at first, but afterwards they were cut out and
the wood-block was patched up ; this is plainly to be seen in the prints.1
The Emperor on the other hand is in the midst of his affairs as his end
approaches. He too is enthroned in his royal robes, surrounded by his coun
sellors, but he is exercising his high office in the most estimable manner. The
poor, common man — a delightful figure ! — is kneeling before him, and pre
senting his complaint to him, and the monarch is turning angrUy towards the
noble oppressor, who in vain is seeking to excuse himself.2 The patriotic feeling
of the artist has led him to depict in the Emperor with his aged bearing, his
sword, the point of which is broken, and the golden fleece, the Emperor Maxi
milian,3 that popular ruler, who was so present to his own memory since his
Augsburg hfe. The King, on the other hand, is represented as Francis I. of
France ; the features, especially the large, straight nose, the turn of the head,
and the attire, in spite of the small space, are all true and characteristic ; we
are at once reminded of Titian's portrait of him in the Louvre. Fully unpre
pared, in the midst of vain and earthly enjoyment, the king is hastening to
his destiny. In an open hall, under a baldachin ornamented with lUies, he is
sitting at a richly spread table ; Death however has crept in among the train
of servants, and is filling his goblet.
Death is tearing his hat away from the Cardinal, who is sitting in a vine-
arbour, giving forth a letter of indulgence. " Woe unto them which justify
the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from
him," 4 is the inscription over him. The arm of the Empress, who is walking
proudly with her ladies of honour in front of the palace, is grasped by a dead
woman, enveloped in a shroud, as though it were a royal mantle, who leads
her to the open grave, indicating to her that thither she must go. In the
costume of a fool, who has the liberty of the court, Death is seizing the Queen
by the hand, ready to spring away with her. In vain she shrieks aloud for
terror, and in vain the cavalier, with desperate effort, tries to set her free.
This figure of Death in the jester's attire is one of the two which the painter
has borrowed from the great Basle painting. Death is there depicted springing
1 In Glissenti's " Discorsi morali," Venetia, mdcix., where almost all the copies are
inserted. 2 That he hurls the point of his sword at his head, as Massmann asserts (" Text zu Schlott-
hauer's Copien," p. 77), I cannot see. What M. regards as the point is the hat of one of the
bystanders. 3 Hence the picture need not, as Massman thinks, have been designed during his life.
4 Isaiah, v. 23.

THE BISHOP, JUDGE, AND ADVOCATE. 275
away with the fool in a simUar attire ; Holbein's ironical mind has, however,
applied it with far greater skiU.
" I wiU smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shaU be scattered
abroad"1 is inscribed over the sheet with the bishop. In a beautiful landscape
with steep mountains, fortress and western sun, the skeleton is taking the arm
of the aged Bishop in his own ; and when the head shepherd is removed, the
under shepherds — among them is a monk — are scattered with the sheep on all
sides. The Duke, as he is advancing with his train, is accosted by a beggar
woman and her son, and as he turns pitUessly away, a wreathed skeleton
seizes him by the ermine. Next we see Death bounding away with the mitre
and crosier of a fat abbot, and dragging him by his cowl after him. In vain
the abbot resists and tries to throw his breviary at his head. " He shaU die
who had no discipline, and shaU be taken in the abundance of his folly." With
a wreath of sword lilies on his head, Death draws the Abbess by her scapulary
from the convent gate after him, however anxiously she may stUl fold hei
hands with the rosary, and scream to the porteress for help.
The skeleton seizes the Nobleman by his mantle in order to dash him on the
bier, he, however, undismayed, grasps his enemy by the throat and raises his
sword, but he is not equal to such an adversary ; with irresistible power Death
meets him and holds him fast. The Prebendary, who with his worldly train
of pages, jester, and falconer, is entering the church door, is joined by Death,
who is showing to him by the hour-glass that his time is ebbed away. The
Judge, a corpulent man with a common countenance, is sitting administering
justice, but he leaves the poor man unnoticed, and is extending his opened
hand to the rich man, who is feeling in his purse. Death is climbing up behind
him, and is breaking the staff which he holds. In the street with its gabled
houses, we find the advocate (Fiirsprech, the word is still in use in Switzerland).
In .the distance there is a tattered and desperate man whom he has deprived of
his property. A citizen is paying him his fee, and at the same time Death is
standing by his side, and is throwing scornfully into his hand a few pieces of
gold as the wages of sin, holding aloft at the same time the hour-glass which
summons him away. A devil is whispering into the ear of the Counsellor,
who, whoUy absorbed in his transaction with a nobleman, paid no respect to
the poor man, who is in vain laying his hand upon his shoulder and imploring
a hearing. Yet Death, with hour-glass and spade, has thrown himself in his
path ; hitherto and no further can he go. Such a reminder as this may have
been called forth by those days of excitement in May, 1525, in which the
peasants brought their pressing grievances before the council of Basle, and
peace or revolt depended on its decision.
In the church nave, a devotional multitude are assembled, men and
women are flocking round the pulpit to hear the Word of God, and one also
1 Matt. xxvi. 31.
T 2

276 THE PASTOR AND PHYSICIAN.

who is enjoying his church slumber, is of course present. How skilfuUy is
the Preacher propounding his doctrines, how thoroughly is his hypocrisy
expressed in the features of his countenance and in the gestures of his hands !
But there is a preacher, whose admonition is stUl more agitating in its effects.
Attired in the stole, Death is standing behind the orator in the pulpit and is
raising a jaw-bone in his hand, to strike him down, even before he has
pronounced " amen." " Woe unto them that call evU good, and good evU ; that
put darkness for light, and light for darkness ; that put bitter for sweet, and
sweet for bitter." 1 Across the street we see the Pastor going to carry the
sacrament to a dying man, yet he, too, is a dying mortal ; Death is going
before him as his sacristan, with beU and lantern.
Of all the ecclesiastics, the pastor, therefore, is almost alone spared satire.
The village pastors, as well as the lower clergy in the cities, who enjoyed
fewer external privileges and had most ecclesiastical duties, and who were
moreover, especially injured by the monks, showed themselves particularly
accessible to the Reformation.2 AU the worse did it fare with the Monk ;
just as his box and his begging-bag are fiUed, the skeleton holds him fast by
his cowl with wild scorn, and the inscription speaks of those who " sit in
darkness and in the shadow of death." 3 Even long before the dawn of the
Reformation, scorn was vehemently excited against the begging friars. In
the " Doten dantz mit figuren," in the second half of the fifteenth century,
the good and the bad monk were distinguished, and the latter is placed im
mediately behind the thief. Holbein shows us the young Nun in her cell,
kneeling with the rosary at the altar, and yet at the same time listening to the
lute of her lover, who is sitting on her bed ; but behind her a horrible dead
woman is standing and extinguishing the taper. " There is a way which
seemeth right unto a man. but the end thereof are the ways of death." 4 More
welcome is Death to the old woman, who, praying with her bone rosary, is
dragging along laboriously on her crutch; rejoicing and crowned with a
garland, he takes her arm, as though he would lead her to the Dance, and
another skeleton passes before them making music.
The Physician is sitting at the desk in his study when Death brings to
him a failing invalid. The doctor looks at him hopelessly, and that he gives
him . o consolatory answer is plainly expressed in the features of both. But
Death grins at him scornfully ; " Physician, heal thyself ! " 5 he seems to be
saying to him, " thou art mine just as surely as he is." This sheet is not only
admirable from the speaking character of the heads and hands, but also from
the execution of the accessory parts, the round window panes in lead frames,
the books and bottles on the shelf, and the dog reposing in the foreground.
Equally high stands the foUowing sheet from its beautiful architecture and
1 Isaiah v. 20. 2 C. Hagen, ii. 165 et seq. 3 Psalm cvii.
« Prov. xiv. 12. s Luke iv. 23.

THE MISER, MERCHANT, AND KNIGHT.

277

rich Renaissance furniture. The Astrologer is sitting in his magnificent apart
ment, absorbed in the study of the celestial globe; presently Death comes
and holds a skull before his eyes as a subject which is also worthy of his
contemplation. " Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born, or because
the number of thy days is great ? " 1
The Rich Man, whom we find among chests and bags of gold in a strong
vardt with a doubly barred window, is joined at his pay-table by Death, who
thrusts his hand into the heaps of money. The rich man lamentingly raises
his hands, for to rob him of his mammon and of his life is the same thing to
him. " Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee, then whose
shaU those things be which thou hast provided ?"2 The Merchant has escaped
the dangers of the sea, he is occupied in the port with his valuable goods and
disembarked bales, when Death seizes the unforeboding man by the head, and
pulls him away by his clothes. As the third of this triumvirate in pursuit of
perishable goods, the miser and the merchant
are followed by the mariner, who appears in
none of the earlier Dances of Death, and
whose introduction arises from the inclina
tion at this time for voyages and journeys
of discovery. The vessel is in the utmost
danger, some of the crew are wringing their
hands in despair, others are on the point of
throwing themselves into the sea, the clouds
are driving, the waves are dashing over the
ship, the sail is torn by the storm, and Death
has gone on board, and is cracking the mast.
Attired in cuirass and coat of mail,
Death meets the armed Knight, and runs his
lance through his body, just as he raises his
sword in defence. In a peasant's smock —
with the threshing flail on the ground before

Der Rlttcr.

him — Death pursues the proud old Count
and raises his heraldic shield to hurl it at his
head. Yet as a friendly companion he leads the poor old man to his grave
strumming a tune to him on the dulcimer. The young Countess, to whom the
waiting-maid is just giving her splendid upper garment, is assisted at her
toilet by Death, who adorns her with a necklace of dead men's bones. The
nobleman's wife is leaning happily on her husband's arm, and vowing to him,
" Nought but death part thee and me !"3 Death, however, is already dancing
before them, beating the drum, ready to take her at her word.
This figure of the skeleton is the second which Holbein has borrowed from
1 Job xxxviii. 21. 2 Luke xii. 20. 3 Ruth i. 17.

278

SUBSEQUENT ADDITIONS.

the wall painting of the Dominican Monastery, but he has applied it with far
more spirit. It was depicted there as springing before the hermit, and raising
two bones as drumsticks, but instead of the tambourine, a lantern was fastened
before him.
In her bed the Duchess is surprised, one skeleton is puUing her garment,
while a second is playing the fiddle —
a fearful awakening ! On the desolate
highway the Trader is proceeding with his
weU-laden wicker basket, his sword at
his side, his dog following him, when
something twitches his sleeve. "Stop me
not, my journey is long," he seems about
to say ; but he who seizes him is Death.
And a second spectre, playing merrily on
a stringed instrument, springs beside him.
In a pleasant scene, where village and
hill are Ughted up by the declining sun,
Death meets the farmer at the plough and
drives his horses. The poor woman, who
is cooking her scanty meal in her ruined
cottage, is robbed by Death of her youngest
chUd. " Man that is born of a woman,"
says the inscription, " is of few days, and
full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down ; he fleeth
also as a shadow, and continueth not." 1
As in the proof impressions, this sheet was also in the first Lyons edition
— the last of the true pictures of Death which preceded the two concluding
sheets. After the year 1545, some pictures subsequently completed were
added, the existence of which had been already intimated by VauzeUes.
The Soldier on the battle field is raising his two handed sword and is
fighting with Death, who attacks him with a bone. They are standing upon
corpses, and far over the hUls,- a second dead figure, beating a flourish of drums,
is leading new hosts of men to their fate. Next follows the Gamesters ; the
first has won and is pocketing his money, the second has lost and is uttering
imprecations, then comes the devU whom he has called, who seizes the third
by his hair, and on the other side Death appears among them, strangles his
victim, and calls to the devil. Next comes the Drunkard ; men and women
are sitting at a disorderly carouse ; down the throat of one of them, a bloated
fellow, Death is pouring a cup of wine. Among these subsequently added
pictures, we also find that of the Fool, who formerly played so conspicuous a

1 Job xiv. 1.

SUBSEQUENT ADDITIONS. 279
part in the dances represented by Uving personages.1 As these were now no
longer acted, the episode of Death's contest with the fool had been preserved
by itself, and appeared as a pantomimic representation in popular merry
makings. We know that this custom was in force in England up to the last
century ; the efforts and subterfuges of the fool to escape Death, who yet at
length became his master, formed the subject. Of representations of this
kind Shakespeare was thinking in those verses in Measure for Measure :2
" . . Merely thou art Death's fool ;
For him thou labourest by thy flight to shun,
And yet runst towards him still. . . ."
In Holbein's picture also, the fool is foolish enough to think that he can
escape Death. He springs aside, endeavours to deceive him by his movements,
and raises a club to give his adversary a blow unawares. And the latter
seems to enter into his game ; he jumps about by his side, playing the bag
pipes, but unobserved he has seized him by his garment, not to quit his hold
again. Then follows the Robber, who appears with the Gamester in " Doten dantz
mit figuren," while the Drunkard is Holbein's own idea. He falls upon the
market-woman in the wood, and tries to snatch from her the basket which she
is carrying on her head, but already a stronger one, namely Death, bas seized
him by the collar. Then comes the Blind Man, to whom Death acts as a
treacherous leader, dragging him forward over hedge and ditch. After this
we find a perfectly new episode, the Driver, a picture which Lutzelburger,
according to VauzeUes' statement, left unfinished. The waggon laden with
wine-casks is overthrown on the mountainous path. The second horse has
fallen, while the first is still trotting forward, the axle is broken, one skeleton
is running away with a wheel, while a second is clambering up behind and
turning the tap of a cask. The carman is standing beside lamenting and
wringing his hands, and looking at this picture of destruction. In the next
moment, however, he is himself entangled in the general ruin.
The whole design is concluded by a bold design of the Sick and Miserable.
An outcast from houses, avoided by his feUow men, he is sitting on the straw,
imploring Death to come to him, yet he too remains aloof from him. Scorn
cannot be more fearfuUy pointed than here. It is an echo of the legend of
the wandering Jew. There were other traditions of a simUar purport in
Holbein's time. At the beginning of the sixteenth century a story was extant
at Lubeck 3 of a rich old merchant who loved the world so much that he never
thought of dying ; wife, children, friends died, and each time Death came and
asked him whether he had not a desire to depart, but he would not. Yet as
1 " Sur le personage du fou," Langlois, i. pp. 259 — 261 . 2 Act iii. sc. 1.
3 Dr. Ernst Deecke," Liibeckische Geschichten und Sagen," Lubeck, 1852, p. 272. " Steinalt."

280 THE BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM.
he grew ever older and thinner and at length became a laughing stock, he sighed
for Death, but Death came not. Weary of life, he tried at midnight to enter
the Marienkirche, in order to seek for Death, where he was painted on the
wall, but he only got as far as the first roof of the church, and remained
sitting there untU he turned to stone. In the Triumph of Death at Pisa, we
also see cripples and beggars imploring Death in vain for deliverance. And
similar ideas of Death, not deigning to come to those who call, appear even in
antiquity; perhaps Holbein had heard somewhat of these through his learned
Basle friends, even if he knew nothing of that fragment of iEschylus, which
is put in the lips of Philoctetes :
3> Ouvare iralav, fir) fi'arifmo-ris fioke'ai
fiovos yap et <tu twv avrjKeo-TGiV KaKoav
larpus oX-yos 5" ovSev aitrerai veKpov.
(Saviour Death, despise me not, pass not by ! Thou alone art the physician of insufferable
evil ; no woe attacks the dead.)
Two new pictures of Death appear in Jean Frellon's edition of 1562,
therefore nineteen years after Holbein's death. Nevertheless they are both
certainly designed by him, as is evidenced by the whole character, drawing,
and costume. Holbein must certainly have drawn them on wood in Basle at
a much earlier period ; they probably even belong to the very first sheets, for
they exhibit the influence of the older pictures of the Dance of Death far
more distinctly than the other sheets. Holbein, however, may have repressed
them at that time, because their mild and melancholy character did not suit
the bold passion and rude irony of the other pictures.1 These woodcuts
contain the young Bride and Bridegroom. She is adorned with the bridal
crown and is rubbing her weeping eyes, as Death takes her by the hand;
a wedding lute-player is passing by. Her husband is laying his hand on his
heart and is touchingly imploring the skeleton, who is bearing him away, for a
little respite. It reminds us of the enamoured Protesilaus in Lucian,2 who
demands of Pluto a short return to his young wife, whom he left in the bridal
chamber immediately after marriage. The French " Danse Macabre des
hommes et des femmes " also affords specimens of the same thing in
" L'Amoureux," and " la jeune Marine." The bride wears a dress with narrow
fluted folds, a Swiss attire, which often appears in Holbein's works, for
instance, in the dress of the Meier Madonna; and it is still preserved in many
cantons. The close fitting attire of the musician reminds us of the fifteenth
century, and may have been a costume which, in spite of altered fashions, was
preserved at these festal occasions. The bridegroom is dressed like the lover
in the woodcut of the Nun, which we have before mentioned. The figure of
Death leading him away, reminds us of the same figure in the picture of the
1 A similar opinion is entertained by R. Weigel, "Kunstlager-Kata.log," No. 20256.
2 " Dialogues of the Dead," 23.

CONCLUDING SCENES. 281

Knight in the Dominican Monastery. The tatters which are there hanging
about his leg, seem to have given Holbein the idea of the danced out boots, in
which Death here appears at the wedding.
In all the editions, even in the first Basle impressions, two sheets form the
conclusion. After all these pictures of horror, the artist produces a feeling of
peace and reconciliation in the sheet of the Last Judgment, which contains
the promise of a new life and a better world to come. Christ, as judge, is
enthroned in heavenly glory on the rainbow, the world is the footstool on
which His feet rest. Catholic traditions, such as the intercessors St. John aud
the Virgin, are omitted. Below, the risen men and women are standing in a
circle, all raising their hands in praise to God. There are here only the elect ;
there seem to be no rejected and condemned, — a touch of that modern humanity
which goes far beyond the limits of Protestant teaching, indeed far beyond
the ideas of the age. A mantle is thrown over the lap of Christ. The saints
in heaven, like the risen on earth, are perfectly unclothed. " Spirits have no
wardrobe," Holbein must have thought, as well as Michael Angelo, aud this a
long time previous to the Last Judgment in the Sistina.
The whole is concluded by the Arms of Death. Among the mediaeval
representations of Death there belongs also one which regards him as the great
chief of an army, and thus a field badge is awarded to him. The German
poets often allude to the devices of death.1 A standard with his field-badge ,
was assigned to Death by Holbein himself in the large woodcut of the " End
of the Righteous and Ungodly."2 The arms of Death had been represented
by many German artists, among others Diirer had depicted them in one of his
finest engravings, of which we have before spoken.3 Holbein arranged his
arms of Death after the fashion of the coats of arms for glass-painting, which
he was accustomed to design. The divided shield contains a death's head,
through the teeth of which a snake is coiling, the ornament of the helmet is
formed by an hour-glass between a pair of dead arms, which are raising a
stone, as if to say that over every man's head such a stone is hovering, and
may at any moment fall crushingly down. At the sides stand a man and
woman in Swiss attire, he with a large plumed hat, and she with feathers in
her hair, and a heavy chain round her bare neck. Holbein has here evidently
depicted himself and his wife. It is entirely in the spirit of the age that
the artist should in this manner assign himself a place in a larger work.
And just as he adopted in his pictures of Death, otherwise so different in
character, the beginning of the dance and the. charnel house from the great
Basle Dance of Death, so he may also have retained a simUarity with the
conclusion of this dance, exhibiting as it does at last the painter's wife and
the painter himself struck with Death. In the copies of the waU-painting, we
find, indeed, Hans Hug Kluber, who restored it in the year 1568, but though
1 Grimm, "D. Mythologie," p. 492. 2 P. 263. 3 P. 256.

282 THE ARMS OF DEATH.
he may have also liked to introduce his costume and his features into the
painting and his name into the inscription, still in all probability the idea was
an old one, and had impelled Manuel also, when he placed his portrait at the
end of the Bernese Dance of Death. The figures of the woodcut are, indeed,
too small, for any similarity to be traced with certainty to the authentic
portraits of Holbein and his wife. StiU we imagine that in the woman with
the large nose and strong neck, we can see the mother in the painting of
Holbein's family at Basle, only somewhat younger and less carelessly attired.
The manner of wrinkling the brow, and the prominent under lip, also remind
us of Holbein's youthful portrait with the red cap. Only in the meanwhile
his beard is grown, and the smooth hair has become frizzled, as was the fashion
at that time, and as we find it, for instance, also in Diirer's portraits. It is
only when we perceive the painter and his wife in these figures, that we can
understand the true purport of the sheet. Both are supporting themselves
with one hand upon the helmet of the arms, the painter is looking out of the
picture ; he seems to speak, he seems calling the spectator back once more to
that which he had preached to him in these pictures, the lively gesture of his
hand forcibly seconds his exhortation, and the sad reflective expression of his
wife shows the effect which this exhortation has produced. " Gedenk des end"
(Remember the end), '¦ Memorare novissima," stands over it, as we have seen,
in subsequent editions.
The edition of 1545, which increased the original pictures of Death by
eight new ones, added, besides these, four other sheets of a similar form,
depicting chUdren at play; these sheets were inserted before the Last
Judgment. They contain a . boy, with shield and arrow, running, three boys
going to the chase, four chUdren with garlands of vine leaves, carrying a fifth
who has become intoxicated, and three children dragging along trophies and
splendid vessels. Three richer groups of a similar character were added to the
edition of 1562. A boy carried in triumph on a litter by many others, a boy
on horseback with a waving standard, surrounded by other boys carrying
arms or holding the bridle of the horse. Lastly, separated from the rest,
between the preface and the text of the annexed paper, M^decine de Tame,
there is a sheet with several children making music on various instruments.
The charming little horn-blower in front reminds us distinctly of similar
figures in Holbein's organ panels. Unfortunately all the woodcuts, first
appearing in the edition of 1562, are rather carelessly printed.
There is no doubt that these pictures of children were likewise designed
by Holbein. They accord entirely with the splendid boys in the subsequent
illustration of this book, with the sketch for the clock executed in the later
years of Holbein's life, and they exhibit a grace and beauty of form and
movement, which is only to be equalled in Raphael's drawings of children.1
i Mr. Wornum expresses the same opinion, p. 181. The accordance with drawings of a
similar purport by Raphael is indeed striking.

ALPHABET OF DEATH.

283

But why are these pleasing representations introduced among the pictures?
Whether they were inserted with Holbein's will and intention, cannot be ascer
tained, as they first appear in an edition published two years after his death.
Perhaps they were intended for a different destination, and had no connection
with the pictures of Death, which is probable, in spite of their correspondence
of form, from the fact that their framework consists of a simple hne, and not
of a double one, like these. The publishers may have had the drawings in
their possession, and knowing nothing further of their destination, they may
have added them after Holbein's death to the pictures of Death. The French
poet added some morosely ascetic verses, Biblical passages of a similar purport
were sought out, and these charming representations were regarded as
allegories of false illusions, gluttony, and the like. But this does violence to
the spirit which is breathed forth by the pictures themselves.
If Holbein himself intended to add them to the pictures of Death, he was
actuated at any rate by a totally different idea. May not the creator of this
great tragic poem upon the theme "All is vanity," — of this work which
represents so cuttingly the nothingness of aU earthly things and seeks consola
tion only in the hope of the world to come, — may he not perhaps in later years
have had a presentiment of another consolation ? Had Holbein, an artist so
filled with the spirit of the Renaissance, reaUy learned so much from the con
ceptions of the ancients? — and were his views modern to such an extent
that he added to the reminder of the world to come, yet another reminder, and
ventured to point to the chUdlike and harmless enjoyment of life, though as
it were only by stealth and in a manner understood by few ? Perhaps he in
tended to express, as Horace exclaims to his friend in one of his odes, " Delay
not. The short span of life forbids us to hope and to wait long. Now is the
time to place on the head the beautiful burden of flowers in green myrtle.
Enjoy joy and sport, youth and love, before night oppresses thee !"
Yet one word we must add regarding those masterly initials with the
pictures of Death, which have been variously applied in Basle publications,
and have been disseminated in our own day by Loedel's excellent copies.
They begin at A with the " Gebein aller Meuschen " (remains of all men) and
conclude at Z with the Last Judgment, the intervening ones being the true
pictures of Death. Several of them appear to be successfully taken from the
larger woodcuts, as the initials which we have introduced into this work, the
splendid X with the Gamblers, and the 0 with the Monk, whom the skeleton

284 ALPHABET OF DEATH.
is dragging after him by the scapulary. A pretty counterpart to this is Q the
Nun, whom Death is leading by the hand, gravely stepping before her in the
disguise of a monk. W, Death the Hermit, exhibits an idea which appears,
it is true, in the great Basle painting, but not in Holbein's woodcut series, and
which is equally excellent. Far better than the picture in the larger series is
R with the Fool, who is foolish enough to wrestle with Death and to avoid
him. He is running along with bare legs, and Death has put on boots to mock
at him. V, the Horseman, is new ; Death has placed himself on the horse
behind him like " Black Care " in Horace's ode : S also is new ; it represents
Death sitting beside the Prostitute and holding her in his embraces ; a
representation therefore, such as we have already seen by Manuel, of the enjoy
ment of love, hiding the appalling destiny.
There are also Greek initials containing pictures of Death, which appeared
in the year 1538. They are far inferior in the engraving, but the design is
also probably Holbein's. Some pretty and new ideas are exhibited in G,
Death aud the Smith, and in 2, the Peasant, from whose shoulders. the skeleton
is snatching the sack of corn.

¦*&>

The irresistible power and nearness of Death was acknowledged at all times,
but Holbein has proclaimed the fact the more forcibly, because he has intro
duced its terrors in the midst of present life. The figures, the costume, the
whole surroundings, the furniture and accessories, all belong to his own time ;
indeed even in the situations themselves, in the appearance, actions and
demeanour of all the personages, the character and customs of the time are
mirrored. The importance which these pictures thus acquire in the history of
civilization is inexhaustible. But still more, the spirit that moved this whole
epoch pervades the pictures ; that striving for liberty, which at that time was
predominant in Germany, is apparent throughout them ; this above all shows
the satirical side of tliese pictures of Death, both in a religious and political
aspect. We have alluded to this in our remarks upon the separate pictures,
and we will here once more briefly and concisely draw attention to it. In
the first place, Holbein here appears as the champion of the Reformation.
He represents devUs as watching for the Pope's soul, he sends the sharpest
arrows of indignation and ridicule against the clergy, from first to last ; they
are hurried to their destiny in the midst of presumption and haughtiness, in
hypocrisy, slothfulness, and luxury, in stupidity, covetousness, and immorality.
Just as decidedly is the democratic tendency of the age expressed, a tendency
which reached its height in the peasants' wars. Not only does Death meet
the Count in the attire of a seditious peasant, but a similar feeling pervades
the whole work. It is for the most part only the lower classes, such as the
trader and the husbandman, who fall- into the hands of Death in the quiet and
just exercise of their calling, and the Bible passages introduced above :

HOLBEIN AND SHAKESPEARE. 285
" Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden," and " In the sweat
of thy face shalt thou eat bread," seem to point out Death almost as a bene
factor. On the other hand, the mighty and the noble, the duke, the counsellor,
and the judge are seized as they are disregarding the poor and the lowly, or
are being bribed against them by the rich. And those who exercise power
with the sword, the knight and the warrior, fall by the power of him who is
stiU stronger than they. Lastly Holbein's satire expresses his German feeling
in the manner in which he places the German Emperor in opposition to the
King of France.
In the Dances of Death of the Middle Ages, we see the comic element more
inclining to irony than to pure humour. In Holbein's works, irony has com
pletely gained the ascendancy, an irony in the modern sense, such as Shake
speare employs and which tends to increase the tragic effect. And Holbein as
he appears to us in the pictures of Death reminds us of Shakespeare. There is
the same striking reality in all the actions and personages, a reality which
seems no less actual even where a fantastic element is introduced ; there is the
same ability to depict passion at its utmost height ; there is the same complete
characterization of distinct personages, and there is the sovereign power of
the artistic mind over all positions of life and all worldly relations, and lastly
there is the predominance of the purely human element in every action and feel
ing. Whatever remnants of ascetic religion are left in Holbein's works from
the earlier Dances of Death, the poetical idea of the introduction as well as of
the conclusion is drawn from the Christian doctrines A But the sublime
irony which here predominates, though the religious element recedes, makes
the moral element stand out all the more powerfully. How mightily is this
exhibited in the malicious delight of Death, who is dazzled by no earthly
glory and glitter, is deluded by no hypocritical appearance of sanctity, who
overthrows power and grandeur just when they feel themselves greatest, and
who seizes the sinner who fears no earthly punishment, in the very midst of
his crimes.
This spirit made Holbein's pictures of Death so popular, that one new
edition after another followed the first publication in Lyons, and numerous
copies and imitations were called forth. The sheets were copied in woodcuts
and engravings, good or bad, more or less true. WaU-paintings of them were
made in the episcopal palace at Chur.1 Even plastic art took possession of
them. Splendidly coloured wax embossments of some of these, it seems, ap
peared even in the sixteenth century.2 In the succeeding centuries also, the
1 These pictures, coloured in grey, adorn a gallery in the second story. The author has
not seen them himself. Herr von Hefner- Alteneck could not sufficiently extol the ingenious
execution of these pictures.
2 Three excellent reliefs, Empress, Emperor, and Pope, are in the possession of Herr
Amsler, in Berlin.

.86 HOLBEIN AND DURER.

interest in these pictures was not lost, and in our own day it has increased.
Fresh copies appear, and in all works' on similar subjects corresponding ideas
arise. Even in perfectly free artistic creations, they are not completely set
aside. How much does Alfred Rethel owe to the suggestions of Holbein,
when, for instance, he created his grand Dance of Death in 1848, and those
still higher sheets, Death as a Strangler, and Death as a Friend, and pubUshed
them in the popular form of the woodcut !
A definite period of time, with its ideas and events, is mirrored in Holbein's
pictures of Death, and movements, which relate to his native land, are clearly
expressed in them. Nevertheless they were not made public until some years
later, and that in a foreign country. The spirit which pervaded them was not
fettered to temporal or local circumstances to produce its effect.
It is a strange occurrence, that Holbein's pictures of the old Testament, as
well as his pictures of Death, were published in France. They subsequently
spread over all the lands of western Europe. The best copies of the Dance of
Death appeared in Venice in 1545! The original editions came out with
French, Latin, and Italian text, the Bible pictures with Spanish and English
text besides, but none of either books with German text. Holbein's art had
grown beyond the mind and perception of his nation, but, in consequence, it
belongs not merely to his own nation, but to the world, finding abroad more
sympathy than at home. What a difference between him and Albert Diirer !
His works also were disseminated abroad ; Diirer also was highly esteemed in
the Netherlands and in Italy ; but the German alone can arrive at a complete
understanding of his creations — at that time as at the present day — and he
even delights in Diirer's hardnesses, defects, and peculiarities, just because they
are German, belonging less to him personaUy than to his nation in general.
We cannot say that Holbein, while he admitted the general elements of
culture belonging to the epoch, and rose to the free form of the Renaissance,
alienated liimself in any point from the German mind. He only discarded
the narrowness and prejudice of the national character. But even this was
sufficient to make him stand less near to the mass of the people than Diirer
stood to them. Added to this, the religious and pohtical confusions in
Germany fully repressed all interest in art, which had been already long
endangered. Diirer also had stUl to experience this. But he was standing
already at the brink of life, while Holbein was in the prime of manly strength.
In the same year in which Diirer executed his last principal work, the two
panels with St. Peter and St. John, St. Mark and St. Paul, Holbein quitted
his country, in order for some time to try his fortune in a foreign land.

CHAPTER XVI.
Holbein's departure from Basle. — Progress of the Reformation. — Disorders in Basle. — Stagna
tion of art. — The Lais picture of 1526, and its corresponding piece. — Milanese influence.
— Conjectures regarding the subject. — A document of 1526. — Holbein's plan to go to
England. — Previous introduction, through Erasmus, to Sir Thomas More. — Departure in
August, 1526. — Letter of recommendation to T. -Egidius in Antwerp.
Until the year 1526, the Reformation had made steady progress in Basle. In
spite of all opposition on the part of the bishop and the authorities of the
university, the town council allowed public disputations upon various
religious points, and even upon the marriage of priests. And the victory
throughout remained on the side of the new doctrines. God's Word pros
pered, to use the words of an authority of the time. The convents were
opened in the year 1524, and it was left to the pleasure of the nuns to marry.
GEcolampadius was appointed professor of theology by the council, and de
livered his lectures in the German language to a great concourse of hearers.
It was indeed made a condition with him, that no more important innovations
in religious matters should take place without the knowledge of the council,
and on the 12th December of the same year the order was issued, that with
out the inspection and permission of the council nothing was to be printed,
either in Latin, Hebrew, Greek, or German. In spite of this, the authorities
did not hinder GUcolampadius, when he began to baptize children in the
German language, from administering both elements of the Holy Communion,
and from discontinuing aU ceremonies in his church, even that of the mass.
The council also entered into a quarrel with the bishop, by suddenly forbid
ding the payment of a yearly tribute, which had been awarded to him from
every household, and which was always coUected with great parade, without
allowing him any compensation for the loss.
Under such circumstances, a great ferment prevailed in the city. Both
parties stood vehemently in opposition to each other, and even mutually
threatened each other with open violence. This state of things became specially
critical at the beginning of the year 1525, when throughout Germany the
peasants' revolt was raging, and a social revolution was added to a religious
one. Within the district of Basle, the country people had resorted to
arms, and were marching in crowds against the city. Only with the utmost

288 DISORDERS IN BASLE.
difficulty could the council appease them at the decisive moment, by pro
mising them redress for their heaviest grievances. But the disorders were not
hushed for long. Various parties soon appeared in the city itself. On the
thus Christmas eve of the year 1525, and in the Lent of the year following,
the radical reformation party had already formed designs for the destruction
of pictures and the plunder of churches, which were only hindered 'by the
prudent interference of the council. This was for Basle not only a disorderly,
but in every respect a sad time. From April till October, 1526, the plague
raged with ever increasing violence. Added to this, there were desolating
hail-storms ; and on the 19th September the lightning struck the powder
magazine, producing a shock like an earthquake throughout the city. The
ruins were hurled to a distance of 200 paces, the neighbouring houses were
thrown down, and about forty people were killed or severely wounded.
How much art must have been repressed by such a state of affairs is
easily to be imagined. There is extant an expostulation of the painters'
guild to the council in the year 1526, by which we gain clear evidence of
this fact. The associates of the guild complain especially, that they suffered
encroachments from various other workmen, for instance, that the shopkeepers
had false beards and carnival masks for sale, which was a trade belonging
to the painters alone,1 and they concluded by desiring fhat the council would
graciously remember how they, who had also wives and children, and with
whom it fared UI enough without this, could remain at Basle in the
painters' guild, for some painters had given up the trade, and, if in these
things and in others matters did not mend, stiU more would be obliged to give
up the occupation of painters.2
Holbein also suffered under these circumstances. We have seen how
within the last few years, the orders for church paintings had become less
frequent, and how the paintings in the town-hall had come to a standstill.
And instead of the record of worthy public commissions, there stands nothing
else, throughout the whole period in the accounts of the council, than such a
notice as this : " Samstag nach Reminiscere," (the 3rd March, 1526). Item
ij lb. x. s. Geben Holbein dem moler, fur etlich schilt am stettlin Waldenburo-
vergangener Jahren ze molen. Waldenburg is a little nest on the slopes of
the Jura in the district of Basle. For this place, therefore, Hans Holbein
had to paint some coats-of-arms, he, one of the greatest artists of all ao-es
for the trifling sum of 21. 5s. (2 gulden.) It cuts one to the heart to read
1 " Item als die kremer scheinbert oder backen oder fasnacht antlitt feil haben das Inen
ouch nit zustott, allein den moleren."
2 "Zum letsten begerende sy genedenklich zu bedencken dan sy ouch wib vnd kinder
haben domit sy ouch megen zu basel beliben den es ondas jetzen dan schwechlihen gott vmm
das moler hantwerck den ettlich moller von dem hantwerck sind gestanden vnd wo es mit disen
stricken vnd sunst nitt beser wirtt, ist wol zu gedencken es miisen mer clarfon losen." Rath-
hausarchiv. ; discovered by Herr His-Heusler.

LAIS CORINTHIACyi. 289

it. People of his stamp were regarded in Italy as princes, and were the
pride of the nation ; in Germany however, such a man could not earn mere
subsistence. There is a painting of Holbein's which bears the date of the year 1526 ;
it is a work in which the painter appears especially attractive, and it has
recently become universally known through F. Weber's excellent engraving.
It represents a young lady in the rich attire which at that time was worn
in Switzerland and South Germany, a purple slashed dress, with yellow sill-
sleeves. A little cap of gold crowns her fair hair, the neck and bosom display
their unveiled beauty, and are adorned with a thin gold chain, which foUows the
slightest movement of the form. With her left hand, the lady is holding
together her flowing blue mantle, before her on a marble balustrade lies a heap
of gold coins, and she is extending her right hand with open palm, as though
she desired nothing" more as the price of her charms. The idea of this gesture
agrees with the inscription, which, according to a custom often appearing
in Holbein's works, appears chiselled in the stone balustrade, — lais corin-
thiaca, 1526. The countenance is beautiful and regular, the brow nobly
arched, the nose large and hooked, the lips finely cut. The expression betrays
a mixture of tender melancholy and captivating charm. A dark green
curtain forms the background.
The Basle Museum possesses a corresponding piece to this picture repre
senting the same lady in almost exactly the same attire as before, sitting
likewise before a curtain, and behind her is a marble balustrade. The yellow
sleeves are alone wanting, and instead of them we see the arms bare ; in the
place of the golden cap she wears a black one. This lady is represented as
Venus. This is shown by the small naked boy with two arrows, which the
painter has placed by her. The ugly red-haired boy does not wholly accord
with the ideal of a Cupid, but he has a certain famUy similarity with Hol
bein's own children, and with the infant Christ in the Darmstadt and Solothurn
Madonna. This second picture also belongs to about the same time. It
seems probable to us, that it was painted somewhat earUer than the
other, and that the Lais was a renewed and stiU more successful attempt to
represent the same idea. Venus is far less attractive in the expression of the
features. The painter evidently imitated the type of Leonardo da Vinci's
female heads and their tender smUe, but he did not attain to that freedom,
which is displayed in the far more tender and charming expression of the Lais.
And the charm, which these pictures exercise, is increased by the excellent
modeUing of the form, and the perfect execution. These figures are conceived
in a truly plastic manner. How just and effective in the Lais is the distance
of the right hand from the balustrade, which is produced by masterly aerial
perspective. The light falls, as is constantly the case with Holbein, from
the right.

290 THE OFFENBURGIN.
Many things in these pictures differ from other works of Holbein, and on
this account they have been repeatedly regarded with doubt, but this, however,
only arises from the fact that the critic has not made himself sufficiently
acquainted with them. Rumohr declared them to be the works of a Nether
land artist. Mr. Wornum imputes them to the Milanese school. But any one
who has really accustomed liimself to Holbein's style, will perceive here also
his whole mode of conception, his acute precision, his absolute truth in the
imitation of nature, and his spirited and accurate grasping of every personal
characteristic. EspeciaUy do we perceive a peculiarity marking Holbein's
works, in the form and movement of the hands. His execution of the picture
also receives outward attestation from the fact of the simUar-ity of Cupid with
the family type "of Holbein's children, and also from the notice in the inventory
written by Basilius Amerbach in 1586, in which the pictures are mentioned as
" Zwei tafelin daruf eine Offenburgin conterfehet ist ; uf eins eschrieben Lais
Corinthiaca. Die andre hat ein kindlin by sich. H. Holb. beide, mit ' olfarben
in ghiisenn ' ' (two panels which represent an Offenburgin ; the one is marked
Lais Corinthiaca ; the other lady has a chUd by her. H. Holbein painted
both in oil colours, they are in a framework).
The pictures at any rate exhibit a foreign influence. Dr. Waagen perceives
in them a Netherland influence, and even advances the supposition that they
were executed in the Netherlands, whither Holbein went in 1526, on his
journey from England, as we shaU presently hear, and that they were then
sent by him to his home, perhaps to Bonifacius Amerbach, as a proof of what
he had learned in his journeyings abroad. This is in the first place im
probable from the fact that, according to the evidence of BasUius Amer
bach, the person depicted was a Basle lady, belonging to the famous patrician
house of Offenburg. Secondly, we cannot find that the foreign influence
here expressed is exactly Flemish. The tenderness of the warm, yellowish
tint, the stronger use of ultra-marine, and the greater delicacy of the outline,
are cited by Dr. Waagen in corroboration of his supposition. Yet this warm,
yellowish tint is very different to the fine, reddish, flesh-tint used by the
greatest Flemish colourist of that day, Quentin Massys. The pictures were
not indeed, as Mr. Wornum asserts, painted by a Milanese, but the influence
which Holbein here experienced is undoubtedly that of the Lombard school.
From this school, Holbein may have learned this delicacy of outline, and this
beautiful style of painting. At any rate, he had seen pictures of Leonardo da
Vinci, of whom also the type of head reminded us, or at least of his school.
That he had once been in Lombardy, we have regarded as probable, although
it cannot, be established with certainty. Evidently since then, he had been
many times travelling. A letter of Erasmus of the year 1524 has casually
preserved for us a notice of a journey to France. Yet this was certainly not
his only journey in the last few years. When Holbein, as we have already men-

THE OFFENBURGIN. 291

tioned, is given permission in the Basle document of the year 1 538, to carry
his works of art to foreign gentlemen in France, England, and Milan, and the
Netherlands, this permission is extended to — " once, twice, and thrice a-year."
This double delineation of a beautiful woman, once as the goddess of Love
and a second time, in the whole conception as well as by the name inscribed
beneath, as a famous courtesan of antiquity, is also most remarkable on
account of its subject, and inspires us with the wish to know more. Our
curiosity is only increased by the notice of the Amerbach inventory, which
even gives the family of the lady represented. The archival researches of
Herr His-Heusler have indeed not only procured information respecting
one, but even respecting two ladies of the Offenburg family, who led a
highly suspicious course of life. The first of these is the widow of Squire
Hans von Offenburg, Frau Magdalena, by birth Tschekapiirlin, who is
mentioned in the codicil to the testament of Frau Maria Tschekapiirlin,
widow of Morand von Brunn, made in 1523. Frau Magdalena's three
children had been before appointed heirs, and were to pay their mother
100 gulden yearly. This arrangement was now cancelled, owing to Mag
dalena's course of life. If she were to return, and to keep herself good and
honourable, the children were bound to give her as much as she needed
for adequate support and necessary decent clothing, but nothing more. If,
however, she did not return, or if she again departed from respectability, the
children were pledged to do nothing. In the record of the division of the
inheritance, dated the 5th January, 15,26, it further appears that the heirs
were only bound to send a sum of 10 gulden yearly to Frau Magdalena, who
was residing at Frankfort. This seems to answer our expectations. But that,
nevertheless, this widowed Offenburg cannot be identical with the twice
depicted beauty, is evidenced by the fact, that she is mentioned as a married
woman in the testament of Morand von Brunn, dated the 24th June,
1502, who settles a legacy upon her " umb des geneigten wiUen" (for the
sake of the affection) which he has for her. This shows that she was at all
events too old to be the lady depicted. Added to this, at that time, especially
in Switzerland, women were usually called by their own family name, and not
by that of their husband ; she would therefore have been styled by Basilius
Amerbach as a Tschekapiirlin, and not as an Offenburgin. On the other hand,
we have notices of a lady, by birth an Offenburg, Dorothea, wife of Joachim
von Sultz, which may furnish us with a better clue to the matter. Among
the Amerbach papers, there appears a judgment of divorce in 1545, from
which we gather that both husband and wife led such a scandalous life, that
they were imprisoned and expelled the country. The wife had accused her
husband of ill-usage, and he his wife of adultery. We further gather that
this state of things had existed already for years, and that they had been
often separated and again united. u 2

292 STAGNATION IN WORK.
Holbein's paintings leave an impression on the mind of having been
painted for a lover of the beautiful and not irreproachable lady, who had wished
her depicted in a manner in which his love for her was expressed at the same
time as his little respect for her. Her representation as the Goddess of
Beauty and Love might perhaps be considered rather flattering than sus
picious. In tbe Lais picture, on the other hand, it is only too unequivocally
expressed what was to be thought of the beautfful lady, although affection,
and even passion, may have caused such a graceful delineation of her charms.
The perfect execution of the two pictures shows that Holbein had received
a commission for them, yielding a satisfactory recompense. This was indeed
very rarely the case .at this time, and it was not easy for him also in other
respects to gain his due, as is shown by an authentic document1 a circular letter
dated the 4th July, 1526, signed with the name of Heinrich Meltinger, the
burgomaster of that time, and addressed to the "venerable Herr Vicar and
preceptor of the Order of St. Antonius at Isenen (Issenheim) our dear and
gracious master." It is as foUows: —
" Venerable, gracious, and dear sir, receive our friendly and ready service.
Hans Holbein, painter, our citizen, has proposed to us to paint an altar panel,
such as his deceased father painted in former years. He left some implements
of an expensive kind, weighing about three hundred and two cubic measures,
with you at Issenheim, which he, Hans Holbein, repeatedly during the life
time of his father, and at his desire, and also after his decease, being his heir,
demanded of you, but could never obtain ; for what reasons he knows not.
Thus the matter has been delayed to such an extent that the peasants, he is
informed, have wasted these implements in the last uproar, and when he again
desired them of you, as his father's heir, you referred him, with his request, to
the peasants, with whom he has nothing to do, and to whom he has intrusted
nothing, and notified to him an appointment on the Saturday after the next
Ulrici (7th July) at Ensisheim. We, having heard his business, and given
credence to it, and being well inclined to further him, have not allowed him
to keep such an appointment, or to make any demand of the peasants (with
whom he, as we have heard, has nothing to do), but have firm confidence in
you, that you will weigh the matter thoroughly, and hand over to him, as the
heir of his deceased father, completely and without difficulty, the afore
mentioned implements, or, in case nothing of them now exists, compensate
him for their loss, and so show yourself towards him in the affair, that he
may feel that our intercession has been advantageous, and that no further
steps are necessary. Such behaviour on your side we wish for him, to
whom it is justly due."
We have already mentioned this document, as an evidence that Hans
' * Discovered by Herr His-Heusler.

JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 293
Holbein the father had also pursued his art in Alsace. He is spoken of here
as deceased ; his death, as we know, had taken place in 1524. The Council
of Basle, who seems to have afforded ready and powerful assistance under
all circumstances to the people of their city, interested themselves here also in
Holbein. The painter must have needed this protection at such a period of
misery and disorder ; the letter itself alludes to the riots of the peasants. —
Implements of such value probably consisted of colours and painters' gold.
Under circumstances such as existed at Basle at this time, it must have
been difficult for Holbein to obtain the livelihood necessary for himself and
his family, and thus the idea of a journey occurred to him, which should
lead him beyond the adjacent territories.
Carel van Mander states that many years before Holbein went to England,
the Earl of Arundel, who had travelled through Basle as English Ambassador,
had seen the works of the painter, and had endeavoured to persuade him to
go to England and try his fortunes there. The possibility of this is not to be
denied, but the authority which states the fact is not so trustworthy that we can
believe it implicitly. Far more probable sound the explanations of Sandrart,
who sees in Erasmus the cause of Holbein's journey to England. The great
scholar was well known there. King Henry VIIL regarded him with especial
favour, and with him as well as with a number of cultivated men, high in
position, Erasmus was in constant correspondence. After a troubled and
sorrowful youth, it was in England that, through the generosity of such
patrons, he first enjoyed a life free from care. Erasmus may have hoped a
similar lot for the painter, whose art and character interested hini, though
perhaps the first impulse to the journey may have come from another
quarter. Uncertain as this is, it is assuredly to be imputed to Erasmus'
example and encouragement that the plan ripened and was at length carried
out. With no one was Erasmus more intimately acquainted than with Sir
Thomas More, the great statesman and scholar, and he had already, in the
year 1524, availed himself of the opportunity of sending his two portraits
before-mentioned to England, to speak to More of the proposed journey of
the artist, and to recommend him to the assistance of his friend. Although
this letter is lost, the answer is still in existence; it bears the date of the
18th of December, 1525. Herman Grimm 1 has the merit of having furnished
evidence that this is one of the numerous cases in which the correspondence of
Erasmus shows an error in the date. The letter evidently belongs to the year
before, 1524. As a reason for this, Herr Grimm mentions the circumstance that
the death of Linacre is mentioned, which took place on the 20th of October,
1524, also Luther's letter to Erasmus, and the publication of the paper " de
libero arbitrio," both of which belong to the same year ; and the approaching
1 Ueber, " Kiinstler und Kunstwerke," ii. year, Nos. 7 and 8, Berlin, 1866.

294 JOURNEY TO ENGLAND.

completion of the Hyperaspistes, which appeared in 1525. A circumstance
which fully confirms this we have yet to add : the letter is dated " Ex Aula
Grenvici." The court spent Christmas 1524 at Greenwich, but in the foUowing
year the Christmas festival was passed in the utmost quiet at Eltham, be
cause the plague prevailed in London.1
Towards the close of this letter he writes : " Thy painter, dearest Erasmus,
is a wonderful artist, but I fear that he will not find England as fruitful and
profitable as he hopes. I will, however, do my utmost that he shall not find
it entirely unprofitable."2 From the wording of this passage it might be
inferred that at that time Holbein was already in England,3 but we have
distinct evidence that his journey took place later, and therefore Sir Thomas
More must bave based his opinion of him upon the portraits sent over, which
truly justified his admiration.
Some time, however, elapsed before Holbein carried out his resolve. The
earliest records of Iselin inform us that " he set out on his journey in 1526,
in the autumn." 4 Iselin had for this date the same source as that which now
stands at our disposal, namely, a letter from Erasmus, dated August 29th,
1526, in which he commends the painter to his friend Petrus iEgidius in
Antwerp, with the foUowing words : — " The bringer of this is the artist who
has taken my portrait. I do not wish to trouble you with his introduction,
although he is a distinguished artist. If he wishes to visit Quentin (Massys),
and you have not time yourself to take him to him, you wiU perhaps aUow
your servant to show him the house. The arts are stagnating here. He is
going to England to scrape together a few angels. (Play upon the words
Angliam and Angelatos — 10 shillings.) You can give him what letters you
like." 5 We cannot be informed more unequivocaUy of the reasons which
1 " Grafton's Chronicle," new edition, London, 1809, vol. ii. pp. 370 — 386.
2 " Pictor tuus, Erasme charissime, mirus est artifex, sed vereor, ne non sensurus sit
Angliam tarn fcecundam ac fertilem quam sperarat. Quanquam ne reperiat omnino sterilem,
quoad per me fieri potest, efnciam.''
3 Hermann Grimm has endeavoured to prove this. See " Kiinstler und Kunstwerke,"
vol. ii. Nos. 7 and 8, 1866, and " Jahrbiicher fiir Kunst wissenschaft," edited by Dr. A.
v. Zahn, vol. i. 1868, No. 1. Refuted by me in Nos. 2 and 3 of the last-named work. That
Holbein was there already, Herr Grimm infers from the tense " sperarat," which admits of no
other interpretation. The " plus quam perfectum " is, however, explained by the custom of
the Latin tongue, aud whether Holbein were present or no, it makes no difference. When
More says " sperarat," he places himself in Holbein's mind, at the time when the latter will
feel himself undeceived, and at this moment the action of hope is already completed. He
says of himself : " I find it otherwise than I had hoped." According to the modern use of
language, which does not distinguish the absolute and the relative present, " sperarat " is in
this place most justly to be translated as " hopes."
4 " Profectus est anno 1526, circa Autumnum."
5 " Qui has reddit, est is, qui me pinxit, ejus commendatione te non gravabo, quanquam
est insignis artifex. Si cupiet visere Quintinum, nee tibi vacabit hominem adducere, poteris
per famulam commonstrare domum. Hie frigent artes ; petit Angliam ut corrodat aliquot
Angelatos, per eum poteris qua. voles scribere."

LETTERS FROM ERASMUS. 295
induced Holbein to take the journey. It was exigency which drove him
abroad. The date of this letter is not to be controverted, for its purport, in spite of
its brevity, sufficiently verifies it.1 In the first place, we find the passage :
" You will be so kind as to take care that the works of Hieronymus are bound
and sent over to the Archbishop of Canterbury." 2 The concluding volume of
the works of Hieronymus appeared in February, 1526, and the transmission
of the copy to Archbishop Warham was somewhat delayed. On the 29th of
May, 1527, Erasmus had received no tidings respecting the arrival of his
present, for at this date he wrote to Warham : " I wrote to you a short time
ago, and sent you Hieronymus in a gilded binding. If the volumes have
reached you I shall be very glad." 3
A second evidence is furnished by the fact that this letter to -_Egidius
stands in connection with another, addressed to him on April 21st, 1526. It
begins : "Johannes Frobenius has paid me four hundred gold crowns on your
brother's account ; the rest not yet." 4 In the letter of the 29th of August,
however, Erasmus says that he is expecting from Peter's brother, besides some
other matters, that which still remains of this small account.6
To examine the purport of these two letters is, however, also interesting
in another respect. The manner in which Erasmus speaks of the artist, on. the
29th of August, sounds strangely haughty and reserved. He does not even
mention his name, and does not wish to trouble __Egidius with his introduc
tion. Did Erasmus reaUy regard the artist as standing so far beneath him,
that he felt himself only able to recommend him with the utmost reserve, and
almost begs pardon for having done so ? But in the letter of the 21st of April,
we learn that a slight annoyance existed between Erasmus and __Egidius ; that
the latter felt himseU aggrieved because his friend wished to take his money
matters out of his hands ; and the letter of August tells us that __Egidius had
shortly before lost his wife. These furnish us with very different reasons for
the roundabout manner in which Erasmus recommends the painter to him.
" By him," he says afterwards, " you can write what you like." Only too
often does Erasmus complain of the untrustworthiness of the persons through
whom he was obliged to send his letters, and exhorts his friends to be careful
1 Hermann Grimm has endeavoured to dispute this date, and to place the letter in the
year 1524. His only evidence for this is, however, based on an error. He is ignorant that
the concluding volume of the works of Hieronymus appeared in 1526, and he imagines that
the letters of Hieronymus (vols. i. — iii. of the works, which came out in August, 1524) were
here alluded to.
2 " De Hieronymi libris concinandis ex Archiepiscopo Cantuariensi transmittendis,
opinor tibi fuisse cur_e."
3 " Scripsi nuper misique Hieronymum inauratum, qua. volumina si perlata sunt, veho-
menter gaudeo."
4 " Pni'terea nihil," " " Id quod supererat ratiuncultc."

296 JOURNEY TO ENGLAND.
in this respect. Holbein, on the contrary,- — we see here — is a man in whom
confidence may be placed.
Moreover, we see from this passage, that Erasmus had before spoken to
his friend of the artist who had taken his portrait, and the expression, " if he
wishes to visit Quentin, and you have not time yourself to take him to him,"
shows that Erasmus desires that his friend should make Holbein personally
acquainted with his Brabant contemporary in art. We have no information
whether this introduction did take place, and whether the artist remained in
Antwerp for a long or short period. The first traces, which we again find of
him, point to England, and belong to the following year, 1527, the date
affixed to many portraits of personages belonging to the circle of the most
intimate friends of Erasmus in that country.

CHAPTER XVII.
First Journey to England. — Travel in the sixteenth century. — Holbein's route. — Passage across,
and arrival in London at that time. — The impression made by the city and country upon
German travellers of the sixteenth century. — London and Westminster. — Hampton Court.
— Characters and customs of the English. — Henry VIII. and Cardinal Wolsey. — Love of
splendour and taste for art and science in the upper circles. — Native and foreign artists
in England in Holbein's time. — The spurious and genuine works of the master in Eng
land. — The Windsor Castle collection of sketches.
Living as we now do in a period, in which great numbers, indeed whole classes
of men are in a state of constant motion, and the remotest points are reached
easily and with rapidity, yet the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, as regards
travelling, do not stand behind our own to such an extent as we are wont to
imagine. In spite of the bad means of communication and the still worse
highways and hostelries, in spite of the dangers of the way, there prevailed
at that time a love of travel, of which we can scarcely form a conception, and
which pervaded all classes and positions. In Germany, the highways were
most insecure ; nowhere else were there so many waylayers and robbers as
here, the worst of all being of course the nobles, who dehghted in seeing a
common thief brought to the gallows, but only because he spoiled their trade.1
Scarcely better than the highway robbery was the nuisance of the tolls, which
were levied by every small imperial city and by every petty prince. What a
picture of this do we find in Albert Diirer's journal of his journey to the Nether
lands! and he travelled tolerably and with an episcopal safe-conduct which
he had obtained. In spite of this, the desire for travel was nowhere so lively
and so usual as in Germany. The pilgrim proceeded to places sanctified by
holy reUcs, and feared not the path over sea and mountain ; the knight rode
forth to adventure and courtly service; the soldier went in search of pay, and
the maiden in search of soldiers. The merchant travelled on his business ;
in all important places in Europe, the great German trading houses had their
factories, and they fitted out their vessels for distant shores. Monks repaired
-from place to place to preach and to beg ; by begging also, and occasionally
by stealing, the travelling scholars helped themselves on their way ; a charming
description of their doings is given us in Thomas Platter's history of his
1 See story of this in " Schimpff und Ernst," Berne, Apiarius.

298 TEA VEL IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTUEY.
youth. Above all, however, travel was usual with artists and artizans, who
not merely by fighting, but also by the work of their hands gained money for
their livelihood. Whoever could, travelled on horseback; in this manner
travellers were expedited by the post, which Franz von Taxis at that time
began to establish in Germany. Any one to whom this method was too expen
sive took his journey on foot. Diirer, to whom Pirkheimer lent 100 gulden for
the purpose, could ride to Venice ; Holbein was certainly not in such a happy
position. He may perhaps have made the journey, as the "famulus" of Erasmus,
who had generaUy one on the road as a letter-carrier. To these "famuli" he him
self gave what was necessary for the expenses of theh living, and it was relied
upon that those to whom they had something to bring should assist them, and
help them on with smaU donations. There is a highly interesting letter from
Erasmus to a "famulus," whom he had despatched to England, and to whom he
sent some instructions on the way.1 " It is a pity that we cannot look into the
future," thus the letter begins, " if you had set out two days later you would
have had a traveUing companion, who would have made the way to you on
foot as easy as if you had gone in a carriage, for he is full of merry stories."
Erasmus then mentions that the way led through unsafe districts, and he
exhorts the "famulus" not to be afraid of the sea at Calais. "We hear," he
says, " that the sailors, with whom one has to do there, are not more gentle
than the sea itself ; " and that the passage was not only troublesome but also
expensive appears in other letters of Erasmus. Holbein did not indeed go
the direct way, but by Antwerp, and he stayed there probably for some time
in order to earn something ; he then proceeded to Calais, according to the
usual custom. The voyage from here to Dover could be made with a favour
able wind in five or six hours ; 2 this was also long enough to experience all
the torments of sea-sickness. The travellers of that time feared this especially.
i See p. 983, to Nicolaus Cannius, May 29th, 1527.
2 According to Hentzner, who visited England in the year 1598. See Rye's excellent
book, " England as seen by Foreigners," London, 1865, to which we have frequently referred.
The same is also testified by many German descriptions of journeys in the end of the sixteenth
century, to which we have likewise referred ; for instance, the " Badenfahrt " of Duke
Frederic of Wiirtemberg (1592), and Joh. With. Neymayr's "Description of the Journey of
Duke John Ernest of Saxony." Some description of London in Holbein's time is given in the
pamphlet, "Ein glaubwirdige anzaygung des tods, Herrn Thome Mori, vnd andrer treffen-
licher manner inn Engelland, geschehen im jar, mdxxxv." Respecting English customs, &c,
there is much in Erasmus' letters, in the "Utopia" of Thomas More, and in S. Munster's
" Cosinographey." An interesting description of London at a later time, likewise from a
German point of view, is the " Geschicht-und Land-Beschreibung dess Kdnigreichs Gross
Britannien, &c," Frankfurt-am-Mayn, published by Wilhelm Serlins. Respecting the con
nection between England and Germany, see Rye and Karl Elze, in his " Englische Sprache *
und Literatur in Deutschland," Dresden, 1864 ; Introduction to the edition of G. Chapman's
"Tragedy of Alphonsus, Emperor of Germany," Leipzig, Brockhaus, 1867; Froude's
" History of England from the Fall of Wolsey," especially vol. i. ; Maitland's " History of
London and Westir.-inster," 2 vols. fol.

PICTUEE OF THE SEA. 299
Many lamentations over it are to be found in the letters of Erasmus, and in
the notes on the journey of the Bohemian Baron von Rozmital, who visited
England in the year 1466 ; the author, one of the suite, remarks : " My
master and the gentlemen of his company suffered so much from the sea, that
they lay on the vessel as if they had been dead." (Meinem herrn und
andern gesellen that das mer so we, dass sie auf dem schiff lagen, als waren
si tot.) 1
One of Holbein's most beautiful drawings in the Stadel Museum in
Frankfort-on-the-Maine represents a vessel- at sea. When it was executed
is not to be ascertained, and thus we mention it now, when the artist first saw
the sea and ships. It is a large sheet, about one foot high, and some inches
wider ; it is an etching painted in water colours. It depicts a noble three-
masted vessel lying ready for starting. A boat with two rowers, whose action
and exertion of power is given in a masterly manner, is approaching from the
background. All is in motion on the deck. SaUors are climbing up the
masts and unfurling the sails. One of the crew is embracing a girl ; a second
is sitting on the bowsprit and drinking to a prosperous voyage ; sea-sickness is
already appearing in a third. Behind are two musicians, who are giving the
signal for departure, and beside them is one of those splendid figures of
soldiers, which so often appear in Holbein's works. Silent and conscious of
power, the bearded warrior stands there, holding his banner proudly aloft.
He casts no glance back on the shore he has left, but turns his eye with
earnest confidence towards the goal.
Just so did the painter stand there, as he now crossed the channel, away
from his home, which had afforded him nothing, and where he could not
remain, on his way to a foreign land where he had to begin again and make a
path for himself. But he had reason to have confidence in himself.
It was the eighteenth year of the reign of Henry VIIL, who had ascended
the throne on the 22nd April, 1509. He was the first after a long period,
who had entered upon the sovereignty with undisputed right of succession ;
his father had amassed immense wealth for him ; his personal qualities had
gained him the love of all people. In form he was beautiful, vigorous, and
stately ; in appearance truly royal ; added to which he was easy and winning
in speech and behaviour, and devoted to knightly exercises, well-cultivated,
and highly gifted. That immediately after his accession he rejected those
who had served as instruments to the avarice of his father had won him the
favour of the people. The policy of his government, as well as his warlike
undertakings, had been successful. Had Henry died after the first twenty
years of his reign, he would have been numbered among the greatest person
ages of English history ; and it would have been thought, as Froude demon
strates, that such an event had robbed the country of its best hopes : those
1 Rye, p. 181.

300 COUET OF HENRY VIII.
qualities of the King, which subsequently showed themselves in such a fatal
manner, were held within due limits so long as Cardinal Wolsey stood at his
side as guiding minister ; a fact which furnishes brUliant testimony as to this
true and statesmanlike, although in no wise irreproachable character.
Hitherto the court-life had been full of brightness and splendour. In the
eyes of the multitude, the popular cbaracter of the King was invested with a
new charm by his love of pomp. One noisy festival followed another ; balls,
banquets, knightly plays, in which Henry himself took his part, pompous
theatrical pageants, in which the dramatic taste of the nation already showed
itseU. But the merry monarch had also a feeling for more earnest matters.
Destined originaUy, as the younger son, for a high ecclesiastical office, he had
had almost a learned education. Persons who stood in intercourse with him
could scarcely sufficiently praise his truly divine gifts. He was versed in lan
guages ; spoke French, Spanish, and Latin, and knew not merely how to speak,
but how to write weU ; he was familiar with theological study, had an extraordi
nary acquaintance with mathematics and mechanics, and showed himseU
from the first inclined to men of science. The same tendency was also
favoured at the court by Queen Katharine of Aragon, of whom Erasmus
speaks as a woman of rare learning.1 Cardinal Wolsey also cultivated the
study of the belles lettres, which had just begun to penetrate into England,
and he afforded great support to the universities. The clergy and the nobles
emulated the leading personages.
The difference of education and of the whole nature which existed in
England between the people, with their rough and reserved character, and
the upper classes, was certainly considerably greater than in Germany.
Sebastian Minister, who describes the common people as coarse and ignorant,
extols the nobles for being respectful and friendly to strangers; and Erasmus
also repeatedly praises their rare affability, and at the same time reminds his
" famulus " not to be induced by it to carelessness and forwardness, and ever to
preserve due modesty in spite of their condescension. " It is a great thing,"
he exclaims in the same letter, "to see this England so celebrated by all
scholars, and it is at the same time improving both as regards manners and
knowledge, to have intercourse with so many grandees and so many men of
science ! " Erasmus had felt also in a material point of view the benefit of the
spirit which prevailed in these circles. All that he possessed of worldly
goods, he once says,2 he owed to England. The English aristocracy was then,
as now, truly animated by an aristocratic spirit, and strove to show them
selves worthy of their privileged position, making it a matter of honour to
promote science and to give employment to art, in perfect opposition to the
spirit which prevailed among the princes and nobles in Germany.
I Art in Germany was essentially thrown upon the citizen class; thus arose
1 Op. p. 1171. 2 Op. p. 124.

HOLBEIN IN ENGLAND. 301
its free spirit and its independent feeling, and its close connection with the
whole life of the nation ; at the same time, however, it did not overcome a
certain narrowness of character, and it suffered besides under the oppression
which this period of political and religious revolution exercised upon the
German cities. Plastic art in England, on the contrar)^ stood at this
time almost exclusively in the service of the court and the aristocracy. This
refers to one branch of it which had been brought to a stage of development
peculiar to the land itself, namely, architecture. In the building of great
churches, which stand as the production of a whole people, English architec
ture had never achieved creations equal to the French and German works ;
equally little could it rival Germany and the Netherlands in the design of
town-halls, in which free municipal life is expressed. Its splendid and
original productions we find, on the other hand, wherever the demands of the
aristocracy and higher clergy are to be satisfied, in chapels and chapter-houses,
colleges and palaces. A similar position was occupied by painting, regarding
which at that time we cannot speak of any native development of art, though
there were a few native masters. Italian and Netherland artists here found
a rich field for their works among the grandees of the court, and especially in
the King himself. Henry VIII. not only took pleasure in building, but he
had interest in many other branches of the art, not merely because it tended
to courtly splendour, but also from pure artistic feeling. He delighted in
beautiful arms and implements, but he had no less pleasure in paintings.
The tendency to collect works of art began in England with him. The inven
tory of his pictures, carriages, and tapestries, kept in the palace at Whitehall,
is highly valuable, and is to be found in the British Museum.1 The key to
his gallery in Whitehall was kept by Henry VIII. himself, according to a
document of that day, as was the case also with Francis I. of France who took
pleasure in himself showing his gallery at Fontainebleau to visitors of rank.2
This was the soil upon which Holbein now entered, yet he was far enough
removed from finding the field free for him. Although he was occupied at
once by men of the highest circles in close connection with the court, it seems
to have been almost ten years before — and this during his second sojourn in
England — he found opportunity of working for the King himself. If we enquire
as to the artists who were active there on his arrival, we find in the first
place John Browne, who had been for twenty-five years sergeant-painter,3 or
1 Published by Mr. Wornum, " Holbein, Appendix."
2 " State Papers," Letter from Wallop, 17th November, 1540, pp. 479—486, where it
says of Francis I. . . . " and from thence brought me into his gallery keeping the key thereof
Hymself, like as your Majestie useth."
3 Sergeant = servant. See Walpole's " Anecdotes of Painting " ; J. G. Nichol's " Notices
of the Contemporaries and Successors of Holbein " ; G. Scharf, " Additional Observations on
some of the Painters contemporary with Holbein," in the " Arehseologia," vol. 39, London, 1863.

302 RIVAL ARTISTS.

appointed court-painter, in the service of Henry VIIL, and who was, more
over, a man so respected by his fellow citizens, that in 1522 he was chosen
Alderman of London. When he died, in 1532, he was succeeded in his
appointment by an Enghshman, Andrew Wright, whose death took place only
a few months before that of Holbein ; and from the year 1514 — 1530, Vincent
Volpe was employed by the court, and he painted, among other things, the
pennons and flags for the great vessel Henry Grace a Dieu. To artists of
this kind we may assign those smaU and interesting delineations of the deeds
and festivities during the reign of Henry VIIL, as weU as his meeting with
Francis I., known under the name of the Champ de Drap d'Or, his embarka
tion for Boulogne, and the Battle of the Spurs — pictures which are to be
found in Hampton Court under the name of " Holbein." Among foreign
painters, the Italians, Bartolommeo Penni, and Antonio Toto, seem to have
arrived at considerable importance ; they are always named together in the
accounts of the royal household, and Toto was also active as an architect.
Next appear the Netherland artist famUy of Hornebaud : first, Gerard Horne-
baud, traces of whom are to be found in England after the year 1529, and his
daughter Susanna, the famous miniature painter, extolled by Diirer, and at
that time the wife of one of the King's archers, Master Henry Parker.
Susanna's brother, Lucas Hornebaud, was also an excellent master in this
branch of art. He was naturalized in England in 1534, and died in the
spring of 1544. We learn this from an original passage in the royal House
hold Accounts, in which the payment of his monthly salary is noted in the
AprU of this year, but in May we read: "Item for Lewke Hornebaude,
paynter, wages 'nihil, quia mortuus.' " Of all the artists of that time in
England he was the best paid. His salary amounted to 33.. 6s. yearly, while
Holbein subsequently received no more than 30..
But although the German master found here during his hfe, rivals enough
in the eyes of succeeding generations, he so far outshone his contemporaries,
that by his side they have almost all passed into oblivion. Recent investiga
tion of documents has discovered historical records concerning them ; but, of
that which they produced, we know as good as nothing. In isolated instances
it appears, perhaps, that the name of Penni or Hornebaud has clung tradition
ally to a picture. But in general, no other name but " Holbein " is linked in
England with the paintings of this epoch.
If we would gain an idea of Holbein's activity in this country, the works
of the master which we find in England are insufficient for the purpose;
among the galleries on the continent, which contain works of the first rank
by Holbein belonging to this epoch, we may name especially those of
Dresden, Berlin, Vienna, Hanover, and Paris. But England also possesses
numerous works by bis hand ; two of his grandest productions are to be
found at Arundel Castle and Longford Castle ; several important works are in

SPURIOUS WORKS. 303

the possession of the Queen, especially in Windsor Castle. There are portraits
by him in the hands of private persons in various places. Yet, the mass of
works bearing Holbein's name stands in no proportion to those which were
actually executed by him. We find this also elsewhere, and in most German
galleries. Here likewise the genuine Holbein works form only a smaU portion
of those imputed to him. The historical knowledge of art was yet so much in
its infancy, that certain great names became coUective designations for whole
classes of pictures. Almost every portrait in the sixteenth century was
denominated " Holbein ; " not merely German, but French, Flemish, and even
Italian works obtained this honour, while Holbein's actual creations were
often paraded under another name, for instance, Mr. Morett's portrait in
the Dresden Gallery has been ascribed as is well known to Leonardo da
Vinci. The confusion is however greater in England than elsewhere. From
what period it dated, it is difficult to ascertain ; yet in the time of Charles
I., it existed in no wise to the same extent that it has done in the last
century. In the Catalogue of his collection, the name Holbein is not at
tached to numerous paintings which now bear it. The first explanation of
the matter occurred through Waagen's criticism, in his book, " Kunstwerke
und Kiinstler in England," and more fully in the later English elaborated
work, " Treasures of Art in Great Britain," What he here accomplished
was extraordinary, considering the state of historical knowledge respecting
Holbein at that time. Subsequently, however, a great number of pictures,
whose denomination as Holbein's he had aUowed to stand, were set aside,
when in 1861, it was discovered that the year of Holbein's death was 1543
instead of 1554. The difference in all the later pictures that had been
attributed to Holbein had already struck Waagen, and it is a grand evidence
of his artist eye, that he expressed his opinion, that a change in the master's
manner must have occurred about the year 1546.
Yet there is little done towards introducing the results of this discovery
into English collections. Everywhere pictures by " Holbein " are shown which
could not have been painted until after his death ; even paintings dated after
the year 1554, which previous to the recent discovery was believed to be the
year of his death, were adorned with Holbein's name. In the portrait
exhibition of 1866, a picture of Sir John Thynne, belonging to the Marquis
of Bath, and bearing the date 1566, and one of the Countess of Lennox in
Hampton Court, dated 1572, were marked as "Holbein's." In Hampton
Court also there appears under Holbein's name a work of the seventeenth-
century, erroneously given out as the head of Somers, jester to Henry VIII.
In Arundel Castle, which possesses Holbein's greatest masterpiece preserved
in England, two inferior portraits of the time of James I. are attributed to
this artist. The above-mentioned portrait exhibition, which afforded the best

304 COLLECTION AT WINDSOR CASTLE.
means of becoming acquainted with the artistic productions of this epoch
contained sixty-three works denominated " Holbein," nine of which were
genuine. But among seven so-called "Holbein" portraits — to possess one
real one — this is for England on an average a very favourable proportion.
In the gallery of the Queen at Hampton Court, twenty-seven paintings
bear this name, only two of which, the portraits of Reskymer and Lady
Vaux, are really entitled to it.
On the other hand, the library of the Queen at Windsor Castle, contains
a coUection of eighty-seven1 heads sketched by Holbein's hand, which is of
inestimable value ; those only who are familiar with these drawings can arrive
at a true estimate of Holbein as a portrait painter during his sojourn in England,
just as it is necessary to be accurately acquainted with the sketches of the
Basle Collection, in order to form an idea of his works during his period at Basle.
These heads are drawn on paper with charcoal and various coloured chalks,
the sketches are often effectively traced over with the brush by the master's own
hand, and frequently by a slight shading of Indian ink he has aided the
effect of the outline in a marvellous manner. Much of the most delicate
parts is indeed effaced or rubbed off, so that in many cases the original
harmony of the effect is somewhat marred. In most cases, the drawing itself
does not seem so much to have been his object, but as a study for paint
ing, although only the smaller portion of the sketches are known to us in the
finished pictures. The heads are usually drawn on the same scale as is the
painting, so that many of them are as large as life ; several of them are
pricked with pin-holes, which show that they were used for tracing. The
names of the personages represented, which are noted down on many of the
sheets, are not written in Holbein's hand, but are of later origin, so that these
denominations cannot be regarded as historically authentic ; for, although the
correctness of the names has in many cases been established, the incorrect
ness in many other cases is indubitable. According to Walpole's2 statement,
mention is made in an old inventory belonging to the Lumley family of a
similar book of sketches, with the addition that it was in the possession of
king Edward VI., and that the names of the persons represented are written
by the hand of Sir John Cheke ; he was one of Edward's preceptors, and hved
not far from the time at which the sheets were executed.
The collection is said to have been sold to France, but in the following
century it was presented to King Charles I. of England through the French
Ambassador Mons. de Liencourt. The king exchanged for this collection, the
picture of St. George by Raphael in the possession of the Earl of Pembroke,
and the latter transferred it subsequently to the Earl of Arundel, the famous
art coUector, who was intimate with Rubens, and was one of Holbein's greatest
1 According to Walpole, 89 ; however, two smaller sketches, indubitably not by Holbein
but later and inferior works, have in consequence been withdrawn.
2 " Anecdotes of Painting." Edit, by R. N. Wornum, 1862, i. p. 85. Obs. 3.

SKETCHES AT WINDSOR CASTLE. 305
admirers. At that time many of these heads were engraved by Wenzel Hollar
on a small scale, some of them not very faithfully.
The collection was originaUy stUl greater than it is now. For instance,
the sketch for the picture of Mr. Morett, copied by Hollar when it was in the
Arundel Collection, is wanting at Windsor. It was purchased a few years ago
for the Dresden Gallery, where it now hangs by the side of the painting.
At WUton, near Salisbury, the seat of the Pembroke family, who for a time
possessed the entire series, there is a sheet containing the head of Thomas
Cromwell, which was left there and which hangs there in a frame. A prin
cipal piece containing the head of Henry VIII. himself, which does not
appear in the Windsor Gallery, is to be found in the Cabinet of Engravings
at Munich. Other sheets are to be found in the Galleries at Berlin and Basle,
as well as in the British Museum.
Perhaps the sketches, after the breaking up of the Arundel Collection,
came again into royal hands, but all information on the subject is lacking.
They were completely forgotten, when Queen Caroline found them in a closet
in Kensington Palace. They were then framed and hung up at Kensington.
They have now been taken to Windsor, where, under the direction of the
late Mr. Woodward, the Queen's Librarian, they were re-mounted with the
utmost care, and kept in two portfolios.
In the year 1792, Chamberlaine issued almost the entire coUection in
engravings by Bartolozzi. Valuable as this splendid work is, and much as it
strives throughout to produce an actual fac-simile, even in the touches of colour
and in the tint of the paper, we cannot conceal from ourselves the fact that
this aim is not yet attained. The character of the original often appears
weakened, and is materially marred by a certain elegance in the execution
and conception. In the Windsor Collection there is, however, a fac-simile of
wonderful fidelity, which F. C. Lewis engraved after the picture of Cecilia
Heron, one of More's daughters. This so far surpassed the other sheets of Barto
lozzi, that Chamberlaine saw that they could not possibly stand beside it, and
therefore he had Lewis' plate destroyed, that it might not render the whole
publication worthless. Recently most of the sheets have appeared in large
and exceUent photographs, but here also the absence of the delicate touch of
colour deprives them of one of the principal charms of the original. We
request our readers to examine the engravings or photographs which are
accessible to them in most places, if they would gain an idea of Holbein as
portrait-painter during his sojourn in England.
Holbein certainly did not torment the people whom he painted with many
repeated sittings. He depicted them, even in the sketch, with wonderful fidelity
and completeness, so that this seems to have been afterwards sufficient for
the painting. In numerous sheets we see short observations written in the
painter's hand, relating in general to the colour of the dress or of the beard
x

306 SKETCHES AT WINDSOR CASTLE.
and hair. Those in the Windsor Sketches, which belong to the earlier years,
are in general grander in effect, and those belonging to his later residence in
England are on the contrary more delicate and fine in their execution. At
first he usually drew upon untinted paper, but subsequently he gave a reddish
colouring to the whole sheet, which corresponded with the flesh tint of the
countenance. Any one who is less acquainted with the northern art of this
period wiU find these sketches more suitable to his taste than the finished
paintings of Holbein. Our modern eye is less accustomed to understand and
to appreciate the loving completion, pervading every detail, which is exhibited
in his paintings, and can more distinctly perceive the artistic masterly
power displayed, when in a few bold touches its aim is reached with such
marvellous truth.

CHAPTER XVIII.
The house of More.— The family life at Chelsea.— Sir Thomas More and the king.— His
domestic life. — Portraits of More, and portraits which erroneously bear his name. — Por
trait of Sir Henry Wyat, — Works belonging to the years from 1527 to 1529. — Portraits
of Archbishop Warham and Bishop Fisher of Rochester. — Sir Henry Guildford — Nico
laus Kratzer. — The Godsalves. — Sir Bryan Tuke. — Some sketches. — The picture of More's
family. — Original sketch in Basle, and studies at Windsor. — Copy in the possession of
the Winn family.
Better recommendation Holbein could not have found, in the circles to which
he was directed, than that of Sir Thomas More, to whom he was introduced
through Erasmus. If he went up the Thames to Westminster, past Lambeth
House, the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, he arrived, after some
time, at the village of Chelsea, which has now almost become absorbed in the
mighty city itself. Here lay More's country-house. The records of old
biographers, Mander at their head, tell of Holbein's hospitable reception in this
house, though they meet with no express confirmation from other sources. In
Erasmus' correspondence we find nothing further on the matter, yet this is
not to be wondered at. The correspondence of the two friends had become
irregular for the last two years, principally from More's accumulation of
business since he had entered the service of the king. We may therefore
give credence to the statement, which is in itself probable. Noble hospitality
was the custom in England generally, and it was especially usual in More's
house, which affords us a true model of English family life. Erasmus him
self had here found a hospitable reception. Some years before, when he had
sent his " famulus," John Smith, an Enghshman, to his native country, and had
warmly commended the welfare of the young man to his friend, More received
him into his own service and household. More had already promised to do
everything for Holbein that lay in his power, and the artist had long before
introduced himself to his notice in the best manner. Not only from Erasmus'
portrait must Sir Thomas More have known him, but in the Basle edition of
his " Utopia" he must have seen the title-page, on which stood the abbreviated
name of Hans Holb. And if he before had known nothing of this, as may
be imagined, he may now have learned from Holbein himself that he was the
x 2

308 MORE'S FAMILY LIFE.
designer of those two other pretty woodcuts which had been prepared
expressly for the "Utopia."
Some letters of Erasmus have furnished us with a charming description of
More's house, and the life which was led there. " He has built himself on
the banks of the Thames," so says his friend, " not far from London, a country
house, which is neither smaU, nor is it enviably magnificent, but thoroughly
comfortable. Here he lives in his immediate family circle, with his wife, his
son, and daughter-in-law [in Holbein's time she was not yet married], and
eleven grandchildren, who have been graduaUy added to the number." 1 To
live thoroughly with his family was More's principle. In former years, when
he practised his profession as a lawyer, or subsequently when under-sheriff and
justice of the peace in London, he always set aside the remainder of the day
for his own family. When he returned home, although wearied with business,
he talked, as he himself relates, with his wife, chattered with the chUdren, and
spoke with the servants. This he did no less regularly than he fulfiUed the
duties of his vocation, because it seemed to him necessary for any one who
did not wish to be a stranger in his own home. He expressed it as a principle
that to those whom he had received as companions in Ufe, either by nature,
accident, or choice, everybody ought to be as agreeable as he could possibly
be, without ruining them by kindness, or making his servants masters
by indulgence. When he subsequently, contrary to his own inclination, entered the service
of the king, who would not dispense with this man, distinguished as he was
for his talents, learning, and character — England's only genius, as his teacher
Colet calls him — his time was stUl more taken up. Besides repeated em
ployment as Ambassador, he was, when Holbein came, ChanceUor of the
Exchequer, ChanceUor of Lancaster, and member of the Common CouncU.
He was so indispensable to the king from his personal qualities, that Henry
constantly sent for him to speak to him on theology, geometry, or secular
matters, or to study the heavens with him at night. But also from the
elegance of his mind, the cheerfulness of his nature, his striking wit, and his
fine talent for conversation, the king and queen unceasingly desired inter
course with him. More, who felt this as a burdensome fetter to his freedom,
and to whom the repeated removal from his family was a heavy tax, had no
resource at -length but to place himself under constraint, and to restrain
his cheerfulness more and more, until at last the court no longer sent for
1 Letter to J. Faber, bishop in Vienna, without date, but belonging to 1532 or 1533 ;
" Opera," iii. p. 1809 et seq. See, regarding More and his domestic life, letter of Erasmus to
Hutten in the year 1519, p. 472 et seq.; More's dedicatory epistle to Petrus iEgidius in the
" Utopia ;" More's "Life of More ;" Mr. Roper's " The Life and Death of Sir Thomas More,
Kt." Recent biography, " Thomas Moras. Aus den Quellen bearbeitet," von Dr. G. Th.
Rudhart ; Nuremberg, 1829.

FAMILY LIFE AT CHELSEA. 309
him so regularly. But even in his own house he received sometimes a visit
from the monarch. It occasionally happened that Henry would suddenly arrive
in Chelsea, in order to spend some hours with him in pleasant conversation.
Repeatedly he would come unexpectedly to dinner, and after the meal would
walk up and down the garden with him, placing his arm familiarly round
More's neck. It was on one of these occasions that his son-in-law, Roper,
congratulated him upon these evidences of the king's favour, and More,
whose clear eye saw through the monarch, answered in the memorable words :
" I thank God, my son, I find indeed that his Grace is my very good master,
and that he thus distinguishes me with his favour beyond any subject in this
kingdom. Yet, son Roper, believe me, I have no reason, therefore, to be
presumptuous ; for if my head could gain the king one castle in France, it
would faU immediately."
" One could imagine," said Erasmus, " a second Republic of Plato in
More's house ; but no ! that is too smaU a comparison. With more justice
we might caU this house a school of genuine Christian feeling. There is no
one here, man or woman, who is not occupied with the belles lettres, or with
profitable reading, although the first and pre-eminent effort is directed to
piety of conduct. There is no dispute, no unbecoming word is heard, none
is seen idle, and this spirit of true discipline is not maintained by this rare
man by frowns and scolding words, but by gentleness and kindliness. Each
does his duty, but there is joyfulness in doing it, and there is no lack of jest
and cheerfulness within due limits. The lot of this house seems to be
happiness. No one can live in it without feeling himself better for it, and
that all error is far from him."
That Holbein was worthy to share the life of such a house furnishes con
vincing evidence in favour of his morals and his education. Only one thing
had he here, indeed, to hide ; namely, his Protestant opinions. Sir Thomas
More, to whom Erasmus could dedicate his "Encomion Morise," who showed
himself as the decided opponent of the ignorance, coarseness, and immo
rality of the clergy, was, nevertheless, a still more vehement enemy to any
opposition against the doctrines and constitution of the Church itself. And
when he subsequently became Lord Chancellor, he who in the " Utopia" had
advocated freedom of conscience, persecuted the heretics with aU the zeal of
fanaticism. If More interested himself in the artist, the first thing naturally was that
he should have his portrait painted by him. There is, indeed, a portrait of
him existing, bearing the date mdxxvii., perhaps Holbein's earliest work in
England. It belongs to Mr. Henry Huth, in London ; and, in spite of many
retouchings, was reckoned among the best works in the National Portrait
Exhibition of the year 1866. We see More before us in half-length figure,
life-size, in a dark green upper coat, with fur collar and purple-coloured

310 PORTRAITS OF MORE.
under-sleeves ; the hands are resting in each other, the right hand holding a
paper, while the arm is slightly leaning on a wooden table, on which the date
is inscribed. He is looking towards the right.1 His head is covered. He wears
a heavy golden SS-chain, so caUed because all the Unks have the form of a
Latin S ; while a double rose, in remembrance of the union of the Two Roses
of York and Lancaster, is fastened to it — an ornament which only knights
might wear. The background is formed by a green curtain, with a red cord,
which only to the right of the spectator reveals a glimpse of the blue sky.
More is beardless, and wears tolerably long hair, as we see in all the persons
painted by Holbein at this time in England. To shave the hair of the head,
and to wear a full beard, was customary in Germany at the beginning of the
century ; in England, and especially at the court, this custom was not intro
duced before 1530 or 1535. In later years More also wore a beard, as we
infer from the statements respecting his execution. When he laid his head
on the block, he pushed his beard aside, which, as he said, had committed
no treason. His appearance accords fuUy with the description which Erasmus sends to
Hutten of More's exterior : complexion fair, hair dark brown, eyes grey. We
can still see that he was once justly considered a handsome youth. But the
cheerfulness formerly diffused over his countenance may have disappeared
since Erasmus last saw him, from the seriousness of life, and from his political
employments. His face, it is true, shows tbat calm repose which indicates
the utmost harmony of nature and inward peace ; but the expression is one of
the deepest seriousness, though gentleness is linked with it. The finely-cut
lips are firmly closed, there is something almost visionary in the bright and
penetrating glance, though otherwise the features betoken clear judgment,
combined with noble moral strictness and nobility of feeling. In looking at
the picture, the words occur to us with which Erasmus in another passage
concisely sums up More's characteristics : " He possesses that beautiful ease
of mind, or, still better, that piety and prudence, with which he joyfuUy
adapts himself to everything that comes, as though it were the best that could
come." This was the disposition which enabled him subsequently to preserve
his equanimity, his character, and even his cheerfulness, under all circum
stances. It remained to him when, in prison, he wrote with charcoal these
touching lines : — " Flattringe Fortune, looke thow never soe fayre,
Nor never so pleasantly beginne to smile,
As tho' thow wouldst my ruine all repayre,
Duringe my life thow shalt not me beguile ;
Trust I shall God, to enter in a while
Thy haven of Heaven sure and uniforme,
Ever after thy calme looke I for noe storme."

From the spectator.

PORTRAITS OF MORE. 311
This repose, purity, and gentleness he retained to the last moment when he
mounted the scaffold.
Various portraits by Holbein bearing the name of Thomas More occur in
other places, but the denomination is erroneous, for they represent whoUy
different personages, and are some of them not the work of our master. This
is the case with the small picture in the Brussels Gallery of a bearded man
raising his hand to his chin, with a little dog lying before him, engraved by
Vorsterman in 1631, and at that time mentioned in the Collection as by Jan
van der Wouwere.1 It is undoubtedly the work of a French artist, and as such
it was declared by Count de Laborde in the year 1850.2 On the other hand,
there is a half-length portrait in the Louvre, half life-size, a beautiful Holbein
original, extremely life-like in its conception, and, from its whole execution,
belonging probably to the period of his first visit to England.3 Nevertheless,
it does not represent More, but Sir Henry Wyat, of Allington Castle, in the
county of Kent, knight and banneret. He was a statesman of the time of
Henry VII., and was appointed member of the Privy Council by Henry VIII.
on his accession to the throne. He is the father of the Sir Thomas Wyat
afterwards repeatedly depicted by Holbein. His personality is established by
several copies of the picture which appear in England.4 That the personage
represented was named " Morus, High ChanceUor of England," surely only
arose from his splendid chain, which is laid on in real gold, as was usual in
the portraits painted in England. Such a concession was obhged to be made
to the love of splendour prevailing in this country. Wyat's right hand is
grasping the cross which is hanging on the chain ; the left is holding a sheet
of paper. He wears a cap, which covers the ears ; a fur-trimmed black dress,
with green under-sleeves. His strong and impressive face is seen at three-
quarters, and is turned to the left.5
On the other hand, there are two masterly heads of More in the before-
mentioned collection of Holbein portrait sketches in Windsor Castle. Both
have unfortunately suffered much. One is evidently the study for the picture
in Mr. Henry Huth's possession; the other, which almost entirely accords
with the former, only that the upper lip shows a slight trace of beard, may
1 Muste Royal de Belgique, No. 19. Catal. by Ed. Fetis, 1865, p. 141. From this
picture the engraving of More in the correspondence of Erasmus, edited by Clericus, is taken.
2 La Renaissance des Arts a la Cour de France, i. p. 189. Another so-called More in the
Hague, and another in the Leuchtenberg Gallery, St. Petersburg.
3 Cf. Waagen, " Kunstwerke und Kiinstler in Paris," p. 551.
4 One in the possession of Mr. Robinson in London ; a second in the possession of the
Earl of Romney. Both of high artistic value.
s A picture which Mechel bad engraved as " Morns," is, as Hegner states, p. 87, the Basle
Burgomaster, Jacob Meier zum Hasen. The original, which was undiscovered, has been seen
by the author in the collection of Prince Czartoryski at Paris. The Meier Madonna in the
Dresden Gallery was also called formerly the " family of Sir Thomas More."

312 PORTRAIT OF WARHAM.
have been drawn for the picture of More's family, which was executed two
years later.1
Among aU the pictures of this Windsor CoUection, perhaps none in gran
deur or boldness equals the life-size, head of Archbishop Warham of Canter
bury, which we have here subjoined in a woodcut illustration. The outhne, as
well as many of the lines of the countenance, is given with the utmost exact
ness and decision, and the touch of colour produces an extraordinary effect.
The grandeur and severeness of conception, the plastic feeling and the noble
simplicity, cannot be sufficiently admired. The finished painting, stiU in
Lambeth House, accords with it perfectly. The costume is, as in the sketch,
a white surphce, large fur coUar, and red under-garment, a narrow strip of which
appears at the neck. It is a, half-length figure. Not merely is the head
characteristic and full of individuality, but also the hands of the old gentle
man, which are resting on the gold-brocaded cushion. To the right of the
spectator is an open book ; somewhat further back, on a table, are other books
and a mitre ; to the left, a magnificent large cross of gold and jewels, executed
with such nicety that, Jan van Eyck could not have done it better. The
background is formed by a yellowish brown curtain. This picture was to be
seen in 1857 at the Manchester Exhibition, and in 1866 in the National
Portrait Exhibition at South Kensington.
There is in the Louvre a second copy, which fuUy accords with that in
Lambeth s House, only that it has a green background, It is likewise so
exceUent that we do not hesitate to regard it as a repetition by the artist's
own hand ; in its colouring it is even more agreeable and harmonious than
the picture in Lambeth House, which is not without a certain hardness, and
has a colder grey tint, though in the general effect it is stUl more imposing
and speaking. Both copies bear an inscription, giving the ' date 1527, and
W,arhafn,'s age of seventy years. They were therefore executed during the first
year of Holbein's- residence in England. Warham, who. had always shown
himseU a benevolent and generous patron, to Erasmus, exhibited at once an
interest in the painter, and aUowed him immediately to execute two por
traits of himself.
WiUiam Warham was born in 1456 ; the old man is aheady bent by age,
but earnestness and energy still speak in unbroken power in the strongly
developed lower part of the face. His whole appearance shows that elevated
dignity which becomes a man who is at once a high ecclesiastic and states
man. Under Henry VII., as well as during the early years of Henry VIIL,
he had been Lord High Chancellor of the kingdom, and had shown himself
an experienced and upright minister, until at length, by his request, the King-
took the great seal from him in 1515, and Wolsey was appointed in his stead.
1 In two copies of it, at Thorndon and East Hendrcd, More is depicted with a moustache.
Wornum, p. 401.

nRv\.s«aI^«.v.\.._..'«

ARCHBISHOP WARHAM CF CANTERBURY.
(Sketch. Windsor Castle.)

PORTRAIT OF FISHER. 313
He then stood aloof from all political life, devoting himself entirely to the
duties of his high ecclesiastical office. He had now much to suffer : the
proud Wolsey by many acts infringed on the dignities and privileges of the
primate. He stood there as the representative of an age, the foundations of
which were shaken, and he must have foreboded much of that complete
overthrow which was shortly impending. But Warham's expression in the
picture tells us that the motto which we read at the head of his cross is
not in vain : " avxilivm mevm a deo." (My help is from God.)
Probably it was about the same time that Holbein depicted also the
second patron and friend of Erasmus among England's high ecclesiastics,
John Eisher, Bishop of Eochester, whose portrait appears in two beautiful
sketches: one among the Windsor drawings;1 the other, stiU more carefully
executed, in the British Museum. We are not acquainted with any painting
by Holbein from them.2 The worn countenance, with its honest, modest,
but anxiously conscientious expression, shows completely the man whose
wonderful purity of life, combined with profound and unostentatious learning,
as well as incredible kindliness of demeanour towards high and low, is
extoUed by Erasmus, and whose unselfishness, piety, and true fulfilment of
his religious duties are celebrated by aU contemporary authorities.3 Even
by Froude,4 the distinguished historian of that epoch, who however persists
in a one-sided point of view, this man, who in 1535 shared Sir Thomas
More's bloody fate, is thus characterized : " Eisher was the only one of the
prelates for whom it is possible to feel esteem. He was weak, superstitious,
pedantic, and even cruel towards the Protestants. But he was a sincere man,
Uving in honest fear of evil, so far as he understood what evil was, and he
could rise above the menaces of temporal suffering under which his brethren
of the episcopal bench sank so rapidly into humility and subjection."
One other man belonging to More's immediate circle and to the party of
Wolsey's adversaries, and who was also in correspondence with Erasmus,
was painted by Holbein in this same year; namely, Sir Henry Guildford,
Master of the Horse to Henry VIII. He was a warrior and a scholar. When,
in the year 1511, 1,500 archers were sent to the King of Aragon to help
against the Moors, he accompanied them by royal order ; subsequently he
took part in Henry the Eighth's expeditions against France ; in 1513 he bore
1 It appears in Bartolozzi's engraving, hesides some illegible strokes, to bear the date 1525 ;
the inscription of the original, however, referring to his end, is as follows, in Italian : " II
Epyscopo de resester fu tagliato il capo Fan 1535."
2 The picture in St. John's College, Cambridge, is no original. Dallaway, in the notes to
Walpole, mentions a picture of Fisher at Didlington, Norfolk, which we do not know. A
bearded man who was to be found under this name in the Portrait Exhibition, 186'6 (belong
ing to Major J. H. Brooks), is neither a Fisher nor is it by Holbein.
3 " Ein glaubwirdige anzaygung des tods Herrn Thomee Mori," &c. ; translation of a Latin
letter, also ascribed to Erasmus. 4 Vol. i. p. 301.

314 GUILDFORD AND NICOLAUS KRATZER.
the royal standard at Therouenne, and was appointed Knight Banneret at
Tournay. In the painting in Windsor Castle,1 he is holding a staff of a
Lord of the Treasury, an office at which he arrived in 1526 ; the chain of
the Order of the Garter, of which he had been made knight on the 24th
April, 1527, adorns his throat.2 Added to this he wears a gold-figured dress,
and a black overcoat with a collar of sable. Dignity, power, and reflection
are expressed in the strong countenance, the yellow colour of which is not,
as was supposed, to be imputed to retouching, but is peculiar to the individual
himself. The same colour of the face appears in the original drawing in the
Whidsor Collection. The background is formed by a green curtain, which,
somewhat drawn back, reveals a glimpse of fig-leaves and blue sky. A
carteUino, painted as if it were sealed to the background (the same occurs
frequently in Holbein's works), bears the date 1527, and the age of forty-
nine years.
A portrait of Lady Guildford, formerly in the Duke of Buckingham's
coUection at Stowe and now belonging to Mr. Frewen, was in the National
Portrait Exhibition at South Kensington in the year 1868.3 Wenzel Hollar
has engraved two half-length portraits of Sir Henry GuUdford and his wife,
though only from sketches.
To 1527, lastly, the small portrait of a man in the Dresden Gallery
belongs ; it is a half-length figure, with cap and fur-trimmed coat, and smaU
brown whiskers. In spite of a certain hardness in the execution we cannot
doubt that it is the work of Holbein. The date stands on a paper held in
the hand.
In the following year, Holbein's reputation seems to have aheady penetrated
to a wider circle. He painted his German countryman, the astronomer of the
King, Nicolaus Kratzer, born in Munich, whose portrait Diirer had also taken
some years previously when he met him in Antwerp. The painting — now in
the Louvre and certainly one of the best of Holbein's pictures there — had been
seen by Carel van Mander in the possession of the art connoisseur Andries
de Loo in London, and had been called by him " een feer goedt Conterfeytsel
en meesterlijck ghedan." Kratzer, large as life and a half-length figure, is
looking towards the right, from whence also the light falls. Holbein delights
in showing the countenance as much as possible in full light. He wears a
black cap and black coat, with a brown upper garment over it. A white ruff
and the edge of a red waistcoat appear at the neck. In his right hand he
holds a pair of compasses ; in his left a polyhedron. Various mathematical
1 It was in the Manchester Exhibition as well as in the National Portrait Exhibition.
" The biography here, as in many other instances, is taken from E. Lodge's text in
Chamberlaine's work. See also Stow and Grafton's " Chronicle of England."
3 The author has not seen the picture himself, and follows the statement of Mr. Scharf.
who considers the picture to be original.

THE GODSALVES.

and astronomical instruments — for instance, a ruler, a protractor, scissors, ham
mer, and compasses, to the curious delineation of which Mander justly draws
attention — are hanging on the wall or lying on the table, on which there is
also a sheet of paper with an inscription bearing Kratzer's name, his age
of forty-one years, and the date 1528.
The beardless face is not exactly beautiful ; a large nose, broad mouth,
coarse chin ; he is a thoroughly Bavarian figure, somewhat heavy, but also
full of character, and producing an extremely jovial impression. He is thus
depicted also in contemporary records,1 and it accords with the anecdote men
tioned by Mander, respecting his naive answer to the question of the King,
why he had not learned better English during the long time he had been in
the country. " Pardon, your Majesty," said he, " how can a man learn English
in thirty years ? " Holbein, who conceived every man in the manner that
befitted him, here gave masterly prominence to the national character, and
contrived to depict a personage of this stamp with the same striking truth
shown in the aristocratic portraits we have just considered.
The Dresden Gallery contains a small panel with the portraits of Mr.
Thomas Godsalve of Norwich,2 and his son John, both sitting at a table. A
letter which the father has just written, bears the name, and gives his age of
forty-seven years. The date 1528 stands on the wall.
Father and son, the latter a young .man, appear remarkably alike, and are
true types of English country gentlemen. John Godsalve subsequently came
to Court ; he was made a knight by King Edward VI., and died in 1557 on his
own estate. A second portrait of him by Holbein's hand, but evidently done
, several years later, is to be seen among the Windsor sketches, which we shall
presently mention. It is not a study for a picture, but is completely executed
in body-colours, and is one of the most masterly works of the collection.
John Godsalve here wears a violet coat, which, standing carelessly open,
exhibits the shirt, and over all is a black upper garment trimmed with fur ;
in his hand he is holding a letter ; the ground is azure-blue. The thin young
man with a large sharp nose, scanty beard, hair hanging over his brow, and
visionary blue eyes, which gaze earnestly at the spectator, has something
puritanical in his character. A notice which confirms his strong Protestant
bias is to be found in the account-book of the Eoyal household from the
year 1538 to 1541, which also contains many things respecting Holbein. At
the new year of 1539, when every one at the Court brought a gift to the
Sovereign — the artists their own works, and the nobles costly vessels and
such-like things — he presented the King with a New Testament.
Among those portraits which from their designation assuredly belong to
this time, we may yet reckon a painting, the artistic character of which
1 Letters from N. Bourbon.
1 The catalogue of the gallery calls him erroneously Sir Thomas Godsalve.

316 SIB BBYAN TUKE.

renders it highly probable that it was executed at this period, — we allude
to the portrait of Sir Bryan Tuke in the Munich Pinakothek. He also be
longed to the circle of scholars. Among other things he wrote some remarks
upon Chaucer, and was extolled by Leland as an excellent writer in the
English language. He was treasurer of the King's household,1 and died
in the year 1545.
That he wears no beard and longer hair also indicates this earlier period
for the execution of the work. His head is covered with a cap passing. over
the ears, such as was customary at that time in England. His upper gar
ment is of black silk trimmed with fur ; under it is a jerkin, also trimmed with
fur and with pretty gold buttons, and sleeves ornamented with a gold pattern.
Pound his neck hangs a splendid gold cross, on which the pierced hands and
feet of Christ are represented in enamel. The ground is formed by a green
curtain, behind which is seen a skeleton pointing to an hour-glass almost run
out. Below we read in Latin the passage from the Book of Job :• " My short
life, does not it come soon to its end ? " Besides this the name of lo. Hol
pain is introduced in the old Augsburg orthography. The picture declares
itself as strikingly as possible to be the work of Holbein,2 and it is one
of the two genuine paintings among the eight portraits ascribed to him in
the Pinakothek. It has, it is true, suffered ; the hands especiaUy have lost their
shading from cleaning ; many of the more delicate transitions have vanished,
and the tint of the countenance seems immoderately red. Yet stiU from its
truth and life-like feeling, as weU as from its masterly execution, it is an
exceUent portrait, though somewhat sharp and severe in conception, as are
many of Holbein's pictures of this period, especiaUy that of Warham in
Lambeth House.
The name of the subject of the painting, who was formerly styled " an
ecclesiastic'' at Schleissheim, and until recently, at Munich also, was
ascertained by Waagen, who found a second portrait of the same individual
by Holbein in England.3 At that time it was at Corsham House, in Wilt
shire, the seat of the Methuen famUy, and it has now passed into the
possession of the Marquis of Westminster. It was in the National Portrait
Exhibition of 1868, and was regarded by judges as a masterpiece of Holbein.4
1 " Treasurer of the Chambre : " biographical notices in Fuller, the "History of the Worthies
of England." T. Leland, " Scriptores nostri temporis."
2 That Mr. Wornum doubts as to this picture, and considers it painted in the style of
v. Melem, and says, "The style does not proclaim it to be the work of Holbein," would to me
have been quite inconceivable, had not the painting hitherto been hung far too high. The
new director, Professor Folz, who made many excellent alterations in the Exhibition, also
assigned a better place to this work. Thus I saw it and can express my opinion with perfect
certainty. 3 "Kunstwerke und Kiinstler in England," vol. ii. 1838, p. 304. Professor Marggraf's
catalogue of the Pinakothek, 1865, first contains the name. * Letter from G. Scharf, Esq.

SIB THOMAS AND LADY ELYOT. 317
Inscriptions give the name of Sir Bryan Tuke, his age fifty-seven years, and
his motto, " droit et avant." Unfortunately it is not known — so far as the
author's acquaintance with authorities goes — what was the year of Sir Bryan
Tuke's birth, which would furnish us with the exact date of the picture.
According to Waagen's description, the costume and bearing perfectly
accorded with the painting at Munich, only that the figure of Death is
lacking. Although it was unfortunately much dried up and effaced, Waagen
extols the delicacy of the execution, and the wonderful charm of its truth
fulness to nature.
The dress, the long hair, and the absence of beard render it probable that some
other portrait-sketches must have been executed at this time. This is the case
with a portrait of an unknown, half-length figure in the Florentine Collection
of Sketches. He wears the cap passing over the ears, which was at that time
usual in England ; the hands are resting within each other. The background
is formed by a panelling, crowned with small statues — a magnificent sur
rounding, decidedly indicating a man of eminence. There is also the portrait
of Sir Thomas Elyot (died 1546), one of the most beautiful sheets of the
Windsor Collection, from its spirit and delicate execution. He likewise
belonged to More's circle of intimate friends, and was a man of various
learning, educated for the law, a writer on medical, ethical,- and historical
subjects, and a translator from the Latin and Greek languages. He
commended himself to the King by his acquirements ; he was made a
knight, and subsequently he was sent as an ambassador to Bome and to
the Court of Charles V. After More's execution, his close friendship with
him, and his adherence to the Catholic religion, rendered him suspected, so
that from this time he retired from the theatre of public life. His counte
nance, with its decided features, is pleasing, from its refined and intellectual
character. The head of his wife, Lady Elyot, who died in 1569 as the wife
of Sir James Dyer, forms the corresponding sheet.
There is a master work of the artist in a painting in the gallery at Madrid,
representing a man of middle age, dressed in dark attire, with little beard,
large nose, and rather plain features, holding a paper in his hand. According
to Waagen, the portrait is painted in a strong reddish-brown colour; and
although the personal appearance is not very attractive, it is an excellent
work. The dress and the wonderful adherence to reality, so far as the
photograph of the original allows us to judge, place it decidedly in this
period. Never did Holbein exhibit such grandly strict and even coarse
adherence to reality in his portraiture, as in the years of his first visit to
England. As a work of this period we would also reckon, from the impression pro
duced by the photograph, the portrait of a beardless and aged ecclesiastic,
which was in the Gourtales Collection, and respecting the present fate of

318 PICTUBE OF MOEE'S FAMILY.

which we know nothing. Nevertheless, a judge such as 0. Mundler doubts
whether it proceeds from Holbein.
Whether Holbein remained during this whole period the inmate of More's
hospitable house is not known to us. Carel van Mander's statement of his
three years' residence there, and of the manner in which More introduced him
to the King, into whose service he had from this time entered, is nothing but
a fable. There could easily have been opportunity for Henry VIII. to have
seen the painter and his works in the house at Chelsea, but Holbein's works
exhibit no evidence of his having been in communication with the sovereign
prior to 1536, and we have no written documents upon this point
until 1538.
Whether Holbein lived with More or no, at any rate he was in intimate
connection with him until the year 1529. He then completed the most
extensive picture which he produced during his first residence in England ;
namely, the large painting of the More family. The original has now dis
appeared; Carel van Mander saw it in London in the possession of the art
collector, Andries de Loo. " This lover of art," he says, " had a large canvas,
painted in water-colours, on which was depicted, as large as life, from head
to foot, the learned and famous Thomas Morus, with his wife, sons, and
daughters, all magnificently arrayed, a piece worthy to be seen and highly
extolled." From De Loo's property at his death, it fell into the hands of a
grandson of Thomas Morus, also called More.1 Since then, all trace of it has
been lost ; again one of the numerous instances in which a principal work of
our master has entirely disappeared.
On the other hand, the Basle Museum possesses Holbein's original sketch,
which More sent to his old friend Erasmus, through the artist, when the latter
returned home in the year 1529. We here see the famUy assembled in an
apartment, simply furnished, though in accordance with such a house. It is
probably the dining-hall, for on the left there is a high buffet, the top of
which is covered with a flower vase, tankards, bottles, and dishes, probably
silver from their noble form, though a rarity at. that time in England, even
in large houses. Similar table utensUs, a candlestick and some books, are to
be seen on the right on the window-sill. In the centre of the wall at the
back, which is covered with a curtain, a large clock with weights is hanging.
Yet it is also clearly enough indicated what sort of mind regulates the house.
Some large folios are lying on the floor, and the greater number of those
present, especially the women, have books in their hands or on their laps.
The arrangement of the persons has a serious and formal character, almost
approaching to solemnity. There are here no genre-like accessories which
catch the eye, but one common feeling pervades all present, producing in
this calm assemblage of persons, devoid as they are of all action, a truly
1 Sandrart here simply copies from Mander.

PICTUEE OF MORE'S FAMILY. 319
united and compact whole. The stately, though not magnificent, attire of all
also adds to this character. The female heads are, unfortunately, as is the
case with most female portraits which Holbein painted in England, injured by
the stiff angular head-dress, which completely conceals the hair. Above or
beside the separate persons, or at the bottom of their garments, the name and
the age of each is written in Latin, and this apparently by More's own hand.
The similarity with the address of the letter which iEgidius is holding, in the
picture at Longford Castle, strikes the eye. By these notations, the year of
More's birth, respecting which the statements differ considerably, is ascer
tained. In the sketch he is fifty years old; as this, however, from the
mention of it in the correspondence of Erasmus, was executed in 1529, he was
born about the year 1479.
He himself is sitting in the centre of the circle, with the great chain, and
in attire, bearing, and expression, almost entirely as in the picture in Mr.
Huth's possession. The hands, however, are almost entirely covered with the
sleeves, probably for a good reason : " Manus tantum subrustic_e sunt "—his
hands are of a somewhat awkward form ; this is the only thing which
Erasmus finds to object to in his physical appearance. At his right hand is his
father, John More, judge of the King's Bench, a man of seventy-six years of age,
whom Thomas More tended in his own house with the utmost care, and whom
he never ceased to thank for his strict and simple education, — "an affable,
gentle, merciful, upright, and pure-minded man, full of years, though vigorous
and blooming," as Sir Thomas More calls him.1 By his side stands Margaretha
Gigs, twenty-two years old, a relative of the family, who was brought up with
More's daughters, and soon after married John Clement ; she has a book in
her left hand, and is pointing to it with her right, apparently as if making a
remark upon what she has read to the old man, towards whom she is bending
down. In front of her stands the second daughter, Elizabeth Dancy,
twenty-one years old, with a book under her arm, and engaged in drawing on
a glove. She terminates the picture on the left. Opposite, quite in the fore
ground, the two other daughters are sitting on the ground, Margaretha Eoper,
twenty-two years old, the father's favourite daughter, who was wont to call
her his Meg, and of whom we hear from contemporary sources that she was
not only beautiful in form and figure, but that she greatly resembled her
father in understanding and judgment.2 She had enjoyed a rare education,
wrote excellent Latin verses, and yet possessed a quiet and genuinely
womanly disposition. Of the whole family she was the only one who
thoroughly understood her father's mind and opinions, and a deep and touch
ing love bound her with him. Some years later, when he, robbed of his pos
sessions and goods, lay in the Tower, it was she who brought to him in his
1 Erasm. op. iii. p. 1442.
2 " Ein glaubwirdige anzaygung des tods Herm Thoma. Mori," &c.

320 PICTURE OF MORE'S FAMILY.
prison the liberal gifts of his friends contributed for his support. To her he
directed that touching letter of farewell, which he wrote with charcoal on a
slip of paper, and he addressed her in it as " Myne owne good daughter."
And when he was led away from the base tribunal which had sentenced him
to death, she pressed through the multitude, and twice fell weeping on his
neck, till he also at last could no longer speak for sorrow, and even the rough
halberdiers were not able to restrain their tears.
Margaretha is holding an open book in her lap ; her countenance possesses
somewhat of the fine superiority and mild repose of her father. The youngest
sister by her side, CecUia Heron, nineteen years old, holding a book and
rosary, is turning round, it appears, to her stepmother, Alice, who is kneeling
on a prie-dieu stool, behind the two daughters. More had wooed her as a
widow, seven years older than himself, after the death of his first wife. The
picture also teUs us that she was neither " young nor beautiful," as we- read in
Erasmus' letters, who speaks of her in another passage as a somewhat too
Uvely little old woman, though he does her the justice to say that she was a
zealous and watchful mother.1 By her side a chained monkey is jumping ;
from Erasmus' letter to Hutten we know that More had aU sorts of animals
in his house : foxes, weasels, monkeys, and birds of every kind, whose form,
nature, and instincts it was ever his greatest pleasure to observe. Behind
this female group, to the left of the father (therefore to the right of the spec
tator), stands John More, the son, nineteen years old, befittingly absorbed in
a book ; for Thomas More repeatedly informs Erasmus with great joy of his
son's advance in scientific matters. John, of whom we otherwise know but
little, and who at any rate seems to have had no specially conspicuous
characteristics, here makes the impression of a gentle, reflective, and sterling
youth. By his side is Henry Patenson, forty years of age, More's jester.
Such a man found entrance even into this seat of the Muses. The custom
usual in that day was especially prevalent in the great English houses, whose
fools are well known to us from Shakespeare. Patenson, of whom More was
very fond, is a rude and jovial fellow in his outward appearance. On his
right, we see through a door with a wooden screen into an ante-room, in
which two servants or secretaries — only indicated by very cursory sketches 
are sitting, reading or writing, at the window.
The sons-in-law are not to be seen in the picture ; yet we find there the
betrothed of the son, Anna Grisacre,2 a girl of fifteen years old, not however
standing by the side of her lover, but just passing behind her father-in-law and
the old John More, and, turning towards the spectator. The youno- oirl, with
a far more worldly mien than the rest, surveys the -circle with a bearino- and
1 P. 475 : " Viduam duxit magis curanda. familiae, quam voluptati, quippe nee bellam
admodum, nee puellam, ut ipse jocari solet sed acrem ac vigilantem matrem familias."
P. 1456 : " Nunc habet vetulam nimium vivacem, &c." 2 Or Cresacre.

PAINTING OF MORE'S FAMILY. 321
expression as though she thought quite differently upon most things than was
the custom here ; and this was indeed the case, as we know from small traits
recorded.1 Beside the names of those depicted, written in More's handwriting, we
find also in two places, in German, and evidently in Holbein's hand, some
observations respecting alterations which were to take place in the execution
of the painting. By the side of the kneeling housewife we read : " Dise soil
sitzen " (she is to be sitting) ; and to the left above on the wall, close by the
cupboard, where only a violin is hanging in the sketch, stand the words
"Klavikordi vnd ander seyten spill vf ein bretz" (harpsichords and other
instruments on a shelf). To introduce musical instruments was suitable to a
house in which vocal and instrumental music was practised by aU members
of the family, and even Mistress Alice had been induced by her husband's
cheerful and flattering persuasion to learn to play many instruments in her
old days.
This sheet is the first fugitive sketch, especially intended to arrange the
grouping of the numerous family. Yet the portraiture of all the heads, which
are only sketched in a few lines, is complete and striking, and even the
most delicate, life-like touches are given with wonderful certainty. This is
especially perceived when they are compared with the seven large heads, drawn
from life for the painting, and now in the portfolios at Windsor Castle.
These sketches, which belong to the boldest and most spirited pieces in the
collection, are in the first place, Thomas More himself, his aged father and his
son, whose youthful grace is extraordinarily charming, the betrothed girl, and
the youngest daughter Cecilia, both without names ; and lastly, Margaretha
Gigs, and the second daughter Elizabeth, under the erroneous denominations
of " Mother Jak " and " Lady Bartly."
There are in England various copies of this family painting, for the most
part of later origin and with many differences, described by Horace Walpole.2
1 She laughed, according to Roper's account, over More's criticism, when she saw it one
day by accident.
2 See this more in detail in Wornum, p. 231 et seq. Besides the authentic copy at
Nostell Priory, there is a probable copy of the former at East Hendred, in Berkshire, in the
possession of Mr. C. J. Eyston, formerly at Barnborough, Yorkshire, the seat of the Cresacre
family. A copy of the former, somewhat altered, is at Thorndon, near Brentford, in the pos
session of Lord Petre ; in Walpole's time in Sir John Tyrrel's possession at Heron, in Essex.
A later composition of 1593, only partially based on Holbein's, is at Cokethorpe Park, Ox
fordshire, in the possession of Mr. Walter 'Strickland, in Walpole's time at Burford, in the
possession of the Speaker Lenthall, &c. In Mechel's work, besides a fac-simile of the original
sketch, there is an engraving, " Ex tabula Joh. Holbenii in Anglia adservata," without further
statement of authorities. That no original painting lies as a basis for it, is proved by the fact
that the alterations to which Holbein's written observations in the Basle sketches allude, and
which are to be found in Mr. Winn's picture, are not here attended to. The only differences
from the Basle sketch consist in omissions ; the violin on the wall and the men in the ante-
Y

322 PAINTING OF MORE'S FAMILY.
To go further into these is without interest for us ; only one copy, which was
long regarded as the original, and was alleged to be the same copy as that
which Mander had seen at De Loo's, is highly worthy of attention. It comes,
indeed, from a good source, namely, from the possession of the Eoper family,
through whom it passed by inheritance to Mr. Charles Winn. It is now in
his seat, Nostell Priory, in Yorkshire. The identity with De Loo's picture is
refuted by two facts mentioned by Mander. In the first place, he says that
the grandson of Sir Thomas More, who bought the painting, was named
More, and not Eoper ; in the second place, that it was painted in water-
colours, and not in oils, hke the picture of the Winn family. This was in the
Portrait Exhibition of the year 1866, and proved indubitably with what justice
Waagen had spoken when he said it was only a good old copy. Still this
large picture is in a high degree interesting. Though the hand that copied
it betrays, indeed, an able but in nowise clever painter, though the coldness
of the execution is apparent in the unattractive accessories, stiU it shows us,
to a certain extent, with what careful and delicate study the original picture
had been executed. This is to be inferred especiaUy from tbe hands, the
masterly traced copies of which I possess, through the kindness of Mr. George
Scharf. It is interesting that here, indeed, those deviations from the sketch
are to be found, which were in view from Holbein's written observations.
Mistress Alice is sitting in an arm-chair ; instead of kneeling ; a gold chain
with a cross is suspended round her neck, and a book is in her lap ; on the
wall are the desired musical instruments, the violin and the lute. Some smaU
alterations in the furniture of the apartment are also to be observed ; the
magnificent table service has almost entirely disappeared, and is replaced by
flower-pots, musical instruments, and books. This may have seemed less
picturesque to the artist, but more suitable to the master of the house. Many
of the titles of the books are even to be read ; Margaret Eoper, for instance,
has the Gildipus of Seneca in her lap. Two dogs are lying in front on the
ground, which is strewn with green rushes ; carpets were at that time rare
even in wealthy houses. In the open door, John Heresius, More's " famulus,"
is leaning ; he is a man of twenty-seven years of age, and in the ante
chamber the figure of a man reading is to be seen, almost turning his back
to the spectator.
chamber are wanting. I have found Mechel's model in a sepia drawing in the " Gothic
House," at Worlitz, near Dessau. It is evidently £, copy of the original Basle sketch, executed
long after Holbein's time, and bearing some written notices in Lavater's hand. Mr. Wornum's
statement that the Basle sketch was drawn in 1530 is erroneous. This date was placed below
the picture by the same recent hand which has written the names of the persons below a
second time.

CHAPTER XIX.
Return to Basle. — Holbein brings Erasmus the sketch of the painting of More's family.—
Erasmus in Freiburg. — Events in Basle ; the iconoclastic storm. — Unfavourable condition
for artists. — The picture of Holbein's wife and children. — Authentic notices of Holbein's
son, Philip. — Information respecting Holbein's daughter.— Continuation of the Town-
hull paintings. — Rehoboam. — Samuel and Saul. — The circumstances of the time reflected
in the pictures. — Hard times in his native country, and happy turn of affairs in England.
— Second departure for London. — The Town Council seeks in vain to retain Holbein.
The fifth and sixth of September, 1529, are the dates on the letters of Erasmus
to Thomas More and Margaret Eoper, in which he expresses his hearty
delight at the sketch of the family picture, which the painter has brought
over to him. " Oh that it were once more granted me in life," he writes to
More, "to see such dear friends face to face whom I contemplate with the
utmost joy imaginable in the picture, which Holbein has brought me '" " I
can scarcely express in words, Margaret Eoper, thou ornament of thine
England," thus begins the second letter, " what hearty dehght I experienced
when the painter Holbein presented to my view your whole family in such a
successful delineation, that I could scarcely have seen you better had I been
myself near you. Constantly do I desire that once more, before my goal is
reached, it may be granted me to see this dear family circle, to whom I owe
the best part of my outward prosperity, and of my fame, whatever they may
be, and would owe them rather than to any other mortal. A fair portion of
this wish has now been fulfilled by the gifted hand of the painter. I recognize
all, yet none more than thee, and from the beautiful vestment of thy form I
feel as if I could see thy still more beautiful mind beaming forth." 
" Greet thy mother," he says after many other things, at the close of the
letter, " the honoured Mistress Alice, many times from me ; as I could not
embrace her myself, I have kissed her picture from my heart."1
1 P. 1232. To More : " Utinam liceat adhuc semel in vita videre amicos mihi charissimcs,
quos in pictura, quam Olpeius exhibuit, utcunque eonspexi summa cum animi mei voluptate."
To Margaret : "' Vix ullo sermone consequi queam, Margareta Ropera, Britannia? tuae decus,
quantam animo meo persenserim voluptatem, quum pictor Olpeinus totam familiam istam adeo
feliciter expressam mihi repreesentarit, ut si coram adfuissem, non multo plus fuerim visurus.
Frequenter illud apud me soleo optare, ut semel etiam ante fatalem vita, diem intueri con-
tingat charissiniaui mihi sodalitatem, cui mese, qualis qualis est, vel fortuuae, vel gloria, bonam
Y 2

324 HOLBEIN LEA VES ENGLAND.
Scarcely ever has Erasmus at any time written so heartily, and with such
warmth of feehng. At the same time, such a lively acknowledgment of the
artist is here expressed, that this is a new proof that the reserved recom
mendation to iEgidius did not arise from a cooler feeling towards Holbein,
but from other circumstances. Holbein had certainly only to thank the
efforts of Erasmus for all that he obtained in England.
From the work which he there found, the artist had remained absent tolerably
long for a Basle citizen, whom the authorities, even when abroad, never lost
sight of, and who was bound to his native country by duties to his family, to
his guUd, and to his city. He had, however, experienced in England not only
good; he must also have had to struggle through many and universal cala
mities and cares. The King's love for the beautiful lady of his court, Anna
Boleyn, had already raised doubts as to the legahty of his marriage with his
brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon ; and the negotiations on this point
placed not only the higher circles, but all England, and indeed the diplomacy
of Europe, in excitement. Moreover, there had been a scarcity in London ; the
sweating sickness had been especially violent in the year 1528 ; many noble
personages had been snatched away by it, and the King almost daUy changed
his residence ; in More's house also the malady had found its way. Margaret
Eoper was seized most violently by the complaint, and the symptoms of
death were already appearing when she was saved as by a miracle. More
ascribed her recovery to his fervent prayer to God. Besides all this, during
Holbein's sojourn abroad, a war had occurred between the King of England
and Holbein's own supreme sovereign, the Emperor of Germany.
When he again returned home in 1529, he did not find Erasmus in Basle,
but he may have halted a day at Freiburg in the Breisgau to see his old
patron, and to consign to him the gift from his English friends. From
thence the letters of Erasmus were dated which we have before mentioned.
It was pohtical events which had driven the great scholar away from his
second home, " that nest to which habit had chained him for many years."
WhUe Holbein had been absent, his country had also seen stormy days. The
mutual exasperation of the religious parties had at last led to that violent
outbreak of hostUities which had been long foreboded. In Easter 1528, the
partem debeo, nee ullis mortalium debeo libentius. Hujus voti non minimam portionem
mihi preestitit ingeniosa pictoris manus. Omnes agnovi, sed neminem magis quam te ; videre
mihi videbar per pulcherrimum domicilium relucentem animum multo pulchriorem. . . .
Ornatissima. Matrona. Aloysia. matri tuse multam ex me salutem dices, eique me commendabis
et amanter et diligenter. Effigiem illius, quando coram non licuit, libenter sum exosculatus."
Lastly, in Margaret's answer, p. 1743 : " Quod pictoris tibi adventus tantse voluptati fuit, illo
nomine, quod utriusque mei parentis nostrumque omnium effigiem depictam detulerit, ingen-
tibus cum gratiis libenter agnoscimus." In the first letter the painter is called Olpeius, a
confusion with the name of a former "famulus," Severinus Olpeius. The name is nearer
right in the second letter.

EVENTS IN BASLE. 325

Council had been obliged to make the concession of giving up some churches
entirely to Divine worship according to the Preformed ritual, and of removing
aU pictures from them. Earnestly they warned against sedition; they
exhorted all parties not to call each other papistic, Lutheran, heretical, or as
belonging to the new or old faith, but to leave every man unridiculed and
uncontemned to pursue his own belief.1 The times were, however, too much
excited for these circumspect measures. A crowd of armed citizens in the
following year effected the removal of the Catholic-disposed members of the
Council. But, once gathered together and armed, the zealots could not
disperse without committing violent excesses. The signal for the iconoclastic
storm was given ; it was the Shrove Tuesday of the year 1529. They began
with the cathedral ; one of the barricaded doors was burst open, and 340 men
rushed in, pulling down and dashing in pieces all the pictures and altars.
The orders of the Council were powerless against the self-assumed power.
In the delusion that they were checking a culpable idolatry, the zealots
proceeded to St. Ulrich, St. Alban's, and the other churches and monasteries.
At five o'clock in the afternoon these heroic deeds were ended, and on the
next day, Ash Wednesday, the 10th of February, the next act of the drama
followed. Four hundred men, with the executioner at their head, entered the
cathedral, dashed to pieces all that yet remained, dragged the fragments out
before the palace, and abandoned everything to the flames of five bonfires.
" There was no one who did not fear for himself, when these dregs of the
people covered the whole market-place with arms and cannons," writes
Erasmus to Pirkheimer,2 and then he proceeds to depict the whole tragedy :
" Such a mockery was made of the images of the saints, and even of the
crucifixion, that one would have thought that some miracle must have
happened. Nothing was left of the sculptures, either in the churches or in
the cloisters, in the portals or in the monasteries. Whatever painted pictures
remained were daubed over with whitewash, whatever was inflammable was
thrown upon the pile, v/hatever was not was broken to pieces. Neither
pecuniary nor artistic value could save anything."
Erasmus found that his remaining at Basle was at an end. It had already
given offence to many of his noble patrons, princes and prelates, from whom
he received pensions, that he should fix his residence in a city disposed to
Protestant views. The die was now cast. Inwardly adhering to neither
party, nothing was so hateful to him as barbarousness, and at this moment
he had seen the greatest amount of it on the side of the Eeformation. Indeed,
he believed himself no longer safe in Basle, where his difference of opinion
was known. He was obhged to resolve " to transplant the old tree," hard as
this was for the elderly and sickly man, and he chose the neighbouring city
of Freiburg for his residence, where Catholic opinions still held theh ground.
i Ochs, v. p. 610. 2 P. 1188 et seq.

326 HOLBEIN'S RETURN TO BASLE.
The departure from a place which had become dear to him, and from many
friends, could not have been without pain. When he entered the vessel which
was to bear him down the Rhine, he uttered the foUowing verse, which Boni
facius Amerbach, his companion on the voyage, noted down in his tablets : —
" Jam, Basilea, vale, qua non urbs altera multis
Annis exhibuit gratius hospitium.
Hinc precor omnia heta tibi, simul illud, Erasmo
Hospes uti ne umquam tristior adveniat."
With what feelings must Holbein have entered Basle under such circum
stances ! The circle of his old friends and patrons was thinned. Froben had
ied two years before ; Bonifacius Amerbach alone was still there. In the
iconoclastic storm, without doubt, many of his own works had perished, altar-
pieces and votive paintings, many beautiful designs for which we now possess
among the sketches of the Basle Museum. His splendid painting of the
Last Supper had only been in fragments. Here aud there a work, such as
the organ-doors of the cathedral, remained in its place ; for these, on account
of their lofty position, were protected from the first outbreak of the rude
zealots, and the magistrates could afterwards have had no reason to remove
them, as they served only for ornament, and did not belong to the pictures to
which adoration was shown.1 For it was expressly stated by the Swiss
Reformers, especially Zwingli, that pictures, to which no adoration could be
shown, should be allowed to remain.
Holbein, who at the beginning of the Reformatory movement had, with
the truest conviction, advocated the Reformation in his own sphere of art,
might now sing with all his heart the German Psalms which resounded in the
houses of God and in the streets ; might take the Lord's Supper in the spirit
of C__colampadius, whose views even Erasmus declared to be very obvious.2
What an effect, however, must the eighteenth clause, " upon pictures," in the
order passed in 1529 respecting the Reformation, have produced upon him : "We
have no pictures in our churches either in the city or country, because they
formerly gave much incitement to idolatry, therefore God has so decidedly
forbidden them, and has cursed all who make images. Hence, in future, by
God's help, we will set up no pictures, but will seriously reflect how we can
provide comfort for the poor needy ones who are the true and hving images
of God."3 Scarcely had he returned, than he brought a tribute of compensation to
his family, from whom he had so long remained absent, by taking a portrait
of his wife and his two children, not with diligent care, on a solid wood panel,
1 C. Gruneisen, " De Protestantisino artibus haud infesto ; " Stuttgart und Tubingen, 1839.
2 " Nisi obstaret consensus ecclesia.," frequently occurs in letters.
3 Ochs, v. p. 721.

FAMILY PICTURE. 327

but with rapid, powerful, and vigorous hand on mere paper. This picture,
which exhibits them life-size, is in the Basle Museum, and even the Amer
bach inventory states the names of the persons it represents. Only the three
first figures 152 . . . were left when the picture was cut out and fastened on
wood. Yet the date was certainly 1 529. Not only does the somewhat older
appearance of the wife render this probable, but also the whole treatment. It
accords with the pictures executed during the period of Holbein's first visit
to England, in the bold energy of the conception and colouring, in the almost
rude truthfulness, and also in the clearer flesh tint with its grey shadows,
such as is not to be found in Holbein's works prior to this period. It is the
same mind as meets us in Warham's portrait, and in the studies of the heads
of More's family painting. The painter did not allow himself time for careful
and well-adjusted grouping; just as his family chanced to sit before him, he
depicted them, and this with such unvarnished truth, that the first effect is
almost repulsive, because it is so far removed from all beauty. The full figure
of the wife is unconcealed, and her features are in no wise charming. We
imagine that we can perceive the same individual in the Solothurn
Madonna of 1522, but what a difference have those seven -years made which
had elapsed since then ! In her features many of the cares of life have left
their trace behind, and her eyes look either weak or red with weeping. With
touching motherly care, Frau Elsbeth is embracing her two children, — the little
ingenuous girl, who is sitting on her lap and stretching out her right hand as
if desiring something, and the boy, who is standing before her, looking upwards
with a true-hearted expression, but with a seriousness that is almost melancholy-
There is something touching- in the simplicity and unaffected fidelity with
which this family group is depicted. Here, where he renounces all idea of
delicate execution, the breadth and boldness of the style remind us of
Velasquez. There is a second copy of this picture extant which has much suffered, so
that any certain judgment upon it is scarcely possible; but although cleaned,
the effect is so striking and the whole work is so excellent, that it has been
considered as a repetition by the hand of the master himself.
It is now in the possession of Herr Brasseur at Cologne. This is also
painted on paper which has been fastened upon wood. The sketch has not been
cut out, and a piece has been pasted on the top with an inscription probably
belonging to the sixteenth century :
'• Die Liebe zu Gott Heist charita
Wer Liebe hat der Tragtt Kein Hass.
(The love of God is charity ; he who possesses love bears no hatred.)
Thus the portrait, in order to be of interest to the purchaser, has been changed
into an allegorical representation of charity. Some few differences appear. The

328

FAMILY PICTURE.

hair of the boy is arranged somewhat more smoothly ; many little diversities
appear in the fall of the drapery, and the right ear of the wffe is — evidently
more correctly — placed somewhat higher.
Ever since Carel van Mander and Patin, the biographers of Holbein have
spoken of his unhappy conjugal relations, the quarrelsome character of his wife
having, as they allege, essentially contributed in leading Holbein to set out
for England. Not the slightest basis exists for such assertions, and we
venture to regard them as mere fables. Even Durer's wife, who was for a
long period depicted as a second Xantippe, has, in recent times, experienced

an equally happy and thorough exculpation.1 But in this instance, although
there were no other grounds to rest upon, and especially no notice on the part
of Diirer himself, still, at least, there was a letter of Pirkheimer's in existence
which spoke of her in an invidious manner. As regards Holbein's wife, on
the contrary, there is an absence of any document which could throw the
slightest shadow upon her. We know nothing of her personally, and only
recently, in the investigation of authentic documents of which we have
already spoken, have we become acquainted with her name and the fact that
1 Through Dr. M. Thauring, " Zeitsehrift fiir bildende Kunst," vol. iv. Leipzig, 1869.

HOLBEIN'S FAMILY. 329

she was a widow. Mander and Sandrart repeatedly tell of the unhappy
married life of the artists of that day ; besides Diirer and Holbein, Sandrart
states the same of Griinewald. Without investigating whether our authorities,
whom we have never ventured to trust when they appear as historians, are
right in single instances, we think it more suitable to raise the question
whether a general truth may not perhaps lay at the bottom of these statements.
In the beginning of the sixteenth century, when the spirit of a new age came
into conflict with the old relations, this conflict extended to the outward rela
tions of life of those artists who, from this mental progress, no longer fitted
into the narrow limits of the petty citizen life to which they outwardly belonged.
It may have been similar as regards their married relations. Durer's wife was
certainly an excellent spouse for a master artisan of an ordinary kind. She
therefore deserves no blame because her husband was far beyond his position
and surroundings, both by mind and education. From her point of view, she is
not to blame if she maintained a good citizen-like order, and if she even, which
Pirkheimer especially blames, looked a little jealous when her husband was too
constantly in the superior society from which she was excluded.
The little boy in the picture of Holbein's family may well be about seven
years old, and hence is identical with the child in the Solothurn Madonna.
The little girl must have been born just before the father's departure, or per
haps not until after he had left. Some highly interesting and authentic dis
coveries by Herr His-Heusler have furnished us with information respecting
the family. Among the most important are two circular letters of the Basle
Council, which refer to a son of the painter. " To our honourable and dear
citizen, Jacob David, the goldsmith in Paris," is the address of the first ; it is
dated Thursday, the 19th November, 1545, and its purport is as follows : —
" We, Adelberg Meiger (Meier), Burgomaster, and Council of the city of Basle, send
greeting to thee, Jacob David, and inform thee that it has credibly reached our ears that thou
wilt give no discharge to Philippen Holbein (but that thou hast brought him moreover in
Paris before the Lord- Lieutenant), although he has served thee honestly and honourably his six
years, which were promised by his father, the deceased Hans Holbein, our citizen, now when he,
at befitting opportunity, desires to depart from thee, and this not alone on account of his honest
and honourable service, as was thy duty before God and in all honour. Thus thou addest one
cause of complaint to another, and aim'st at oppressing the good pious youth as far as thou
canst and in causing his ruin. This thine unfriendly conduct has caused us not a little regret ;
we had in no wise foreseen it, but had rather hoped that if any one sought to hinder another
in his success and welfare, thou wouldst have taken up his cause and protected him. As this,
however, has not been so, and ye are both natives of Basle and our citizens up to this day ;
and the right of citizenship, and the help which was afforded thee when thy debts (as thou
knowest) were to become the Imperial prize,1 did not tend to thy evil but to thy good.
1 David had lent an Antwerp citizen of the name of Kropf 1600 sonnenkronen, which the
latter declined to pay in consequence ofthe war which had broken out between the Emperor
and the King of France. The Basle Council interfered in behalf of its citizen to the Council
of Antwerp, in a letter dated the 1st September, 1543, also in the same collection of papers.

PHILIP HOLBEIN.

Besides, this Philipp Holbein is in his minority, and is under the care of Franz Schmid, his
brother, our citizen, and without his help and authority is qualified for no lawsuit ; it is our
pleasure, therefore, and we herewith request thee as our citizen, that thou forthwith and im
mediately breakest off the complaint brought by thee against Philipp Holbein and allowest
him, Philipp, kindly and friendly to depart from thee, and because he has served thee honestly
and truly, that thou givest him a good sealed letter of discharge, of which he may make use.
In all this we express our earnest will and command ; we have also written to the Lieutenant
who is judge between you both, our citizens, not to continue the proceedings and to refer you
both hither. And this done, and the complaint against Philipp at an end in Paris, and he
dismissed from you with an honourable discharge, and thou still feelest on the other hand that
thy claims and demand, which thou thinkest to have upon him, are of such a character that
thou needest not to have let the youth go ; thou shalt therefore, as our citizen, cite the said
Philipp, also our citizen, to no other place than here in Basle to our municipal court, where we
will bring forward thy complaints against him, Philipp, and will at once and immediately do
thee justice, as befits and becomes so high an authority. All this we bring before thee in good
feeling, presuming that thou wilt perform it with obedience, but nevertheless we wish to receive
a written answer to it, through this our messenger, dispatched for this purpose by the city
and Council."In connection with this, there is a second letter addressed " To our Citizen's
son, Philipp Holbein, now in Paris," the date of which is the same, and the
purport of which is as follows : —
" We, Adelberg, &c. As Jacob David has brought you to law before the Lord-Lieutenant
in Paris, we have written to him, as our citizen, to stop proceedings against you, to dismiss
you kindly and friendly, and to give you an honourable and sealed discharge for having served
him honestly and honourably the years agreed ; and if he still thinks himself not in justice
obliged to discharge you, he shall bring his complaint here before our municipal court of
justice and to no other place, according to our citizen freedom and custom. And because we
presume that Jacob David will act in accordance with our desire, we have wished to advise
you also, and to desire you not to enter any further into any law proceedings at Paris, but to
take your discharge from him, and to depart from him kindly. We have also written to the
Lieutenant and Judge not to proceed any further in the matter, but refer you both hither for
justice. Keep accordingly whatever occurs in this matter, and give us written information on
the subject by this our messenger."
Whether this Philip Holbem is the boy in the family picture, or whether he
is perhaps a younger brother, we cannot ascertain. In the first case he must
have entered somewhat late upon his apprenticeship, and he would be too old
to be mentioned in 1545, with the naive expression, "the good, pious youth,"'
In Iselin's notices respecting Holbein the following passage appears : " The
sons whom he had, were goldsmiths ; none of them were painters." l Iselin,
who could have known Holbein's children personally and, from his connection
with the Amerbach family, was in a position to draw his information from the
best authority, was certainly right when he spoke of several sons.
Philip, who had received his education abroad, seems subsequently. not to
have adhered to Basle, but to have turned to Augsburg, from whence his
1 " Filios nero habuit Johan. Holbein, aurifabros, pictorem nullum."

PHILIP HOLBEIN. 331

amily originally came. Paul von Stetten1 mentions a diamond cutter of the
name of Philip Holbein, who, towards the end of the sixteenth century,
possessed an instrument for stone-cutting worked by water. This is certainly
either the painter's son or his grandson of the same name, an interesting
document of whom is communicated by Hegner,2 from Mechel's Remains. It
is "a supplication of the year 1611, from Philip Holbein, Imperial court-
jeweller and citizen in Augsburg, to the Emperor Matthias, for the confirma
tion and improvement of his old and noble coat-of-arms, which was graciously
accorded by letters-patent bearing the date of the 1st October, 1612."
As his grandfather, he mentions Johann, " the painter at that time cele
brated throughout Europe ;" and as his father, he speaks of Philip Holbein of
Basle, who had served the deceased emperors, Charles V. and Ferdinand, in
military matters and in other things. The statements regarding his former
descent are confused and erroneous, evidently not without intention, because
the aristocratic jeweller desired to conceal his descent from an Augsburg
artisan family, and hence asserted that he had sprung from a noble family in
the "city of Uri." The arms of the canton Uri are similar to those of the
Holbein family ; namely, a bull's head.
This Philip Holbein, who, according to Mechel's statement, was resident in
Vienna since the year 1 600, obtained his request, in spite of its inaccurate
basis. One of his descendants, John George, " Eeichshofkanzellist," obtained
in 1756 the confirmation of the noble rank awarded to his family in 1612,
with the surname of Holbeinsberg, and in 1787 was raised to the rank of a
knight of the empire, with the title'of a noble of Holbeinsberg.
Herr His-Heusler has also discovered that Holbem possessed three
daughters. In Ludwig Iselin's papers, there is a list of all the persons who
died between the years 1588 and 1612, and among them we find: The 8th
of February, 1590, "Katharina Holbeinin, daughter of the deceased Hans
Holbein, the distinguished painter, wife of a butcher;" the 15th September,
1590,'"Kiingoldt Holbeinin, daughter of the deceased Hans Holbein, the dis
tinguished painter, and widow of a miUer ;" and lastly, the 17th September,
1594, "Felicitas Holbein, wife of Conrad Volmar, died of the plague." The
name of the miller who had won the affections of Kiingoldt (Kiinigunde) was
Andreas Syff, as we lepra from the baptismal register, and the offspring of
this couple was extremely numerous. Between the years 1550 and 1567,
there were three boys and six girls baptized. The youngest of the sons,
Rudolf Syff (born 1564, died 1603), married Judith Weiss; and their daughter
Christina (born in 1597) married Friedrich Menin (born 1595), the brother of

1 Kunst und Handwerks-Geschichte von Augsburg, i. p. 444.
2 P. 31. Discussed by Herr His-Heusler, " Beitrage zur vaterlandischen Geschichte ;
Basle, vol. viii.

332 CONTINUATION OF THE
the engraver Matthaus Merian. Thus Holbein blood appears in one of the best
known families of Basle, whose descendants have become widely ramified.
Religious art hi Basle was at this time completely at an end. We have
no evidence either that Holbein just now found employment as a portrait-
painter. Probably he was occupied in sketching for woodcuts : for instance,
in enriching his " Pictures of Death " by many of those sheets which were
subsequently added.
At length, however, in the summer of 1530, the artist received from the
Council an order for a work worthy of him. The independence and political
importance of the city had been raised by the last decisive step ; namely, by the
thorough breach with the old ecclesiastical relations. It was how time for the
paintings in the great Council-hall, which had been left since the autumn of
1522, to be brought to completion. Between the 6th July and the 18th Novem
ber, 1530, Holbein received payment for them. It was formerly supposed that
Holbein had only made a short visit to Basle in 1529. These authentic
documents prove that it w7as not so ; he received by various instalments the
sum of 72 gulden to paint the apartment of the Town-haU (" vom saal vff dem
Richthuss ze molen "). At this time, when he returned from abroad full of
fame and success, he could make somewhat greater demands than before.
For the narrow back wall, which was still unpainted, he now received more
than half the sum he had had for the paintings formerly intended for the
entire hall.
Artistically also, the master had made important progress during these
eight years. None of his earlier compositions can compete with Rehoboam,
an excellent original drawing of which is still to be seen at Basle. With
vehement gesture, the young king is dismissing the messengers of the
Israelitish people, who are imploring a milder rule. " Minimus digitus meus
grossior est dorso patris mei : pater meus cecidit vos flageUis, ego cedam vos
scorpionibus," he is replying to them : " My little finger shall be thicker
than my father's loins ; my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will
chastise you with scorpions." 1 A page holding the scourge is standing before
the throne, and Rehoboam is stretching out the little finger of his right hand
towards those whom he is addressing. Thus Holbein, in the simplest and
easiest manner, renders the purport of the king's words intelligible to the eye.
The king's counsellors are sitting behind the rails within the grand vaulted
hall, while on the right a glimpse is caught of the landscape, where Jeroboam
is being crowned king by the revolted tribes. The future is thus introduced
in the midst of the present. Among the fragments of the paintings, Reho-
boam's head and right hand are still to be perceived. It shows, in spite
of what it has suffered, great power of expression. He is here seen entirely
in profile, while in the sketch he appears in full face.
1 1 Kings xii. 10, 11.

REHOBOAM.
(Sketch. Basle.)

'iilWfflP

'y,~
AAiAA'l

ill

TOWN-HALL PAINTINGS. 333
The last picture, and indeed the largest of all, Samuel and Saul, is not
numbered by former writers among the Town-hall paintings. But that it
belongs to them is evident in the first place from the fact that in the original
sketch, the same column appears as in Rehoboam ; and secondly, that among
the inscriptions in the hall, given by Tonjola, the following also appears : —
Samuel ad Saultjm.
" Numquid vult Dominus holocausta et victima, et non potius ut obediatur voci Domini ? Pro
eo, quod abjecisti sermonem Domini, abjecit te Dominus, ne sis rex."
The meeting of the King and the Prophet is conceived at the moment in
which these words. are spoken. Saul has gone to war against the Amalekites
at the command . of God, but he has not fulfilled that which the Lord had
ordered him by his Prophet; namely, not to spare the men nor the women and
children, nor the sheep and oxen. He had not kiUed them, but carried them
away as spoil. Samuel then sets forth in anger ; Saul perceives him ; he
dismounts from the horse which is led behind him, and proceeds towards the
man of God with reverential greeting, whUe behind him are the warriors on
foot and on horseback, the captive King Agag in their midst, and in the
distance the captured herds, while stUl further we see the burning villages,
kindled by the firebrands of war. In vain the King seeks to excuse himself ;
inexorably, with firm step and angry glance Samuel approaches him, points to
the flocks in the distance, and hurls his curse upon him : " Hath the Lord as
great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the
Lord ? Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, He hath also
rejected thee from being king." 1
This composition even surpasses that of Rehoboam. The effect is over
whelming. This imprecation scene in painting is equal to the greatest impre
cation scenes in poetry; Sophocles is not more tragic and powerful, when
his CEdipus calls . down destruction upon Polynices, or PhUoctetes utters his
o\oio against Ulysses. The effect is all the more intense, because the
dramatic action is concentrated upon two figures. As a chorus, we, see the.
band of warriors, among whom the dreadful sentence seems to echo with a
hoUow sound.. The two principal figures on the left are so powerfully con
ceived, and display such strong action, that they afford a counterbalance in
the composition to the whole group on the right. The flames kindled in the
distance, proclaim the tone of evil which pervades the whole. The effects of
light and chiaro-oscuro in Holbein's Basle picture of the Passion render it
probable that here also similar effects were intended.
In the choice of subject, these two later pictures differ from the earlier
paintings in the Town-hall. : Their subject is no longer taken from classic
antiquity, but from the Old Testament. In this, the difference of time is
1 1 Samuel xv. 22.

b

334 CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE TIME
plainly to be perceived. They belong to the advanced epoch of the Reforma
tion, which opposed the humanistic tendencies. Holbein, however, had not in
vain had intercourse with Erasmus. He knew how to combine Christianity
and the classic spirit. He had before indeed freely placed Christ and
David among the personifications of the virtues and the examples of antique
greatness of mind. In idea at least, one of the pictures, namely, Rehoboam,
suits the former ones. It is a warning against haughtiness and despotism,
just as Sapor was, and perhaps, also, not without some closer reference to the
fate of tbe city.. I cannot help thinking that this painting pointed to Basle's
withdrawal from the German empire, whose nobles in their hostility to the
citizens, and in their Rehoboam-like arrogance, had compeUed the city to take
the step. It would even be improbable if such a decisive event had not
been remembered on an occasion such as the painting of the Town-hall. But
does the spirit which pervades " Samuel and Saul " harmonize also with
the spirit of the whole ? Here, it appears to me, Holbein did not remain true
to the fundamental idea which had formerly guided him. The darker spirit of
blood and vengeance which marks this painting, does not accord with the
rest, where, as in the representation and inscription of Sapor, clemency to the
conquered is inculcated. In Samuel and Saul, however, there is a touch of
gloomy puritanical feeling.
This is only to be explained historically. We must realize the entire differ
ence of the periods to understand it. The old golden days were at an end, when
art could do nothing better than celebrate grand republican feelings, inflexible
justice, and patriotic love. The year 1530 was a gloomy day for Switzer
land ; it was the period immediately before the Kappel war, in which Zwingh
feU, and Protestant Zurich yielded to the Roman Catholic cantons. The
whole position of things was such as to proclaim the coming troubles. Civjl
war seemed on the point of breaking out ; the two parties had already, in
June 1529, advanced against each other, when the peace of Kappel inter
vened. When the five old places showed themselves slow in fultiUing the
conditions of peace, it was Berne's policy to urge for the payment of the
expenses of the war; Zurich, on the other hand, the iuteUectual centre of
Reformed Switzerland, desired above all to see the religious concessions
realized, and pursued this aim with a stormy zeal, which subsequently called
forth new hostilities.
This discord was now filling the whole of Switzerland, and this it is which
forms the idea of Holbein's Samuel and Saul. In reality, as in the picture,
spiritual power, filled with plans of violence, stands opposed to secular
power, reproving it for looking more to material advantage than to the word
of God. Added to these, there was also a third picture, aU of which that now
remains to us is the inscription beforementioned : Hiskia (Hezekiah), who

REFLECTED IN HIS PICTURES. 335

does what is well pleasing to God, and who orders the idols to be broken to
pieces ; thus did the painter himself feel constrained to glorify the idea which
shortly before had led to the iconoclastic storm.
If we once more cast a glance upon the pictures of the Town-hall, both
those now painted and those executed before, and endeavour to gain a distinct
idea of their connection with each other, we must confess that these works
are the first and greatest specimen of genuine historical painting in German
art. Holbein had had no forerunner in such works, and after him, the art so
unceasingly declined, that he had also no successor. It is just in these works
that the master shows himself to be filled with the modern spirit. At the
time when Raffaelle in his historical representations was introducing heavenly
apparitions in order to designate the higher powers ruling over the world,
Holbein works by means of the fact alone, and places an abiding and eternal
Deity in the place of the transcendental. Would that the present could learn
from him ; in this point especially ! How Holbein gave form to his grand
ideas, how he devised, arranged, and composed his scene, we can see even
in the sketches, if we unfortunately can no longer know how he executed
them as paintings.
We hear it always and everywhere said by artists, It is all the same what
we paint. This is as just on the one side as it is false on the other. The
effect of art is produced not by the subject, but by the form ; but the form is
determined by the subject. The higher the purport is, the greater are the
means afforded as regards form, in order to satisfy this purport. And thus no
art can arrive at a true consciousness of its power, and at a true perfection of
form, unless it has opportunity of attempting the greatest tasks.
The next notice which we have authentically of Holbein is that of the
7th October, 1531. It states that the master, Hans Holbein, has received
" 17 pfund 10 schUling," about 11. 3s., from " Beden Vren, am Rhinthor
zemalen." This was, therefore, again a work of the most ordinary kind.
There was on the clock at the Rhine gate the figure of the " Lallenkonig,"
that distorted face which is stretching out the tongue towards Little Basle,
the genuine sjmibol of national peculiarity of the old stamp. In this
Holbein was therefore evidently concerned, and, at any rate, he had to colour
the carving.
But these were also sad times in Basle.1 Two years in succession, 1529
and 1530, there was great scarcity, and in both the little river Birsig caused
sad ravages in the town and in the surrounding country. In the bad winter
that intervened, the wolves did great injury, similar instances of which have
never again appeared. Added to this, disputes abroad and at home increased
the religious excitement of the victorious Protestant party into a fanaticism
which demanded blood, and which drew upon itself, like the old Church, the
1 Ochs, vol. vi. chaps. 1 — 3.

336 RETURN TO ENGLAND.
curse of horrible persecutions upon those who differed in belief, a sad instance
of which was the execution of Conrad In der Gasse. The Protestant tyranny
was no less hard than Papal tyranny had been before. The ban was even
passed upon Bonifacius Amerbach, because he could not resolve to go to the
Lord's Supper with the congregation, according to the new custom. Added to
this, there were religious differences between the separate cantons, which
finally led to open war in the year 1531. Sad indeed must have been the
state of things in Basle, when at this time the old Catholic cantons in the
Kappel war overthrew Zurich and its confederates ; when Ulrich Zwingli, who
advocated his cause not merely by word, but by action, fell in the battle, and
one hundred and forty men of Basle met their death on the field.
It may be imagined that an artist such as Holbein here found no work
which could satisfy his inward desires, and could afford him even a moderate
recompense. Remembrance of his years in England must have again occurred
to him, when he had moved in wholly different circles, had painted men of
the highest rank, and undoubtedly had been far more successful in his gains.
New and brilliant hopes must have even beckoned to him from thence. Soon
after he had left England, in the autumn of 1529, "that great Cardinal
Wolsey," " the second King," as Erasmus called him, was overthrown, and
Holbein's old patron, Sir Thomas More, was placed as Lord Chancellor at the
head of the new ministry.
We possess two works by Holbein's hand, painted in London, and dated
1532, portraits of German merchants of the Steel-yard, which we shaU pre
sently mention. Probably the master had therefore set out on his second
journey to England, as soon as the winter of 1531 and 1532 was over. As
he was then absent for some time, the Council repented having let him go,
and the Burgomaster Jacob Meier — not Holbein's former patron, but the Pro
testant Meier zum Hirschen — addressed the foUowing circular letter to him :
" Master Hans Holbein, the Painter, now in England.
" We, Jacob Meiger, Burgomaster, and the Council of the city of Basle, send greeting to
our dear citizen, Hans Holbein, and let you herewith know that it would please us if you
would repair home as soon as possible. In that case, in order you may the better stay at
home and support your wife and children,1 we will furnish you yearly with thirty pieces of
money, until we are able to take care of you better. We have wished to inform you of this,
in order that you may conform to our desire. The 2nd Sep. anno 32."
But Holbein did not obey the honourable summons of his fellow-citizens.
Worthy of acknowledgment as was the offer of the Basle Council, considering
1 " Kind " (children) : " kind " is plural, as we have already observed. Mr. Wornum has
therefore erroneously taken this expression as singular, and asserted that Holbein had only one
child, his son Philip, and no daughter, in consequence of which another interpretation of the
family painting has been attempted. Immediately afterwards, Herr His-Heusler's discovery of
Holbein's daughters ensued, and this has fully refuted it.

RETURN TO ENGLAND. 337
the needy circumstances at home, doubly oppressed as these had just been by
the war expenses of the past year, Holbein had yet in England far better
opportunity of gain ; and, in the grand capital of the mighty kingdom which
was at that time regarded as the city of the world, he had small longing for
his little Switzerland, and the narrow disadvantageous life in the respectable
Imperial town.

. CHAPTER XX.
The Steel-yard.— Sir Thomas More resigns. — Warham's death. —Holbein employed by the
merchants of the German Hanseatic League. — Portrait of Gysins. — Hans von Antwerp,
in Windsor Castle. — Hans von Zurich. — Derich Born, in Windsor and Mimich. — Small
circular pictures. — Portraits at Brunswick, Vienna, and Petworth. — "The Wheel of
Fortune" in the possession of the Duke of Devonshire. — The divorce of Henry VIII.
and the coronation of Anna Boleyn. — Splendid entrance of the Queen. — Pageant of the
merchants of the Steel-yard, after Holbein's design. — Paintings for the Guildhall of the
German Hanseatic League. — Fate of the original. — Sketches in the Louvre : copies. —
" The Triumph of Riches and the Triumph of Poverty." — Their intellectual value and
their artistic style. — Study of Mantegna and affinity with Raffaelle. — Utmost freedom
in the forms of the cinquecento. — Sketch of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.
Much had altered since Holbein had quitted the shores of England, and the
consequence of this in the first place was his admittance into a whoUy different
circle to that of his previous visit. If he had calculated by his connection
with More upon being employed by the nobles to a far higher extent than
before, these plans were crossed by the circumstances of the time. On the
16th of May, 1532, the King had dismissed him at his urgent request from his
high office. The tendency adopted ever more and more decidedly by the govern
ment of Henry VIIL, his urgency for separation from Catherine, his endeavours
to make himseU head of the Enghsh Church, had long been counter to the
convictions of the Lord High ChanceUor. Quietly and cheerfully as ever he
returned home after his resignation ; on the foUowing morning after mass, he
repaired to Mistress AUce, and baring his head made her a solemn reverence,
saying at the same time : " My lady, my lord is gone." With these words one
of the servants was wont to announce that the Lord ChanceUor had quitted
the house, when he went to his business. She did not understand what her
husband meant, until he explained to her that his high position was at an end.
And when she now, after her wont, broke out in passionate reproaches, he
answered them only with jests. A different Ufe to the former one had now
begun in the Chelsea House. During his high office Sir Thomas More had
not amassed wealth: he had always been a father to the needy, he had
exercised the greatest hospitality, and as soon as the necessary wants of his
own family had been supplied, he spent with liberahty all that he possessed.

tOETRjLiTS Of GERMAN MERCHANTS. 339
All that now remained was a very modest income, which left no scope as
before for his noble and generous patronage of art.
On the 23rd of August of the same year, Holbein's second patron, the aged
Archbishop Warham, had died, taken away by a kind Providence before the
complete overthrow of .the ecclesiastical affairs in England, after having
dictated from his bed a solemn protest against any decree of the Parliament,
either carried or in future to be brought forward, which infringed on the
rights of the Church and on those of the Papal See.
While the painter's connections on this side no longer availed him, new and
fruitful relations opened in another direction; namely, with his countrymen,
the merchants of the Hanseatic League, who at all times gave honourable
reception to all distinguished men and able artists from their own country.
His true home abroad for the next few years was the Steel-yard,1 with
its warehouses and dwelling-houses, with its old stone GuildhaU, its summer-
house on the riverside, its pleasant garden planted with fruit trees and
vines, and its Rhenish wine-vaults, where the golden liquid was gladly drunk
by Englishmen also, and German pastry and smoked ox-tongues were regarded
by them as delicacies.2
From the years 1532 — 1536, we have portraits of German merchants
of the Steel-yard, painted by Holbein's hand. These portraits possess
certain common characteristics. For the most part they are taken in
half-length figures, and various accessories and implements are introduced,
which are executed with great care. On addresses of letters, there is gene
rally the name of the person represented written in German with the place
of his abode, London, and usuaUy even the more exact address in the Steel
yard. Besides this, we find for the most part his age together with the date,
his motto, or a couple of Latin verses referrmg to the portrait, aU executed
with care and introduced in suitable places. None of these pictures exhibit
the name of the painter.
The picture most conspicuous in size as well as in artistic value, indeed,
one of the most beautiful productions of Holbein, is the portrait of Jorg
Gysin in the Museum at Berlin.3 He was a special countryman of the
artist. The family Gysin (or Gyze, as it stands on the picture) belongs
to the neighbourhood of Basle ; even at the present day, in the adjacent
small town of LiestaU, this name is to be seen on the sign-board of almost
every house. He is a young man. beardless, with rather long fair hair,
attired in a black cap, red under-garment of glittering material and black
overcoat, both cut out at the top, so that the delicately plaited white
1 I. M. Lappenberg, " Urkundliche Geschichte des Hansischen Stahlhofes in London ;''
Hamburg, 1851. R. Pauli, " Bilder aus Alt-England," p. 149.
2 The Cannon Street Railway Station is built upon the site of the ancient Steel-yard.
3 Photographs are to be had from the publishers of the German edition of the book.
Z2

340 JORG GYSIN 'S PORTRAIT.
shirt which covers his bosom is seen. He is just occupied in opening a letter,
and indeed a letter from his brother, as the plainly written address shows :
" To the honourable Jorg Gysin, my brother, in London, England."
The almost simUar addresses on most of the other letters fastened on the
wall are also to be deciphered. One note sealed against the wall contains a
Latin distich upon Gysin, gives his age of thirty-four, and bears the date 1532.
Somewhat lower on the wall stands his motto — harmonizing thoroughly with
the simple, bourgeois-like character, which his features plainly indicate —
"Nulla sine merore voluptas" (AU pleasure is foUowed by sorrow). He
is depicted as sitting behind a table, covered with a splendid cloth, of a
fine Oriental pattern ; before him are a variety of implements, such as belong
to the writing-room of a merchant — writing materials, scissors, pens and seal, a
large account book, a round vessel with handles, probably of delicate Venetian
glass, containing flowers, especially pinks, and the transparency and distinct
ness of which are incomparably represented. A baU of twine is hanging down.
Two shelves contain books, rings, keys, a watch and seals, and a pair of scales.
The background is formed by a green wall. In these accessories, the delicacy
of the execution in every detail, and the perfect characterization of the most
various materials, gold, steel, and glass, is unequalled. The work is executed
with such careful accuracy and such just feeling, that the greatest still-life
painter of later times, who places his utmost aim in such details, cannot
rival it.
Naturally arranged as if accident alone had introduced them, all the things
conspire to produce the artistic feeling desired by the painter. We see not
merely the person of the young merchant, but we find him in the ordinary
sphere of his activity, in the midst of the exercise of his daily calling. And
how thoroughly his whole appearance, his nature, and his expression suit the
scene ! It is a genuine picture of a German man, German in the form of his
countenance — the large, straight nose, the strongly and heavUy-formed lower
part of the face, and the moist eyes beaming with kindliness and honesty, which
are directed to the spectator. What a good heart, what unostentatious integ
rity, what simple intelligence are expressed in this man ! With composure
and consideration he does what he is daUy accustomed to do ; even on opening
the letter from his home he takes his time, and would give us an answer if we
appealed to him. Holbein, true as ever, has depicted this personage before us,
without in the least adding anything of his own, without raising him in any
characteristic above that which he is in reality and what he appears daily.
But what the man is, that is completely given ; the essence of his nature is
drawn from his innermost soul, and exhibited before us.
Perhaps in no portrait can we become acquainted with Holbein so thoroughly
as in this work ; for, besides its other advantages, it is in a rare state of pre
servation. Only the black of the overcoat has lost its transparency and fresh-

PORTRAIT OF JOHN OF ANTWERP. 341
ness with time. Otherwise we find here, as a. necessary result of the style of
dress and the accessories, a variety of tints and a wealth of colours such as are
not usual in the portraits of Holbein. The tint is clear, delicate, and luminous ;
and while, as we inspect the detail, the work appears to us a perfect wonder,
the effect of the whole from the distance is no less striking. It opens to us
unimagined beauties the longer we look.
To the same year belongs also a portrait in Windsor Castle, which was in
King Charles I.'s Collection, and was accurately described in his Catalogue. It
is not in such a good state of preservation as the former painting, and it bears
evidence of many retouchings, and has become somewhat dark, but still
from the first it did not possess the same delicacy of execution, nor the same
wealth of colour. Yet the effect is highly vigorous and life-like. The person
represented, about three quarters life-size, appears in half-length figure, looking
towards the left, with dark eyes, brown hair and beard. The head is thrown
into strong light. Over his black dress there is a dark overcoat, which was
probably originally green ; the head is covered with a cap, and the background
is formed by a grey wall. He is on the point of opening a letter, and cutting
with a knife the thread that fastens it. The address of the letter, written in a
small and difficult hand, we read as follows : —
" Dem ersamen H[a]nnsen
Von Anwerpen .... vpn
Stallhoff zv h[anden]."
(To the honourable John of Antwerp .... in the Steel-yard.)
A note lying by the side contains the notice : —
" Anno Dni. 1532 a.d. 26 Julii
-Eta tis suss . . . ."1
Here we have, therefore, a man who subsequently comes into personal rela
tion with Holbein. The goldsmith, Mr. John of Antwerp, is one of the
witnesses at the drawing-up of Holbein's will. Holbein once designed a
splendid drinking cup for him, on the sketch of which, in the Basle Museum,2
there stands the beginning of the name— hans von ant ... He was em
ployed by the King and the Court between the years 1537 and 1547.3 We
learn further respecting this man from the reports of the London Goldsmiths'
Company.4 On the 16th April, 1540, Thomas Cromwell recommends " right
heartily" to the company, and with the desired success, the bearer of the letter,
John van Andewarpe, in waiting on her Grace the Queen (Anne of Cleves),
i The age is no longer to be read. In the upper address the word "Anwerpen " is quite
distinct, but only the first letter of the Christian name is certain.
2 Skizzenbuch, No. 109.
3 A. W. Franks, Archa.ologia, vol. xxxix. (Discovery of the Will of Hans Holbein.)
4 William Herbert, " The History of the Twelve Great Livery Companies of London."
1836, vol, ii. p. 138.

342 HANS VON ZURICH.

who intends to sue for the right of citizenship in London, and wishes, in the
first instance, to obtain the freedom of the Goldsmiths' Company, as a step
towards the granting of his request. We hear subsequently that he lived
twenty-six years in London, mamed an Englishwoman, and had many children
by her. That we do not err in the personage whom the picture represents is
confirmed also by two incidents in the picture itself, which indicate the man's
calling ; namely, the leather apron which appears beneath his overcoat, and
the gold pieces which lie before him. Gold and sUver coins were exhibited
by the goldsmiths in their shops. On the green tablecloth there lies a pen
and a seal with the device of his house, which bears the form of a W.
Another goldsmith, Hans von Zurich, depicted by Holbein in 1532, is weU
known to us, but only through Wenzel Hollar's engraving.1 Daniel von
Wensin2 tells us, though with some exaggeration, that, not long ago, almost
aU the goldsmiths in London were Germans, among whom, at that time, the
Netherlanders and Swiss were also of course reckoned. Hans von Zurich,
Holbein's special countryman from Switzerland, is a thin man, homely in
appearance, kind and pleasing in expression. Hollar's engraving gives him in
half-length figure. The original was in the Arundel CoUection : we have now
no more knowledge respecting it, and do not even know whether it was a
drawing or a painting.
Another portrait in Windsor Castle, also belonging to the collection of
Charles I., was painted in the foUowing year. The whole execution is still
more exceUent, the shadows are more grey, and the cold and dehcate tint
reminds us of Gysin's portrait.3 It represents, scarcely lUe-size, a young man
with a thin and extraordinarily attractive countenance, almost a front face,
with dark eyes and chestnut-brown hair. His right arm is resting on a stone
breastwork, the left hand is lying on the right arm, and his whole bearing
breathes an agreeable repose. The youth wears a black cap and a black silk
garment. The deUcacy of the detail is especiaUy to be observed in the charm
ing execution of the fine coUar of the shirt, which is embroidered in black sUk,
in the style well known under the name of Spanish work. Fig leaves and
blue sky at the back complete the picture. Under the breastwork we read his
name, Derich Born, his age of twenty-three and the date 1533, and beneath is
a distich of the foUowing purport : —
" Give him only a voice, and thou wouldst beUeve that thou sawest him in
his own person, Uving and not painted."
There also appears a second portrait of this Derich Born, only containing
the head, which is Uttle more than three inches high: this picture is oval,
painted in oil upon paper, and, in spite of various retouchings, is a valuable
1 Parthey, No. 1411.
2 " Oratio contra Britannos ;" Tubinga., 1613. Quoted by Elze in the Introduction to
G. Chapman's tragedy of " Alphonsus," 1867, p. 9.
3 Waagen makes the same observation : " Kunstwerke und Kiinstler in England," i. p. 177.

OTHER PORTRAITS. 343

gem in the Munich Pinakothek.1 It is the same pleasant youth's face, only
not quite so much seen in front. Here also the name is inscribed, only that in
diminishing the painting, the last letter as weU as the age and the conclusion
of the date have been cut away ; and here also the splendid execution of the
Spanish work on the collar, as weU as the fine and delicate tint of the colours,
are to be admired.
Portraits of this kind in oil, on wood or paper, round or oval, and in a
small form, were much painted by Holbein at this time. They form a tran
sition to the miniature-painting which the artist executed at a later period, and
they were generally like the portrait of Melanchthon, before described, not
hung up, but kept in cases. To the year 15 32, belongs, if we may give credit
to a date inscribed on the back, the small circular portrait of a man with a
brown beard and a broad, well-formed face, decidedly of German type, in a
black coat, red waistcoat and black hat, now in the Welfen Museum in
Hanover. In the following year, a very beautiful circular portrait, in the
splendid gaUery of Herr GseU in Vienna, was executed, representing a young
man with a black cap, black coat, and red under-garment. In his right hand
he holds a pink, such as appears in numerous portraits of that period,
especially in the North. This flower, which we have also observed in the vase
in Gysin's portrait, had undoubtedly a symbolic signification. It is a beardless
countenance, in character also indicating German descent, noble and signi
ficant, with a large nose and expressive Ups, delicately closed ; the smooth
hair is black. The colouring possesses an unusually warm tint for this epoch.
The ground is blue.
To tbe year 1533 belong two stiU larger pictures of merchants of the Steel
yard, in haU-length figure and half hfe-size, both according much in their
mode of treatment. The more pleasing of the two, in the Brunswick Gallery,
represents in full face a man attired in black, holding his gloves and two
letters, the addresses on which contain the words " In London at the Steel
yard," and a name which seems to be Ambrosius Fallen. The picture also
bears the date, the age thirty-two, and the beautiful motto " in als gedoltic."
(Patient in all things).
In the other portrait, which is to be seen in, the Belvedere in Vienna, the
colouring has suffered some change : the ground, originaUy blue, has become
green, and the shadows are too grey, although the masterly power exhibited,
both in the conception and form, is still to be perceived. The beardless
young man in a black fur-trimmed overcoat, with his simple and earnest
appearance, and his very beautiful life-like hands, is occupied, Uke Gysin
and Hans von Antwerpen, in opening a letter; it is from his father, as
the address in the low German dialect informs us :
1 Cab. 166 a. The second of the two genuine Holbein works there ; cf. above, p. 312. In
the Catalogue it is only stated " alleged to be Holbein's."

344 THE WHEEL OF FOETUNE.
" To the honourable Deryck Tybis of Duysburch, at the time in London in
Wi . dgyss [Windgoos aUey, a street behind the Steel-yard, where there were
many of the houses of the German merchants], my dear son."
We thus here learn the name and the native city.
StUl more accurate information do we gather from a second paper lying by
the side and inscribed by the hand of the person himself.
" When I was thirty-three years old, I, Deryck Tybis in London, had this
appearance, and I have marked this portrait with my device in my own hand,
and it was the middle of March, 1533, by me Deryck [here stands the device]
Tybis fon dus. . . ."
The same device or monogram, together with the inverted initials D T,
stands on a seal, which we see on the table before him, with sealing-wax,
pens, and writing material.
Lastly, to the same group belongs a painting which was executed a few
years later. It is now at Petworth, the seat of Lord Leconfield. It repre
sents a man with brown hah and fuU beard, taken at three-quarters, and
Ufe-ske. The ground is blue, and a green curtain hangs on the left. Both
hands are visible ; the left, resting on a table draped with red, holds a letter
with the address :
" To the honourable and noble Derick Berck in London in the Steel-yard."
Somewhat lower, by the side of a device, stands the name of the writer,
which is not to be deciphered. By the side there Ues a slip of paper with the
words "Olim meminisse iuuabit," from which we infer that this picture was
intended in memory of a beloved friend. Below on the right, upon the
table-cover, we read the date an. 1536, and his age of thirty years. The
person represented, with his smaU dark blue eyes and black brows, his shghtly
bent nose, agreeably-formed mouth and prominent cheek-bones, has something
unusuaUy benevolent, sincere, and kindly in his expression ; a mild seriousness
is expressed in his features. The black of his atthe, evidently satin, has a
watery lustre, and the folds are sharply broken. The shirt with its Spanish
work appears in front : this is also here painted with the utmost perfection.
To the year 1533, in which the greater number of the above-mentioned
portraits were executed, belongs a sketch now at Chatsworth, the seat of the
Duke of Devonshire, representing the Wheel of Fortune ; it is executed in
body colours, and according to Dr. Waagen1 is very spirited and genuine.
The four figures — the first climbing the wheel, the second sitting on the
top of it, the third falhng from it, and the fourth on the ground — are highly
expressive. There are German inscriptions by the side, and the picture is
marked with Holbein's monogram, the double H, and the date 1533. The
idea of the Wheel of Fortune is famUiar to Italy, France, and especially to
Germany ; it appears in the monumental works of the Middle Ages, for
1 Kunstwerke und Kiinstler iu England, i. p. 253/ Treasures, hi. p. 351.

COEON ATION OF ANNA BOLEYN. 345
instance in the north portal of Basle Cathedral, and it frequently occurs in
woodcuts. Possibly Holbein painted it therefore at the order of a countryman.
The year 1533 marks a turning point in EngUsh history. Henry VIII.
had at length attained the object of his wishes in the matter of the divorce.
What he could not obtain from the Pope, he had now effected without his
consent. The Court held at Dunstable, under the presidency of Cranmer, the
new Archbishop of Canterbury, had declared the King's marriage with Catherine
invalid. Scarcely had this intelligence arrived, than the most brilliant pre
parations were made for the coronation of Anna Boleyn, in order to compensafe
for all that had been impossible in her secret marriage with the Sovereign.
London now saw days Ml of show and festivity such as the city had scarcely
ever witnessed before, and Anna's coronation became, as Dr. Ranke1 says,
" the most complete expression of the defection of the whole nation from
Papal rule."
It was an old custom that the days previous to the coronation were spent
in the Tower, and thus Anna quitted Greenwich on the 15th May,2 and was
conducted with great splendour to London by the Lord Mayor. He proceeded
to meet her with fifty large barges, the river was gay with vessels, and crowds
were assembled on the banks. At that day the Thames was yet the silvery
stream celebrated by poets ; no smoke and steam concealed the blue sky,
which smiled with the beauty of May upon the pleasant scene. At. three
o'clock, the Queen appeared in rich gold brocade, and as soon as she had
stepped into her barge, accompanied by her maids of honour, the procession
began to move on. At her right was a boat with musicians, who played
unceasingly for her entertainment, and behind her, each in his richly-
decorated barge, came numerous earls, bishops, and nobles, with the Duke of
Suffolk, the Marquis of Dorset, and Anna's father, the Earl of Wiltshire, at
their head. In front of the Queen was the barge of the Lord Mayor of London,
hung and covered with gold brocade and silk, adorned with long pennons and
newly-painted flags, with two large banners at the stem and stern, bearing the
arms of the King and his consort. The whole procession, however, was headed
by a large vessel containing a colossal dragon, which moved continually and
vomited fire ; all round there were frightful monsters and wild men, who also
ejected fire, and made a fearful noise. When the procession approached the
Tower, the roar of cannons resounded from the numerous vessels lying on
the banks, and cannons from the Tower gave a reply louder than had ever
been heard before. The music played merrily between, and when the Queen
disembarked, she was received at the gates by her consort, who embraced her
tenderly. On Saturday, the 31st May, there was a play, which even surpassed this
pageant. Queen Anna was then brought from the Tower through the City of
1 Englische Geschichte, i. p. 194. 2 See Stow and Hall ; also Froude.

346 COEON ATION OF ANNA BOLEYN.
London to Westminster, in order to receive the crown in the Abbey church on
the foUowing morning. The suite of the French ambassador — except the
Venetian, he was the only representative of foreign powers who ventured to
attend the ceremony— came first. Twelve French knights, in doublets of
blue velvet with gold sleeves, rode on spirited horses, caparisoned with blue
cloths, studded with white crosses. Then followed English nobles, then the
knights of the Order of the Bath, the abbots in theh splendid vestments, the
barons attired in purple velvet, the bishops, earls, and marquises, each rank
surpassing the preceding in splendour of costume. They aU rode in pairs.
Then came the Lord Chancellor Audley alone, and after him the Venetian
ambassador, the Lord Mayor, the highest ecclesiastical and secular dignitaries
of the kingdom, and lastly the Queen herself, under a golden baldachin, with
ringing sUver bells, sitting in a white carriage, drawn by two horses capari
soned with white damask which swept the ground. Here she sat in aU her
loveliness and beauty, arrayed in white sUver-embroidered attire ; her fair hair
flowed down over her shoulders, and a diadem of gold and diamonds adorned
her brow. The lady peeresses foUowed in theh carriages, and the royal body
guard closed the procession.
The streets from the Tower to Temple Bar were adorned in the most
festive manner ; the ground was covered with fresh gravel ; from the windows
of the citizens' houses there hung Persian carpets and Flemish Gobehns : but
Cheapside, where the goldsmiths Uved, surpassed aU other streets, and was
entirely decorated with velvet and gold brocade. The streets were lined on
both sides with the different artisan companies, masters as weU as men;
and the constables of the City in gala attire, their staves in their hands, stood
at intervals to keep the road free, and to preserve order among the closely-
crowded people. The sheriffs rode up and down on theh richly-caparisoned
Flemish horses. Women looked from every window. Anna's first festive
greeting was at Fenchurch Street, from the chUdren of the City schools ; but
a splendid surprise awaited her at the corner of Gracechurch Street, " where
was a costly and marvellous cunning pageant made by the merchants of the
StUyard : therein was the Mount Parnassus, with the Fountaine of Helicon
[the relater thought, probably, of Hippokrene, which also begins with a H],
which was of white marble, and four streames without pipe did rise an eU
high, and mette together in a little cup above the fountaine, which fountaine
ranne abundantly with Reynish wine tiU night. On the mountaine sat
Apollo, and at his feete sate Caliope ; and on every side of the mountaine
sate four Muses, playing on severell sweet instruments, and aU theh jestes,
epigrams, and poesies were wrytten in golden letters, in the which every
Muse, according to her property, praysed the Queene." x
This festive decoration of the merchants of the Steel-yard was arranged
1 Stow, p. 953.

FESTIVE DECOEATION 347
and devised by Holbein. This is not, indeed, told us by the Chronicles which
describe that splendid work of art. But in the collection of the late Herr
Rudolph Weigel, there is a large drawing by our master, which can be nothing
else but the sketch for it, so completely does it accord with the description
given.1 It is a highly-spirited sheet, very characteristic of Holbein, and
belonging to the Crozat Cabinet. Only cursorily, and with bold touches, is the
idea of the whole sketched with an etched outline and Indian ink. The archi
tectural work below, which supports the whole, is in the richest, but, at the
same time, purest Renaissance taste. In the centre is a semichcular arch, as
U for a triumphal gate, terminated by two splendidly ornamented pilasters,
from which a kind of large console proceeds on the right and left, in order to
support the broad stage. High above, under a bower-like baldachin, crowned
by the German eagle,2 with only one head, Apollo is sitting with a small harp,
and is extending his right hand, as if in blessing and protection, in the same
manner as in Mantegna's " Madonna della Vittoria" in the Louvre, or in the
gesture of blessing seen in the Infant Christ in Holbein's Meier Madonna.
On both sides, somewhat lower'down, are the nine Muses, singing or making
music on drums and pipes, lutes and violins, not in ideal costume, but in the
dress of the period. All these, no doubt, were represented by living persons.
The stone fountain at Apollo's feet is splendid in form ; yet here the execu
tion is somewhat diverse from the design, which exhibits not four, but only
two jets, and not gushing upwards, but flowing down below. At both corners
of the stage stand tall and magnificent candelabras, with two coats of arms,
one of which is divided into four compartments, and both are surmounted
with royal crowns.
All this was assuredly executed with the utmost splendour. The German
merchants made it an affair of honour to spare no expense on such occa
sions. We hear that twenty-one years later, on the entrance of PhUip and
the Roman Catholic Mary, £1,000 sterling were expended on simUar festive
decorations. Indeed, the merchants of the Steel-yard, in arranging this spectacle in
Anna Boleyn's honour, could scarcely turn to any other than to their country
man Holbein, who in this same year had taken so many portraits among them,
and was employed for the company as such, as we shall presently see. He
here displayed allthe magnificence of the Renaissance style, which had already
obtained such ascendency in Germany, but which was still new in England.
What a difference between this festive decoration and the fantastic dragon
vessel of the 19th of May, or another spectacle, which immediately followed
that of the German merchants in the procession, and which contained, after
1 Engraved by Loedel in R. Weigel's Sketches.
a The merchants of the Steel-yard had also introduced the eagle in the painted glass
behind their seat in the Church of All Saints, which they frequented. (Lappenberg, p. 127.)

348 THE PAINTINGS OF THE GUILDHALL.
Catholic fashion, the whole kindred of St. Anna ! It was Holbein who now
did his best towards the establishment of the Renaissance style in England, in
painting, in art, in handicraft, and even in architecture. He had here produced
his splendid trial piece ; he had revealed the whole life and festive character
of the Renaissance spirit, while he scorned as little as did the great Italian
master, Leonardo da Vinci, to expend all the richness of his genius on such a
decoration of the moment, which vanished with the hour.
In works, also, not merely designed for the passing enjoyment of the
moment, the merchants of the Steel-yard claimed the power of their highly-
gifted countryman. They ordered of him two paintings for the decoration of
their Guildhall, in which the assemblies of the councU were held, and the
banquets and feasts took place. We have no information as to the time of the
origin of these pictures, yet it is probable that they were executed at this very
period, in which Holbein was occupied in other works for the Steel-yard and
its members.
These paintings, the Triumph of Riches and the Triumph of Poverty,
painted with figures life-size, and in tempera on canvas, obtained even in the
sixteenth century a fame, such as scarcely any other work of the master has
enjoyed. Carel van Mander, who accurately describes them, gives us the
opinion of Federigo Zucchero concerning them, who copied them in England,
in 1574. Although the ItaUans are generaUy too enamoured in the fame of
their countrymen to award any praise to other nations, Zucchero declared that
these pictures were as good as if Raffaelle d'Urbino had executed them.
Zucchero, however, had even gone further with Goltzius, when the latter was
in his house in Rome, and both had conversed about Hans Holbein and his
works in England, for he had then said they were better than those of
Raffaelle. Of these much admired works, also, aU trace is lacking. After Queen
Ehzabeth, in the year 1598, took the Steel-yard into her own possession,
and expeUed the Germans from their houses, great neglect and starvation
broke in upon these buildings. When in the year 1606, under James I., the.
Steel-yard was given back to its possessors, the places were found in an evil
condition, and aU moveables, such as tables, seats, bedsteads, and even panels
and glass windows, were almost entirely stolen. That, under such cir
cumstances, a sparing hand watched over the pictures is scarcely to be
expected. The Hanseatic League could now no longer raise itself to its
former high position; and when soon after the common association of the
merchants ceased, and the halls were let, the Hanseatic cities decreed to pre
sent the paintings to Henry, Prince of Wales, who, like his brother, Charles I.,
at a later period, showed himseU a zealous friend of art.1 The housekeeper,
1 Respecting the pictures and their history, cf. Lappenberg, pp. 82 — 87.

THE TRIUMPH OF RICHES. 349
Holtscho, mentions this on the 22nd of January, 1616, and adds : "I cannot,
also, leave it unnoticed, that although these works are old, and have lost their
freshness, yet His Highness, as a lover of painting, and as the works of the
master, specially this work, have been highly commended, has taken great
pleasure in them, as I have myself perceived, and have also heard from
himself." It may be supposed that the paintings subsequently belonged to the
splendid art collection of Charles I. There Sandrart, in the year 1627, on his
visit to England, saw them in the long summer-house of the Earl of Arundel.1
King Charles may perhaps have given them to this great Holbein friend, in
exchange for other objects of art; other instances of this occur. Afterwards,
we only hear that during the latter part of the seventeenth century they were
brought from Flanders to Paris, and remained there for some time ; 2 since
then they have disappeared. It is possible that they may again appear some
where, although, even at the beginning of the seventeenth century, it was said
that they were wearing out.
Holbein's original sketch of one of the pictures, namely, the Triumph of
Riches, alone exists ; it is in the Museum of the Louvre,8 a spirited and
masterly sheet, sketched with the pen, shaded with Indian ink, and with white
light introduced. We have inserted a woodcut of it. In the British Museum
there is a fragment of an extremely rare and beautiful engraving of 1561, not
made from the picture, but, as the accordance proves, from the sketch. It is
dated Antwerp,4 so that the drawing was probably there at that time. A
part of the right side, and with it the principal figure, is wanting. There are
also in the British Museum two copies of the paintings made by the Dutch
artist, Johann Biscbop, who died in 1686, and thus probably belong to the
period when the paintings had been removed from England to Flanders.
They are sketched with the pen and shaded with bistre. The Triumph of
Riches exhibits many deviations from the sketch and from its old engraving.
1 Cf. his own life.
2 Felibien, " Entretiens sur les Vies et sur les Ouvrages des plus excellents Peintres
anciens et modernes," Paris, 1672, ii. p. 379 : " II y avait encore dans la maison des Ostrelins,
dans la saile du Convive, deux tableaux k d-trempe, qu'on a veus icy depuis quelques annees,
et qu'on avait envoyez de Flandres.''
3 Not publicly exhibited. The so-called origmal drawing in the British Museum is only
a tracing from it, differing in many unessential points (King's Library, screen 1, No. 17).
Mr. Reiset, keeper of the Louvre Gallery, asserts, from numerous similar tracings with which
he is acquainted, that it belongs to the period in which the sheet was in the Jabach Collection.
Our woodcut is copied from that in Charles Blanc's " Histoire des Peintres," which faithfully
adheres to the original. The engraving of 1561 in the British Museum hangs near the alleged
original (King's Library, screen 1, No. 16).
4 Marked " [fJaicte par maistre hans holbevn tres excellant pointre Et imprime
par Johan Borgne Floret0 en Anuers Ian m.d.xli. Cum Privilegio." Whether this is the
engraver or the publisher is therefore not evident. We know no second copy of the sheet.

350 THE TRIUMPH OF RICHES.
Both it and the copies from it are without the greyhound in front, and Plutus,
confused with Pluto, has a trident in his hand.1
The copies made by Zucchero in 1574, were, in the last century, in the
coUection of the Hesse Darmstadt privy-councillor Fleischmann, at Stras
burg, who probably obtained them at the sale of the Crozat Cabinet, and
they were engraved in Mechel's " CEuvres de Holbein." 2 Without doubt,
these were the copies which Sandrart, according to his own account,3 himself
possessed. Respecting the further fate of the pictures, aU information is
wanting. Other copies, which were in Buckingham House, until this fell
into royal possession, were obtained by Horace Walpole, and, at the auction
of the collection at Strawberry HU1, they were purchased for sixteen guineas
by Sir Charles Eastlake, whose widow now has them in her beautiful collection
in London. The style of the drawing shows such an affinity with the school
of Van Dyck, that, without doubt, Vertue was right when he regarded them
as copies by Vorsterman, from Zucchero's sheets, which the former had
undertaken to engrave, when they were in the Crozat Cabinet.4 Thejr are
executed in black chalk, with white Ughts, with a slight touch of colour for
the flesh-tints, and with an azure ground ; and, next to the sketch in Paris,
they afford the clearest idea of Holbein's work. Yet there is only a part
there of the Triumph of Poverty.6
The representation of triumphal processions corresponded with the taste
of the time. Public life was in all places rich in pageants, which on festive
occasions were arranged with the utmost pomp. From these, Uterature bor
rowed its subjects — we have only to remember the "Trionfi" of Petrarch — and
plastic art did so also. We have already become acquainted with the
paintings of the Triumph of Death. We have repeatedly spoken of Andrea
Mantegna's Triumph of Caesar, a work which marks the highest point capable
of being reached by the art of the Early Renaissance, and which met with
scarcely less admiration and emulation in the North than in Italy. Yet still
more constantly than a real historical subject, as in Mantegna's work, did an
aUegorical subject form the basis of such compositions. To this style belongs
the triumphal car of Maximihan by Albert Diirer.
Although Holbein here moves in a chcle of ideas and delineations' familiar
to his contemporaries, he had yet no direct model for the special subject of his
painting, and we gather from the pictures themselves that he was not, hke
Diirer, in the evil position of being obliged to follow the programme of learned
1 A trident is given to him also in the London tracing.
a Inscription below : " Ex museo Georgii Gulielmi Fleischmann consiliarii intimi Hesso-
Darmstadiensis." Frider, "Zuccari delin," 1574.
3 Vol. ii. p. 87 et seq. Sandrartische Kunstkammer.
4 H. Walpole, " Anecdotes of Painting," ed. Wornum, i. p. 89.
5 Both from drawings from Mr. G. Scharf, engraved in wood for Waagen's " Handbook of
Painting," London, 1860.

.i j jl IU J ±hl

UMPH OF RICHES 351

men who had no idea of what could be expressed in art and what could not. •
Holbein also, in various instances, undoubtedly sought advice from learned
friends. Latin verses were introduced into these pictures, just as, in obedience
to the fashion, they adorned the portraits of many of the merchants, and the
festive decoration at the entrance of the Queen. Whoever made these may
have afforded the artist also material for much of the detail.1 Yet Holbein
was sufficiently familiar with the ideas of humanistic learning to devise this
work itself in its principal features. At any rate, the conception of the whole
is thoroughly artistic.
"AVRVM BLANDITIAE PATER EST NATVSQVE DOLORIS
QVI CARET HOC MOERET QVI TENET HIC METVIT."2
(Gold is the father of lust and the son of sorrow ; he who lacks it laments ; he who has it
fears.)
The same sentence as that inscribed by the merchants of the Steel-yard over
the central door of their Guildhall,3 stood as a motto to the first picture. In
an elegant, antique, and gilded chariot (as Mander expresses himself) is seated
Plutus, the God of Wealth, a bald-headed old man with a long beard, bent
forward, as if heavy cares oppressed hini. His foot is placed on sacks of
money, and an open vessel, full of coins, is before him. Somewhat lower is
seated Fortuna, a youthful and beautiful woman, with graceful action, her
eyes bound, her hair fluttering, and a veil, distended by the wind, like a saU.
With full hand she is scattering money among the crowd, who are pressing
round her chariot, the rich and the fortunate of antiquity, as the names
written beneath inform us. That verse of Goethe's * occurs to me : —
" Leicht ist's, zu folgen den Wagen
Den Fortuna fiihrt
Wie der gemachliche Tross
Auf gebesserten Wagen
Hinter der Fiirsten Einzug."
Foremost advances the corpulent SicliEeus, the husband of Dido, and the
richest of the Phoenicians ; on the other side of the carriage appears the head
of the poet Simonides of Julis, who did not escape the reproach of the avarice
and the venality of his muse. Behind SicliEeus comes the Lydian Pythius,
with a turban and in Oriental costume, a true picture of presumptuous arro
gance. He it was whose love of money was derided by his consort, who
placed a dish of gold before him when he returned hungry from a journey.
1 The often-repeated statement (Walpole, p. 89) that More wrote the verses for it, is not
mentioned by Vertue, and is without all external foundation, as well as internal probability.
The poems do not appear in his works.
a The verses are given from De Bischop's copy. 3 Lappenberg, p. 73. •
4 " Harzereise in Winter."

352 THE TRIUMPH OF RICHES.

The profile head behind him is marked Bassa. Perhaps Holbein had intended
in him a ruler of the Persian dynasty of the Sassanida.. The 24th monarch
of this dynasty, Chosroes III, might here weU find a place. Under him the
kingdom flourished, he amassed immense treasures, he adorned his palace
with fabulous magnificence, — it is said, with 40,000 sUver columns, and in his
old age the passion of avarice so overwhelmed him, that his subterranean
treasure-chamber became his own dungeon.
The next couple are Crispinus, the favourite of Domitian, lashed by
Juvenal for his luxury, and before him, Leo of Byzantium, with a sack of
gold under his arm. He, a pupil of Plato's, had defended his native city
against Philip of Macedon ; but when the latter wrote to his countrymen that
Leo had not surrendered Byzantium, because he had not paid the sum
demanded, Leo hanged himself. A figure behind them, kneeling down in
order to pick up the scattered gold, and whose face is concealed, is designated
as Themistocles : this great general did not escape the reproach of avarice,
when he accepted some cities from the Persian king ; and as he excited the
anger of the Greeks by rendering homage to the barbarian king, according to
Oriental custom, by bending the knee, he is here depicted as bending in
the dust before the Goddess of Fortune. Ventidius, also weU known in
Juvenal, is extending his mantle to receive the pieces of money ; the same
act is also repeated in the following figure with the Phrygian cap, designated
as Gadareus; that is, an inhabitant of the rich Gades.1 The carriage is
followed by Croesus, adorned with a crown, and seated on a noble horse which
Narcissus is leading by the bridle. Behind them, also on horseback, are two
other kings cast down from the height of their power and fortune, namely
Midas and Tantalus ; and last of all Cleopatra, who exposes her charms to the
eye in unveUed splendour, and whose chariot is just turning to follow the
stately train of Plutus.
Plutus' horses are driven by an experienced charioteer, sitting in front of
the Goddess of Fortune, and designated as Ratio or " Reason." Though one
of the crowd around may caU out " Vividius !" (Drive faster), the bearded man
with his sinewy arms, stiU unconcerned, holds the reins short. These are
caUed Notitia and Voluntas, " knowledge " and " will," and the horses are
moreover guided by four noble and divine female figures, two of whom walk
by the side and two ride. The refractory pair of horses next the chariot,
Usura, " interest," and Contract, are led by " equity " and " justice ; " the
foremost pair, which are rearing furiously and are designated as Avaritia and
Impostura, " avarice " and " deceit," are curbed by Liberalitas and Bona Fides,
" generosity " and " good faith." It is necessary to hold the horses somewhat
in check, in order to escape the Nemesis, who is hovering threateningly in
the rear. 1 In Greek, rd TdSeipa.

THE TRIUMPH OF POVERTY. 353
The Triumph of Poverty bears the following verse as its motto : —
" Mortalivm ivcvnditas volvcris est et pendvla
Movetvr iustar tvrbinis qvam nix agit sedvla
Qvid ergo confidetvr in gloria
Qvi dives est penvriam formidat ignobilem
Instabilis fati rotam semper timet mobilem
Degitqve vitam popre fallibilem
Qvi pavper est nihil timet nihil potest perdere
Sed spe bona la.tvs sedet nam sperat acquirere
Discitque virtvte De vm colere.''
(The desire of mortals is fleeting and wavering ; they are moved and driven as a whirlpool
in the storm. Thus we cannot trust in glory. He who is rich fears ignominious poverty ; he
fears hourly that the inconstant wheel of fate may turn, and so his life becomes a disappoint
ment. He who is poor fears nothing ; no loss threatens him, but joyful hope fills him ; for
he thinks to acquire, and he learns by virtue to serve God.)
In no splendid triumphal car, but in a poor wheelbarrow, Penia, " poverty,"
is seated, an old, lean, and half-starved woman, as Mander calls her. A
thatched roof forms her baldachin, and Infortunia, " misfortune," sits beside
her as her companion. She is raising her rod against those who follow her
chariot, half-naked and desperate figures, one of whom is called by the artist
Mendicitas, "mendicity." Instead of fiery steeds, two donkeys, Stupiditas
and Ignavia, " stupidity " and " inactivity," and two oxen, Negligentia and
Pigritia, " negligence " and " sloth," draw her vehicle along. But they are
guided by four graceful and blooming female figures : Moderatio, DUigentia,
Sollicitudo, and Labor, " moderation," " industry," "activity," and " work,"
the last especially a beautiful woman, beaming with freshness, power, and
health. The reins, however, are held by Spes, " hope," who is looking con
fidently up to heaven ("houdende de oogen zeer beweeglijk hemelwaard
geslagen," as Mander says) ; and behind her sits Industria, " industry,"
kindly advised by Memoria and Usus, "memory" and "experience," and
distributing instruments of work, hammer and threshing flail, square and
axe, to the poor and the needy who press around her carriage. Thus the
artist, wholly in the sense of modern times, tries to solve the social question
by self-help. The common fundamental idea of both pictures, however, is to
warn against arrogance in prosperity, and despondency in adversitjr. Wealth
and poverty can both lead to the right goal if only the journey be well
directed. This gives to both the right of celebrating a triumph.
Filled with such a spirit, these paintings could weU form a worthy and
ingenious ornament for the banquet-hall of the famous commercial company.
And truly, if it were contemplated in the present day to decorate the hall of
an Exchange with wall-paintings, nothing better could be done than to recall
these compositions to life from the sketches that exist of them.
A A

354 ALLEGORICAL PICTURES.

The character of the pictures is allegorical. Allegory, however, is a kind
of art which in the present day is depreciated by artists, by aesthetics, and by
the public generaUy. It is remarkable that other epochs to which we, as
regards artistic creative power, readUy grant precedence, had not even an
idea of this objectionableness of allegory. Not even antiquity and the Middle
Ages, but the masters of the prime of modern art, in the beginning of the
sixteenth century, knew nothing of this. If the artist so conceives with the
power of his imagination, ideas which belong to the understanding ; if lie so
pervades them with the warmth of his artistic feeling that he is capable of
fashioning them into personal forms, and of presenting them living before us,
who wUl forbid him to do so ? The only thing required is that he is actually
able to do this. But if he can do it, he proves at all times his creative power,
and thus affords a rich gift to our artistic conceptions. In Raffaelle's figure
of Poetry, the essence of poetic creative power has been so perfectly per
sonified, that in looking at it we believe and are convinced of its existence,
just as the faithful worshipper is convinced that the mythical forms of his
religion represented in pictures are actual beings. The same may be said of
Andrea Pisano's Cardinal Virtues, of his " Hope " and " Poverty " in the old
gates of the Florentine Baptistery, and also of Cornelius' Apocalyptic horse
men, or the Blessings of the Sermon on the Mount, which he devised in such
wonderful groups for his cemetery paintings. We feel, indeed, impeUed to
assert that art generally has no higher subjects than those afforded by this
free range of imagination. Here the artist feels himself most raised above
the barriers which ordinary life, with its cares, sorrows and restraints,
imposes on him, and he gives himself up freely to the impulse of his creative
genius. Such was the feeling which animated Holbein when he produced these
pictures. He knew indeed, better than anyone, how to depict reality truly and
distinctly. In his portraits he represented the different individuals with the
utmost exactness as they were, artisticaUy depicting even what was ugly and
stupid, ordinary and prosaic, because he conceived everything with such love
and such penetrating power, just as it was. Thus in historical representations he
gave every action and every event with strong distinctness, just as the impar
tial eye must imagine them to have occurred. But here, for the first time,
in the pictures of the Steel-yard, he felt himself freed and elevated. Here his
imagination was itself to prescribe its law and limits, and pure beauty held its
unfettered sway.
Who that is capable of reflection could, in the presence of these pictures,
venture to revUe allegory ? Do we, perhaps, in the present day, better under
stand so-called historical pictures, battle scenes, or political actions ? Who
can comprehend them, until he possesses a catalogue with a long explanation of
the respective numbers ? But figures such as Holbein's Plutus, as his " Hope,"

COMPARISON WITH DURER. 355
and his " Work," — to whom are they not tangible and actual ? The picture
clothes the idea, and its purport stands before us as a life-like personification.
Many of the details are, indeed, first understood when we read the names in
scribed by the side ; many niceties and ingenious touches are only appreciated
when reflection comes to aid. But the same is the case, also, with Raffaelle's
wall-paintings in the Camera deUa Segnatura. The same may be said of these
as of Holbein's Steel-yard paintings ; they invite reflection and reward it
richly, but by their appearance alone, they also satisfy the artistic eye, even
before reflection has had time to be aroused. The spiritual purport, also,
of the picture in its principal features strikes the impartial eye at the very
first glance.
It speaks much in favour of our master, if, in this respect, we compare
his creation with Maximilian's Triumphal Car, by Diirer. His splendid com
position betrays, indeed, as we have already said, that it was made according
to a programme forced upon him by others. The figures which surround the
seated emperor are not inteUigible without explanation, and this direct juxta
position of real personages of the present time with allegorical figures is
critical. When Holbein combined historical figures with aUegorical, the
personages belonged to remote antiquity, and could easily be united with
them in an ideal world. But what gives to Holbein's creation above all a
totally different stamp, and secures to it a totally different effect, is, that
it expresses a general idea, and does not, like Durer's composition, merely
serve for vain personal glorification. As regards form, Diirer in this work
adopted the Renaissance style as he has done in no other. The study which
he here displays, the theoretic certainty, the artistic knowledge, are extra
ordinary. And yet his figures remain strange to us, while those which Diirer
drew wholly from his national conception, and which he brings before us in
the attire of his country, in German style and bearing, are thoroughly akin to
us, in spite of all theh hardness, angularity, and peculiarities.
How different is Holbein in the pictures of the Steel-yard. " In point of
style and artistic merit," says Dr. Waagen 1 of the work, " it stands midway
between Mantegna and Raphael, and is more than any other of his works
calculated to prove Holbein to be the master in whom German art attained
the free form of the cinquecento." With regard to form and style, the pictures
stand, indeed, on the soil prepared by Andrea Mantegna. In the study of his
works, especially in the Triumphal Procession of Caesar, the German master
learned the fundamental principles of structure and rhythmical movement,
and found models for that free and graceful fall of the drapery which delights
us here in the thoroughly ideal costume, especially of his female figures. The
same model lastly influenced him in the choice of the base line as his point of
sight, a choice praised by Mander as very judicious, and which is also to be
1 Treasures, iv. p. 36.
A A 2

356 THE STEEL-YARD PICTURES.
perceived in other works by our master, as, for instance, in the organ doors.
While Holbein, at an earlier period, had for the most part drawn short figures
with large heads, he had now passed beyond this defect ; his figures are
slender and well-proportioned, and the freedom in appearance and action,
which had ever marked his creations, does not here incline to coarseness, but
is combined with genuine grace. Thus, starting from Mantegna's style,
upheld by his own power and unaffected by those around him, he approaches
the style to which Raffaelle had attained in Italy. When Zucchero, as he stood
before the Steel-yard pictures, mentioned Raffaelle, he intended stUl more
than that Holbein could rank with this greatest of masters. The true artistic
affinity of the two masters is plainly to be perceived, when we look at that
which is yet left to us as a faint idea of those vanished paintings.
Compared with all Holbein's earlier productions, he here appears to have
attained to a wholly new stage in his art. We know enough of the master to
be convinced that the paintings were not inferior to the design, and Mander's
statements strengthen us in our belief. "Both pieces," says our oldest
informant, "were excellently arranged, freely drawn, and well deUneated."
The few observations which he makes besides respecting their execution leads
us to infer that the artist, in accordance with the technical character of the
work, here rather indicated than entered into realistic detaUs. He, the great
colourist of the North, — who in one of his Basle waU-paintings, Samuel
and Saul, must have introduced even flames and smoke, chiaro-oscuro and
effects of light, — seems here to have aspired after a more ideal style of
colouring. The horses that drew the chariot of Riches were white, the naked
parts of the female figures at their side were of the natural colour, but their
garments were only black and white, ornamented at the edge with shell-gold.
Gold which, by its just application, imparts at all times an ideal character,
and increases the effect of calm dignity, seemed also elsewhere not to have
been used sparingly. And thus the effect of the paintings must have been
cheerful and festive, when they occupied the place for which they were
intended, and adorned the walls of the German GuildhaU above the fire-place
with its elegant mantelpiece, and the buffets with their dazzhng array of
pewter and sUver.
Historical compositions during Holbein's English period are extremely
rare, yet in the Queen's Library at Windsor Castle, in one of the cases in the
upper hall, there is a drawing of a moderate size, which is so splendid that few
of the large pictures executed by our master can compete with it in import
ance. It is the sheet representing the Queen of Sheba before Solomon, well
known from Wenzel Hollar's engraving ; and at the time that he copied it, it
was in the Arundel Collection in London. The time of its origin is not
stated, but the harmony of the style with the compositions of the Steel-yard
is so evident, that we mention the epoch at this place.

SOLOMON AND THE QUEEN OF SHEBA. 357
In front of a buUding of grand Renaissance architecture, with fine columns
and panelled ceiUng, King Solomon is sitting enthroned. A curtain is faUing
in folds behind him. In front of the throne kneels the foreign queen, her
face turned from the spectator and addressing him. Noble women are foUow
ing in pairs, and before the sovereign kneel the servants with gold and costly
gifts, which they are presenting to him. At the side of the throne stand the
wise men and the elders of the kingdom.
The address of the Queen is introduced in Latin in various places in the
background : " Thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.
Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually
before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the Lord thy God, which
delighteth in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel ; therefore made he thee
king, to do judgment and justice." x
Beautiful and elegant as is the effect of the engraving, it yet affords no
idea of the spirit and nicety of the original. This is no sketch for a picture,
but the drawing was in itself the object. With all its lightness the execution
is incomparably excellent ; it is done in metallic pencU, slightly shaded with
Indian ink. OccasionaUy the drapery and the architecture of the background
are touched with dead gold, which produces a charming effect, and here and
there the artist had gone a step further in the indication of colour. The fruits
in the basket which a girl is holding are green and red. The ground between
the columns is blue with gold stars. The expression of the men's heads, and
the grace of the female figures, which are, however, coarser in the engraving,
cannot be sufficiently admired in the original. There is throughout a beau
tiful rhythm in the lines, grace, and action. It is perfectly Itahan, we might
even say RaffaeUe-like, in style. 1 1 Kings x. 7—9.

CHAPTER XXI.
Work in Protestant circles. — Several portraits from the year 1532 to 1535. — The great picture
in Longford Castle. — Sir Thomas Wyat. — His head in drawings and in woodcuts. —
John Leland, the antiquary. — Thomas Cromwell and his portraits. — The Poyns family. —
Simon George and Reskymer, of Cornwall. — Nicolaus Bourbon de Vandceuvre comes
to England. — His portrait in drawing and woodcut. — Personal relation of the poet to
Holbein. — Bourbon's poems on the artist. — Holbein as a miniature-painter. — The sons
of the Duke of Suffolk.
Holbein was also employed by Englishmen during these years, though, in
thorough contrast to his former visit, he now seems especially to have found
patrons in those circles which were favourable to the Reformation. Of per
sonages of this kind we may mention two portraits, which hung side by side
in the picture gaUery of Count Schonborn in Vienna untU the year 1866, the
more beautiful, however, of which is now in the Collection of Herr B. Suer-
mondt at Aix-la-Chapelle. In the picture at Vienna, a book is lying near the
person represented, from which a piece of paper projects, bearing the signifi
cant words, "Veritas odium ponit" (Truth brings hatred). May we not
suppose that this book indicates one of those writings which the German
Reformation at that time was even more and more transmitting to England ?
In the latter part of Wolsey's time, WiUiam Tyndale's New Testament in
English had appeared, which had been printed in the Netherlands. Though
the high ecclesiastics in England might purchase and destroy almost the
whole edition, still this only supplied the publishers with money, and paved
the way for a new edition without in any way hindering the secret dissemina
tion of the work. The persecutions which Wolsey, and stUl more zealously
More, inflicted on the adherents of the German heresy, were of Uttle perma
nent effect, and a total change was now at hand.
The cover of the book also contains the painter's monogram, and the
painting on its azure ground is inscribed with the date 1532, and his age of
twenty-nine. The youth is looking gravely and calmly before him ; his beard
less and somewhat reddish countenance, and the hands, which are resting on
a green covered table, are masterly in theh execution ; he is holding a pair of
gloves in his left hand.
The corresponding picture which Herr Suermondt possesses, represents,

THE AMBASSADORS. 359

like the former, a young man, dressed in black, a half-length figure half the
size of life, on a blue ground : he must belong to the same family as the former,
for his signet bears the same device as that of the other ; his beard is fair,
and he is taken full face ; the beautiful left hand is again holding gloves, and
the right hand partly appears under the splendidly-arranged mantle. The
head is extraordinarily gentle and mild in -expression. According to the in
scription, he is thirty-four years old, and the portrait was painted in 1533.
To the same year, also, a large painting belongs, which occupies an
important place among the principal works of Holbein, and, among those
works of the masters which are yet to be found in England, is indeed perhaps
only surpassed by one. It is a large panel at Longford Castle, belonging to
Lord Folkestone, containing two male figures, life-size. Holbein himself
placed such importance upon this work, that he marked it with his full
name i1 — IOANNES HOLBEIN, PINGEBAT, 1533.
The picture bears the traditional name of " The Ambassadors ; " but the
name of " The Scholars " seems as if it would be far more suitable on account
of the apparatus relating to art and science which is to be seen aU around.
Both men are standing at the side of a high table with a double shelf, on
which each is leaning his arm. The one to the left of the spectator, evidently
the principal figure, is an imposing knightly personage, in the prime of
youthful vigour, with hah inclining to dark, and a short full beard, in the
noble court attire of the period ; he wears a black upper garment with puffed
sleeves and a fur trimming, a jerkin of briUiant red satin appearing at his
chest and sleeves, green scarf and broad Burgunchan shoes, besides a gold
necklace, from which hangs a medal of St. Michael. The head, which is taken
from a front view, is covered with a little hat placed awry. The splendidly-
painted left hand is hanging down, the right is resting on" a richly ornamented
gold dagger, which attracts attention from its noble Eenaissance ornament,
and the large blue tassel of gold cord.
The other figure, who is resting his right arm on a book on the table, is
standing a httle further back, and is not wearing the dress of a courtier, but
that of a scholar by profession, a doctor's hat, and a long robe of brown sUk,
irregularly marked with green stripes, lined with fur and a fur collar. The
left hand is grasping the over-garment, which reveals at the chest the glimpse
of a black coat with a white shirt coUar ; the right hand, holding the glove,
is resting on the table; he also wears a short beard, and his hair is dark
brown. 1 This mark was discovered by Mr. Wornum in the year 1865. The part of the ground
on which it is inscribed is very dark. Before this in 1858, it had been copied by Mr. George
Barker and had been communicated to Mr. Scharf, but no statement had been made public.

360 THE AMBASSADORS.
The table is covered with a richly designed Oriental cloth, and upon it
stands a celestial globe and various other astronomical instruments. On the
lower shelf, there is a terrestrial globe, executed with the utmost nicety, so
that even the Latin names written on it are legible, such .as beisilici and
antiglie insvle, or the only German city noted down, nvkenbeega. By the
side, and some of them on the marble floor, lie a pair of compasses, two lutes,
a chest with flutes, and a chant book with the text and notes, a large fish, a
book with astronomical calculations, with the text evidently in German,
perhaps one of the books of Sebastian Munster, which Holbein had before
illustrated. Two German church songs are plainly to be read in the chant-
book. On one side stands written : —
" Kom heiliger geyst herregott,
Erfull mit Deiner gnaden gut,
Deiner gleubgen hertz mut vnd sin,
Dein brunstig lib entzund inn ihn.
O herr durch denies lichtes glast,
Zu dem glauben versamlet hast,
Das volck aller welt zungen,
Es s(ei) dir herzu lob gesungen — gesungen."
(Come, Holy Ghost, 0 God, fill with thy grace the heart of thy faithful people, and kindle
in it thy fervent love. O Lord, by the splendours of thy light, thou hast gathered together the
faithful of every nation. Praise to thee herewith be sung — sung.)
And on the second : —
" MEnsch wiltu leben seliglich
Vnnd bei Gott blibene (ewiglich)
Soltu halten die zehen gebot
Die vns gebeut vnser Gott."
(Mortal, if thou wouldst live happily, and dwell with God for ever, thou must keep the
Ten Commandments which God has given us.)
A green curtain forms the calm and agreeable background.
This painting reveals the utmost power in the colouring ; the flesh tints
are of a warm yeUowish hue. The most various materials, both in the costume
of the men and in the accessories, are depicted in a most characteristic manner,
the careful execution of subordinate matters is admirable, and yet these
again, with great artistic wisdom, are subordinate to the whole, producing an
effect of the utmost harmony. In aU these respects the picture at Longford
equals the portrait of Gysin painted a short time previously, and harmonizes
with it in the execution generaUy, although a somewhat colder tone prevails
in the portrait of the German merchant.
Tradition teUs us that the man in the court attire represents Sir Thomas
Wyat, the famous favourite of Henry VIIL, and we find this doubly con
firmed. In the first place, his face accords perfectly with Wyat's subsequent

SIB THOMAS WYAT. 361

portraits ; in the second place, inscribed on his dagger,. we find jeu. sv___, 29.
Sir Thomas Wyat was born in the year 1503, and therefore in the year 1533
was twenty-nine or thirty years of age. He was the son of that Sir Henry
Wyat of AUington Castle, whose picture by Holbein hangs in the Louvre. He
was educated at Cambridge and Oxford ; he then travelled on the Continent,
and returned as a model of a highly accomplished and chivalrous man. In
the very year in which Holbein took his likeness he began his career at Court.
At the coronation of Anna Boleyn, the honourable office of ewerer was
awarded to him in the place of his father, probably on account of the death of
the latter.1 Wyat possessed all physical as well as inteUectual endowments.
He was a noble warrior, an expert statesman, and he was frequently employed
by Henry on important diplomatic embassies, so that the name given to the
picture of the "Ambassadors" was not wholly unsuited to him. He was
versed in various languages, and in different arts and sciences, and he was
distinguished as a poet in his own tongue. His poems appeared in the year
1565, combined with those of his friend, the Earl of Surrey, and they were
regarded as the noblest poetic productions in the English language of that
time. His poetic gifts, his knightly and scientific inclinations, his wit, and
his power of conversation, soon won for him the favour, and indeed the love
of the King, which he returned — a rare occurrence — to the end of his life.
Wyat also stood in favour with Queen Anna Boleyn, and attached himself to
the men of the Protestant party.
The clearest evidence of this may be found in the picture itself, in
those German psalm tunes. He translated also the Bible Psalms into his
mother tongue. " TranstuUt in nostram Davidis carmina linguam," says John
Leland of him subsequently.
It is to this friend that we owe the following description .of him per-
sonaUy: — " Corpore procerum fmxit natura Viatum,
Ejus et invictis nervos dedit ilia lacertis.
Addidit hinc faciem qua non formosior altra,
Lseta serenata. subfixit lumina fronti.
Luminal fulgenteis radiis imitantia stellas."
(Nature has formed him slender of figure, and has endowed him with uncouquerable
power of arm. She has given him a countenance which no one can surpass in beauty, and
glad eyes under a merry brow, eyes which beam like luminous stars.)
The poet Surrey also says of him that he had " a visage stern and mild."
These descriptions correspond perfectly with his appearance in Holbein's
grand portrait.
Two heads of Sir Thomas Wyat in the Windsor CoUection2 show the
same regular and beautiful countenance with the same true manliness and
1 Stow, p. 957. 2 Only one is engraved in Chamberlaine 's work.

362

SIB THOMAS WYAT.

calm superiority of .expression, but they were evidently executed a few
years later. The beard is still more grown, and flows down imposingly.
One of the sheets is especially finished ; the hair is excellent, and blue eyes
beam beneath the overhanging brows.
In the year 1541, Sir Thomas Wyat died of fever at the age of
thirty-eight, on a journey which he had undertaken by order of his
sovereign. It was an event which caused Henry great sorrow. John Leland
did honour to his memory by a little book which appeared in the following
year: "Naenia on the Death of the incomparable Knight, Thomas Wyat."1
On the back of the title-page, there is a woodcut of a small circular profile
of Wyat. In Effigiem Thomas Viati.
" Holbenus nitida pingendi maximus arte
Effigiem expressit graphice, sed nullus Apelles
Exprimet ingenium felix animumque Viati."
(Holbein, the greatest in the magnificent art of painting, has sketched this portrait, yet
no Apelles can express in painting Wyat's mind and happy genius.)
With the smallest appliance conceivable of outward means, the master
sketched this slight and spirited head on
the wood-block, and the character of his
drawing beams forth in the picture, though
the engraving betrays an unpractised hand,
as is the case with all the woodcuts exe
cuted in England after Holbein's designs.
Wyat's throat is bounded by a piece of
drapery after the style of antique busts,
which increases the plastic effect of the
drawing.2 His brow here extends almost
to the. crown of the head ; and we may
remember that, at the close of Leland's
description of his appearance, he says :
"Nature had given the youth dark auburn hair, but this gradually
i "Neenia in mortem Thomas Viati equitis incomparabilis;'' Lelando Antiquario auctore,
Londini, anno mdxlii. Cf. Passavant, 63. See respecting the woodcut, Detmold, in the
" Archiv fiir die zeichnenden Kiinste," ii. p. 136, with a fac-simile of the woodcut, a copy of
which we have here given. Fac-simile also in Chatto, " Treatise," &c.
2 Numerous paintings, life-size, taken from this woodcut, appear in England as " Holbein's."
One of these, in the Bodleian Library, at Oxford, and another belonging to the Marquis of
Hastings (this one was not designated as a Holbein), were in the Portrait Exhibition of 1866.
Lodge, in the text to Chamberlaine, states that there was an original in the possession of Lord
Romney. Cf. Walpole, i. p. 82. Obs. by Dallaway, who mentions a picture of Wyat in the
possession of the Earl of Romney, the Moat, Kent.

JOHN LELAND. 363

disappeared, and left him bald, but the thick forest of his flowing beard
increased more and more."
"... Caesariem juveni subflavam contulit : inde
Defluxit sensim crinis, calvumque reliquit.
Sylva sed excrevit promissa. densula barbae."
Might it not also be possible to learn who is Sir Thomas Wyat's companion
in Longford Castle? His scholar's attire, and the "./etatis sv_e, 25," which
is inscribed on the edge of the book beneath his arm, are the only external
indices. Is there any scholar who was a few years younger than Wyat and
was on such terms of intimacy with him as to be depicted in the same panel,
though modestly standing a step behind him ?
We know of only one man whom we could imagine here, namely, this same
John Leland (1552), who did honour to Wyat in his poetical eulogy. It is
true that the year of Leland's birth, which could furnish the best evidence in
favour of our supposition, is unknown, yet it is stated as probable that he was
born1 in the latter years of King Henry VII.'s reign (1509), and this would
support the conjecture. Leland was Wyat's friend from his early youth, and
had received his education with him at Cambridge.
" Me tibi conjunxit comitem gratissima Granta,
Granta Camcenarum gloria, fama, decus,"
he says in the N_enia, which affords us a beautiful memorial of how the rela
tions of the two men continued 'until Wyat's death. John Leland, who
subsequently visited Oxford, afterwards went with the King's assistance to
Paris, and became a scholar of Budeus. On his return, still a young man, he
was a scholar of such reputation, that Henry VIIL appointed him rector of
PopeUng in the marches of Calais, and made him his librarian, and in the
year 1533, his royal antiquarian, when he began those works which have
gained him lasting importance; namely, the coUection of material for the
history and antiquity of England and Wales.
To the year 1533 also belongs the portrait of Eobert Cheseman, royal
falconer, a half-length figure almost life-size ; this work is now in the Hague,
and is described as very beautiful.2 The figure represented is holding a falcon
on his wrist, and in the greenish-blue ground stand his name, the date, and his
age, 48 years.
1 " De tempore ejus ortus non possum recte computare, conjectura tantum est, ilium circiter
annos postremos Henrici, ejus appellationis septimi, lucern adspexisse." Leland's Life, in his
"Commentarii de Scriptoribus Britannicis, Oxonii, 1709;" Wood's "Life of John Leland,
Athena. Oxon." vol. i. col. 67 ; also "Joannis Balei Centuria.," c. 8, fol. 671 ; "CoroUarium
Vita. J. L." by William Burton, in " J. Lelandi de rebus Britannicis Collectanea," London,
1774, 2nd edit.
2 The author has not seen this picture himself, and here follows Mr. Wornum (p. 251)
and Mr. Burger.

364 SIB THOMAS CEOMWELL.
In the following year, two splendid little circular pictures were executed ;
they are now in the Ambraser GaUery at Vienna. They are in the same style
as those we mentioned in the last chapter, and may be compared for beauty
with the head of Melanchthon. They depict a bearded man in a black cap and
red garment, according to the inscription thirty years of age, and a lady in a
splendid full-trimmed dress, twenty-eight years old. The physiognomies have a
decidedly English character ; and as on the right side of the man there is a
H, and on his left side an R, in gold embroidery, EngUsh investigators, such
as Mr. Nichols and Mr. Scharf, may perhaps succeed in ascertaining the
personage depicted. It was the fashion at that time to wear the initials of
the name thus embroidered, or fastened on jewels and ornaments.1 Both
pictures are extraordinarily distinct, fuU of life, and in good preservation ;
that of the lady is somewhat colder and more delicate in tone.
It is of especial interest to see the portrait by Holbein of the man who soon
after rose to be the prime leader of all English political matters, and who was
at that time mounting from step to step. This was Thomas CromweU, who
with keen eye surveyed the position of his country, and penetrated also the
character of the sovereign. Even at the time when Henry VIII. was inflamed
with anger against the Pope on account of his opposition in the affair of the
divorce, he had never conceived the idea of making common cause with the
German Protestants. He personally hated Luther, with whom he had had
theological disputes, and he had no understanding for the spirit of the
Reformation. It was CromweU who showed him the way in which he could
turn the Reformation to his worldly interests without abandoning his ortho
doxy, while he allowed the doctrines and constitution of the old Church to
continue in England, but made himself the supreme head in spiritual things
instead of the Pope. Cromwell's talent, the experience of a striving Ufe, and
the school of diplomacy which he had passed through in Wolsey's service, all
enabled him to attain his object. Judiciously using Henry's love for Anna
Boleyn, and building upon his inclination for despotic power, he urged the
King on to a complete breach with the Papacy, and obtained an influence
equaUy great over the ParUament, who hnpUcitly foUowed his guidance.
Thus he carried out those political measures which procured for the Enghsh
kingdom a power of unprecedented extent, which at the same time obtained
for the nation her independence abroad, her liberation from the ecclesiastical
yoke, and thus opened the path to her future greatness.
CromweU's head, drawn by Holbein, with a slight touch of colour and
very decided outline, upon paper tinted red, simUar to those in the Windsor
CoUection, is now at WUton House.2 A circular painting v. ith green back
ground, and enclosed in a painted square stone frame, and containing likewise
1 Cf. G. Scharf, " Archasologia," vol. xl. p. 87.
2 Under glass in one of the private apartments of Lady Herbert.

SIB THOMAS CBOMWELL. 365
only the head, taken almost in profile, is in the possession of Captain Eidgway
in London. Cromwell here wears a black sUk quilted coat, and a black cap
which enthely conceals the hair. In both these exceUent works, the historical
character is retained with astonishing exactness. The pictures distinctly caU
to mind the hard and toilsome career of the man, who, the orphan of a farrier
at Putney, battled his way through the world at home and abroad, until his
talents raised him, the son of the people, above the highest nobles. His head
rests on a strong bull-like throat. His fat face, with its small crisp whiskers,
large nose and thin compressed lips, small piercing eyes and expression of
cold determination and tenacious firmness, all mark the politician, who,
unbiassed by personal and moral considerations, and availing liimself of the
evil passions of his master, solely pursued his statesmanUke aim. And yet, at
the same time, a grand character stands before us ; and especiaUy in the
Wilton drawing, a genuine dignity is expressed in the features which compels
our esteem.
Mander saw in De Loo's possession the portrait "of the old Lord Crauwl,
about a foot and a half large, taken unusually artisticaUy by Holbein." Pro
bably this is Captain Ridgway's picture, though this was only a foot square.
The Countess of Caledon possesses a larger painting of Cromwell, which
was at the National Portrait Exhibition, and has been multiplied by Wenzel
Hollar's beautiful and rare engraving ; 1 he is sitting on a wooden seat with
a high back, and is holding a paper in his hand ; the background is green.
When the engraving was made, the original was certainly not so injured,
nor so disfigured as it now is by a flaw and by bad restoration. The head
especially has suffered, while the subordinate things, the black dress with the
fur collar, the pen, the papers, and the richly-bound book, still distinctly
betray the hand of the master. One of the papers bears the address,
" To our trusty and right well-beloued
Counsailler Thomas Crom
well Maister of our Jewel-house."
This establishes the period at which the picture was painted, which cannot
be later than the first months of the year 1534. In the year 1531, Cromwell
was appointed Master of the Jewel-office, and in the beginning of 1534 he
was advanced to be First Secretary of State and Master of the RoUs.2 This
1 Parthey, 1386. Without Hollar's name. In Lodge's " Portraits of Illustrious Personages
of Great Britain," London 1835, an engraving by Freeman, from a similar picture in the
possession of Sir Thomas Constable, Bart. Yet the engraving plainly shows that this could
only have been a weak copy. The same may be said of Houbra.ken's engraving from a picture
in the possession of Edward Southwell, Esq., in " The Heads of Illustrious Persons of Great
Britain," 1747. Cromwell's head, though not very true, is also in the "Herwologia
Anglica." 2 " British Plutarch," i. Cf. Lord Herbert, p. 404.

366 NICHOLAS POYNS

is the same period at which the decisive change in Cromwell himself took
place:1 his inner bias to the Reformation, which untU now had been scarcely
clear to his own consciousness, appeared ; the upright and sterling quahties of
his nature drew him to the Protestant side, and thus he carried out the Refor
mation in England, in a totally different manner and extent to that which
King Henry VIII. had intended.
Perhaps the artist owed his connection with Cromwell to Sir Thomas Wyat,
who stood on terms of intimacy with him. Another friend of the poet, cele
brated indeed in two of Wyat's poems, we find among the Windsor sketches,
namely John Poyns of Essex (died 1558). The head turned upwards and
seen almost in profile is covered with a black cap. The beardless counte
nance, with the delicately compressed lips and animated eyes, has something
unusually noble and enthusiastic in its expression. Leland mentions him
first among the three intimate friends whom Wyat found at the Court.
" Excoluit largi Poyningi nobile pectus."
(He loved the noble heart of the Poyns.)
Nicholas Poyns, whom we likewise see among these drawings, a grave
elderly man, bareheaded and with a fair beard, belongs to the elder branch of the
family, which had settled in Gloucestershire. Holbein also depicted his son,
Nicholas Poyns, of whom we know little more than that he subsequently lived
as a simple country gentleman at his seat Tron Acton, and was sheriff of his
county in 1539. 2 The splendid study of the portrait is at Windsor, and the
beautiful painting, hfe-size and a half-length figure, is in the possession3
of M. de la Rosiere in Paris ; it bears tie date 1535, and the age 25, and
on the blue background the foUowing French motto is stUl legible :
"JE OBAIS A QVI JE DOIS
JE SERS A QVI ME PLAIST
ET SVIS A QVI ME MERITE."
The whole appearance of the youth harmonizes with this knightly motto ;
he is a slender-looking cavalier, pleasing without being really pretty, and
thoroughly an Englishman in character. The face as well as the figure is seen
in profile. Poyns wears moustachios, and a beard is also beginning to
grow ; his nose is large, and his dark eyes are shaded by overhanging brows.
1 Froude, vol. ii. chap. 6, end.
2 Fuller, " The History of the Worthies of England."
s There are several copies in England. There is a very good one in the possession of the
Marquis of Bristol, London, from which I have taken the inscription. Mr. Holford, Dor
chester House, London, possesses a miniature perfectly in accordance with it, and which was
exhibited in 1865 at the Exhibition of Miniatures in the South Kensington Museum. Un
fortunately Mr. Holford could not find the picture when I had the pleasure of seeing his
splendid gallery. The photograph in the South Kensington Museum makes it impossible to
decide whether it is a Holbein original.

THE POET NICOLA US BOURBON. 367
A golden chain falls over the black jerkin, and the plumed hat is placed awry
on his chestnut-brown hair.
We will here mention the portraits of two other country gentlemen, which are
not indeed dated, but which probably belong to this same epoch. Herr Brentano,
at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, possesses the half-length figure of a young man in
profile, wearing a bat with feathers, and a pink in his hand. We recognize at
once the same individual as appears in the Windsor drawings, Simon George
of Cornwall, only that in the sketch he has merely a moustache, while in the
picture the beard is somewhat fuller. The cap with its gold embroidery and
adorned with a bunch of pansies, as well as the whole richly-ornamented attire,
is splendidly executed ; the beautifully-sketched face, on the other hand, has
lost the harmony of colour through cleaning; and by the cutting of the panel,
two inscriptions which stood in the background to the right have been muti
lated ; but it seems that the painter's name stood here.
There is a young man belonging to the same country, represented in a
portrait at Hampton Court, which is accurately described in Charles the First's
Catalogue, and the excellent study for which is in the Windsor Collection.
According to its designation, it is " Reskemeer, a Cornish gentleman." The
Reskymer family appears in Cornwall, and a John Reskymer was sheriff of
his county in the years 1535 and 1536. A John Reskymer also, perhaps his
son, held this office in the years 1556 and 1557, under the Catholic Mary.1
The subject of the picture is a young man about thirty years of age, seen
in profile and looking towards the left, with a splendid pointed beard of
unusual length, brown, though slightly reddish. A small hat j/_ drawn awry
over his brow, and both hands are visible. According to a custom frequently
occurring with Holbein, fig-leaves are introduced in the background, which
was originally blue, but which has now assumed a greenish tint. The
painting is not quite equal in delicacy to the sketch, but it is a life-like and
powerfuUy painted portrait, and is one of the two genuine Holbein works
among the twenty-seven bearing his name in Hampton Court.
At about the time of which we are speaking, a man came to England who
entered into close personal relation with the artist, and whose name is no
longer unknown to us ; namely, the poet Nicolaus Bourbon de Vandceuvre.
His history presents the picture of one of those scholarly and poetical exist
ences, in which the sixteenth century, especially in Italy, was so rich. He
too was one of those men without a distinct and regular vocation in life, who
sought to make theh fortune at courts, who experienced the utmost change of
outward circumstances, found a home wherever a favourable position offered
itself, and who, without having any important and positive achievements in
literary matters to produce, found a place, from their mind and their acquaint-
1 Fuller, " The Worthies of England."

368 NICOLA US BO UBBON
ance with the culture of the age, in the immediate circle of monarchs and
nobles. In the year 1503, Nicolaus Bourbon was born at Vandoeuvre, not
far from Bar-sur-Aube, and showed himself to be a poet at the early age
of fifteen. He was subsequently admitted to the Court of Francis the First
of France, and was especially a favourite with his sister, Queen Margaret of
Navarre. But a change in his circumstances made him suddenly poor, and
some offensive passages in his poems, in which he expressed himself too freely
on religious subjects, exposed him to persecution. He was thrown into prison
in the year 1534, and obtained his freedom only through the intercession of
Henry VIII. The King was interested in him through Anna Boleyn, who
had passed her early youth at the French Court, and through his physician,
Dr. Butts. In 1535 he proceeded to England, and the connections which he
already possessed there, procured him the most favourable reception ; he was
employed as a teacher, and this of youths of the highest circles, among others
of Henry Carey, subsequently Lord Hunsdon, a nephew of the Queen. In the
year 1536 he returned home, where the clouds meanwhile had dispersed, and
he was subsequently summoned to educate Jeanne d'Albret, the daughter of
the Queen of Navarre.
Among the Windsor drawings, his head appears in profile, turned towards
the left ; it is a very agreeable face, delicate, reflective, and inteUigent, with
long hair and small beard, and a pen in his hand. He is like the portrait of
Erasmus writing ; the whole bearing, and the manner in which he moves his
pen, are highly characteristic. Everything reveals at once the intellectual and
graceful court poet. It was on occasion of this portrait that Bourbon made
the epigram upon " the incomparable painter Hans Holbein : "
" Dum diuina meos uultus mens exprimit Hansi,
Per tabulum docta praecipitante manu,
Jpsum et ego interea sic uno carmine pinxi ;
Hansus me pingens maior Apelle fuit." 1
(While the divine genius of Hans immortalizes my features, boldly tracing them on the
panel with skilful hand, I have also painted him thus in verse. Hans, thus taking my portrait,
was greater than Apelles.)
The picture was afterwards sketched by the artist on a smaUer scale on the
wooden block, just as before, engaged in writing, only that in the print the
countenance is no longer looking towards the left, as in the other, but towards
the right. This print adorns the later editions of Nugte, a coUection of Bourbon's
poems, published after the year 1538. Besides the name of the poet, his age,
thirty-two years, is inscribed, and the date of the sketch, 1535. The portrait
is circular ; graceful ornaments, quite in Holbein's Renaissance style, fiU the
corners, and below two naked boys are holding the poet's coat-of-arms, which
bears a cross in the upper shield and a swan below.
1 Nuga?, 1538.

jsi vula US BO UBBON 369

Bourbon proved himself grateful. If the painter adorned his poems with
this sketch, he wrote in return that laudatory introductory poem, of which
we have already spoken, for the pictures of the Old Testament, in the publi
cation of which Holbein was soon afterwards occupied. The enthusiastic
admiration which Bourbon conceived for the master and repeatedly expressed,
proclaimed Holbein's fame more loudly and publicly than had ever been the
case before. The range of expressions and ideas at the disposal of those who
extolled the works of plastic art, was extremely small ; to compare the artist
with the most famous masters of classic antiquity was the best that could be
done. And Bourbon did not do otherwise. But he placed Holbein not
merely side by side with the ancients, he even speaks of him repeatedly as
greater than they. That he enjoyed personal intercourse with him, and
was even intimate with him, may be seen from other expressions. In the
year 1536, when Bourbon had quitted England, he wrote to Thomas Solimar,
the King's secretary : " I have yet to beg you to greet in my name as
heartily as you can all with whom you, know me connected by intercourse
and friendship : Mr. Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury ; . . . Mr.
Cornelius Heyss, my host, the King's goldsmith ; Mr. Nicolaus Kratzer, the
King's astronomer, a man who is brimful of wit, jest, and humorous fancies ;
and Mr. Hans, the royal painter, the Apelles of our time. I wish them from
my heart all joy and happiness ! " Holbein is here mentioned not only in a
list with his countryman Kratzer, whom Holbein had painted some years
before, but also with the English Reformer. That he otherwise stood in any
relation with the latter is not known ; there is no portrait by his hand of
Archbishop Cranmer. The fourth in the list, the King's goldsmith, Cornelius
Hayes, is constantly mentioned both in the receipt book of the royal house
hold as well as in that of the King's privy purse.1 Lastly, the poet expressly
mentions Holbein as his friend in the following heading of an epigram : " In
picturam Hansi regii apud Britannos pictoris et amici."
The poem thus entitled, written upon a painting by Holbein, is interesting
in itself : — " Sopitum in tabula puerum meus Hansus eburna
Pinxerat, et specie qua requiescit Amor :
Ut uidi, obstupui, Chaerintumque esse putaui,
Quo mihi res non est pectore chara magis :
Accessi propius, mox stems ignibus arsi ;
Osculaque ut ccepi figere, nemo fuit."
(My Hans has painted on an ivory panel a slumbering boy, looking like a reposing Cupid.
I see him ; I am astonished ; I regard him as Charintus, whom my heart loves most
warmly. I approach burning with passion ; yet, as I kiss him, it is only a semblance.)
The picture on an ivory tablet can be nothing but a miniature painting, and
this would prove a fact already stated by Van Mander, but which in spite of
1 M. Franks, "Discovery ofthe Will of Hans Holbein;" Archaeologia, vol. xxxix.
B K

370 HOLBEIN AS A MINIATURE-PAINTER.
this has been recently doubted,1 namely that Holbein was a miniature-painter.
It was only at a late period, in England, says Mander,2 that he, who knew
how to adapt himself almost to everything, took up the art of miniature-
painting, in which he had before done nothing. At this time he met at the
Court a very famous master in this art, named Lucas, — probably therefore
Lucas Hornebaud, with whom we have before become acquainted as the best-
paid master of that period in England. " With Lucas," continues Mander,
"he kept up mutual acquaintance and intercourse, and learned from him the
art of miniature-painting, which, since then, he pursued to such an extent,
that in a short time he as far exceUed Lucas in drawing, arrangement, under
standing, and execution, as the sun surpasses the moon in brightness."
For an artist who, hke Holbein, finished with such dehcacy and perfection
every part of his work and aU subordinate things, such as the finest parts in
costume and in ornament even to " Spanish work " and jewels, and who more
over had executed with such nicety those smaU circular paintings in oU of a
few inches in diameter, the transition to true miniature-painting was not very
great. It is true, the criticism regarding these works is in an especiaUy evU
condition. Almost all the miniatures of that time which appear in England,
are designated " Holbein ; " but we hear of several other painters pursuing
the same branch of art, besides Lucas, for instance Susanna Hornebaud and
Lavinia Teerhnck. But all clue is lacking by which we might distinguish
what belongs to Holbein and what was the work of other artists. Only a
small number of miniature-paintings seem to us to possess such a common
feeling of affinity with his works of another kind, that they may be without
doubt assigned to him. It is true that in this respect my personal experience
is not of a very great extent. This alone could be obtained by any one whom
circumstances permitted to visit the Miniature Exhibition in the year 1865,
in the South Kensington Museum.
It is a question whether that miniature so praised by Bourbon, of the
slumbering boy, as beautiful as a Cupid, cannot be discovered and authenti
cated. An idea has occurred to the author in this respect, which however he
can only express as a conjecture. There is indeed a charming miniature-
picture of a boy by Holbein, bearing the date of the year in which the
French poet was in London ; namely, 1535. Unfortunately, however, two
points mentioned in the verse do not tally ; in the first place the picture is
not painted on ivory, but on a piece of playing card Uke almost aU Holbein's
miniatures, and in the second place the boy has not faUen asleep, but is only
in a reposing attitude. The first point would not perplex us ; Bourbon might
have seen the painting in an ivory box. Miniature-paintings were usually
1 From Mr. Wornum, pp. 21 and 280 et seq.
2 He states that this was after Holbein had entered the King's service, which, however,
as we know, he places too early.

HOLBEIN AS A MINIATURE-PAINTER. 371
kept in these. As regards the second point, we are so accustomed to the
inaccuracy of descriptions of earlier pictures, that we can the better conceive
an inaccurate statement on the part of the poet.
The picture, however, to which we refer, whether that praised by Bourbon
or no, is at any rate the most beautiful miniature-painting by Holbein that
is known to us, and exhibits. more strikingly than any other his artistic style
and his spirited and perfect mode of execution, true in spite of aU its
delicacy. It is among the miniature-paintings in the Queen's Library at
Windsor Castle, and it represents the little Henry Brandon, the eldest son of
the Duke of Suffolk. Charmingly dressed, in a black coat with the sleeves
of the green under-garment protruding, and a white feather in his hat, the
little boy of five years old appears before us ; he is leaning easily with his
left arm on a table at his side, and is bending his little head with such inde
scribable child-like grace, that no little Cupid could be painted more
charmingly. Beneath the top of the table stands the inscription, giving his
age and the date, 6th September, 1535.
Some years afterwards, Holbein painted the younger brother, Charles
Brandon, whose picture is also to be seen at Windsor. It forms a correspond
ing one to the former, and is painted, like it, on a card with a blue back
ground ; both were in the coUection of King Charles I., in whose catalogue
they were marked with Holbein's name.
This second little picture can give place to none but the former ; it is,
Uke the other, modelled with the utmost deUcacy. The little boy wears a
blue-grey tunic with red stripes, and a httle black cap on his fair hair; his
large eyes are looking at us. Both hands are excellent ; on a small piece of
paper, which he has before him, stands the inscription, giving his age, three
years, and the date of the 10th of March, 1541. The dates on each occasion
refer to the boys' birthdays.1 Both were overtaken by an early death. On
the 16th of July, 1551, they died on the same bed of the sweating sickness.
It is surprising that we have no picture by Holbein of theh father, the
knightly Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, the companion of Henry the
Eighth's briUiant youthful days, the husband of his sister Mary, Queen
dowager of France, and the first English general of his day.
On the other hand, we possess the portrait of his fourth wife, the mother
of the two boys. Her name was Catherine ; she was the only daughter of
Lord WUloughby, and she married the Duke in the year 1528. Her portrait,
which we find in the Windsor CoUection, has in it something noble, and is
effective from the outline being sharply traced with the brush.1' She was a
woman who distinguished herself by her zeal for the Protestant cause, and
1 Cf. Lodge in the text to Chamberlaine's work.
2 A repetition of the sketch, probably also an original, is in the possession of Mr. J. C-
Robinson.
bb 2

372 MINIATURES.

subsequently she even took the German Reformer, Martin Bucer, as tutor
for her chUdren.
To these two boys' portraits we must add one miniature of the Windsor
Library, which approaches them -in beauty and which we also consider indu
bitably as the work of Holbein. It represents Elizabeth, Lady Audley, the
daughter of the Sir Bryan Tuke whose portrait Holbein had before taken, and
wife of John Touchet, Lord Audley. We see her head on a large scale among
the WTindsor Sketches, and this study served as a model for the miniature ;
the jewels, which are only cursorUy indicated there, are just the same, and the
initial A appears in her ornaments. The colour of the dress is red, as is
intimated in a remark in writing on the sketch, and is distinguished for its
delicate finish.

CHAPTER XXII.
Woodcuts and Reformation pictures belonging to the English period. — The title-page to
Coverdale's translation of the Bible. — A title-page with St. Peter and St. Paul. — Visita
tion of the monasteries by Cromwell. — The satirical Passion-scenes. — Ridicule of
monachism. — Cranmer's Catechism and its woodcuts. — The unfaithful shepherd. — Re
action in ecclesiastical matters and delayed appearance of these pictures. — Holbein's
merit with regard to stamp-cutting in England. — Small woodcuts in the works printed
by R. Wolfe.— " Ingratitude of the World."— Erasmus "in Ghiis."— Woodcut in " Hall's
Chronicle : " King Henry VIII. in the Council. — When was the painter admitted into the
King's service 1 — Alleged and actual portraits of Anna Boleyn. — Whether Holbein ever
painted her? — More's end. — Fall and execution of Queen Anna. — Marriage of Henry with
Jane Seymour.

I TRICTLY had the artist preserved his Protestant
opinions, which untU now he could not have
ventured to express in England. Soon after he
had painted Sir Thomas Wyat and Cromwell, he
made his religious confession as frankly in his
artistic creations as he had before done in
Germany, and this principaUy by the same
medium as there ; namely, by designs for wood
cuts.
Just as Holbein had before adorned the first publications of the German
Bible in Switzerland with his designs, so he now adorned the first complete
translation in the English language. It appeared in the year 1535, the
printing, according to the concluding remark, having been finished on the
4th of December of the same year. " Faithfully and truly translated out of
Douche and Latyn into EngUshe," is inscribed on the title-page. Dutch at
that time signified German, and Luther's German translation formed in
essentials the basis of Tyndale's English translation, from which this new
translation of MUes Coverdale emanated. His work for the most part was
only editing, and he had accomplished his task in Germany among the
Reformers there and with Tyndale's assistance. The book, a splendidly
finished and now extraordinarily rare folio volume, was printed abroad,
as were most of the earlier English Reformation writings, by Christoffel
Froschover in Zurich.

374 TITLE-PAGE TO CO VERD ALE'S BIBLE.
The sacred volume was now no longer interdicted and persecuted in the
language of the country, and its dissemination was no longer threatened with
the severest penalties of life and property. The appearance of the book was
followed by the decree of Cromwell, at that time Vicar-General of the King
in all spiritual affairs, that every clergyman should take care that his church
was provided with a copy of the entire Bible. A dedication precedes the text,
and the King also has a place among the pictures of the title-page, the design
of which belongs to Hans Holbein. Art-history has scarcely taken notice of
this;1 nevertheless anyone well acquainted with Holbein's woodcut designs
will . recognize here the master's work.
The main ideas of the evangelical confession pervade this title-page.
Simply and significantly the artist places sin and redemption in opposition to
each other, and the other representations all point to the faith, in which
salvation lies. Not only is the spiritual purport of this sheet important, not
only is the style of treatment worthy of high admiration, but in every point
of view we can perceive the wisdom of the artist in this apparently insig
nificant work. We notice with what superiority he here observes the laws of
artistic composition. Without any scrupulous prominence given to symmetry,
the masses are effectively balanced.
. We find the richest group in the middle of the base, and the firm structure
of the royal throne is at the same time the foundation on which the title-page
itself rests. But above, the title-page is crowned effectively with the
ornaments encircling the cherub's head. The figures of the two holy men
at the sides are standing in front of niches, over which aU the other scenes
are raised. The two next scenes have a beautiful architectural background,
with pillars and columns, and the other incidents are depicted in land
scape scenery. The action itself also proceeds from below, passing from
solemn repose more and more into agitated movement.
As the whole work was printed abroad, the woodcut of the title-page was
also not prepared in England. Its whole character clearly shows that it is a
Swiss work, and that the hand which executed it was accustomed to use the
engraver's knife, and was habituated to work on this smaU scale. Although
the nicety and masterly power of Hans Lutzelburger are here far from being
attained, and, compared with his productions, the technical execution appears
coarse, stiU the work proclaims throughout, not only a certain hand, but also
a true understanding of the master. It may nevertheless be imputed to the
\ Dibdin, who gives an accurate description of the book (" Bibliotheca Spenceriana," Lon
don, 1814, p. 78), does not mention Holbein's name. Chatto mentions the title-page only
briefly in a note, aud adds that he has no doubt, that it was Holbein's work. M. Ambroise
Firm in Didot also mentions it as a work of Holbein, whilst it is perfectly unknown in German
art-literature. The title-page which Froude (vol. iii. chap. 1) describes as the title-page of
the first English; Bible, belongs to a later edition, and has nothing to. do with Holbein. We
regret that our engraving (reduced from the copy in the British Museum) is somewhat coarse.

SATIRICAL WORKS. 375

stamp-cutter that the likeness of the King is not greater. This is certainly
one of the first pictures which exhibit the King with a beard ; added to this,
he here wears the hair according to an earlier fashion, considerably longer
than we find it in the portraits of the following year.
There is another title-page executed during Holbein's sojourn in England,
which was also certainly engraved in the artist's native country, and which in
beauty of workmanship far surpasses the former, according to the utmost
extent with Liitzelburger's engraving. Below, we find again the arms of
Henry VIIL, as on the title-page of Coverdale's Bible, supported by two
splendid heraldic animals. At the sides stand St. Peter and St. Paul, the
latter pointing upwards ; both are slender, tall figures, forming a remarkable
contrast in their proportions with the two Apostles in both of A. Petri's
editions of the New Testament of 1522 and 1523, but which have never
theless lost nothing of the old vigorous power. They stand immediately in
front of tasteful candelabra columns, so that they, the pillars of the church,
seem to be supporting the superstructure. Above, in an arch, appears the
risen Christ before His tomb, trampling under foot Death and the Devil;
and by the side, in Latin, are the Redeemer's words : " Be of good cheer ; I
have overcome the world." The title itseU, in the form of a paper which is
held by the two Apostles, has no printing on it in the copy with which we are
acquainted, namely the splendid proof-sheet in the royal cabinet of engravings
at Munich.1 Just as before in Germany, Holbein now nowhere showed himself a more
decided champion for the Reformation than in works imbued with a satirical
spirit. A remarkable evidence of this is a series of Passion-scenes of a
satirical character, in which the executioner and opponents of Christ are
represented as monks and ecclesiastics. Ridicule in such subjects did not
belong to Holbein alone. We find the same thing frequently occurring in
the German pamphlets of the time with their coarse caricatures and their
immoderate verses, and indeed both parties emulated each other in such
works. The Roman Catholics also represented the Saviour scourged and
kUled by the whole band of Reformers. Holbein's designs have, however,
nothing in common with these works.
His satirical Passion-scenes were not, like the sheets mentioned above,
designed to be disseminated in woodcuts ; for this the language which the
artist here spoke was far too bold and free. The original drawings formed a
small book, probably possessed by some prominent personage of the Protestant
party, a man perhaps of the bias and sentiments of Sir Thomas CromweU, for
his own special gratification. The painter of course kept his authorship
secret, and the possessor also would only with circumspection, and in the
immediate circle of his intimate friends, take the precious book from its
1 Passavant, 54. This is the only notice of this sheet with which we are acquainted.

376 VISITATION OF THE MONASTERIES.
carefuUy locked chest; for the period in which, under Henry's rule, such
language was aUowed, was of no long duration. The book has now disap
peared ; destroyed, perhaps, by pious zeal, or perhaps stiU existing somewhere,
but unesteemed and unknown. Our knowledge of the work meanwhile is
limited to Wenzel Hollar's engravings of sixteen sheets of the series. Enghsh
verses, which evidence both by their language and orthography that they were
contemporary with the pictures, stand in these engravings at the bottom of
each of the small sheets, which are nearly simUar in size to the pictures of
Death. In Hollar's time the originals were probably in the Earl of Arundel's
CoUection, although there is no notice of this on the engravings, which
appeared also, from caution, without HoUar's name. But Sandrart states that
the Earl showed him a little book in 16mo in which the whole history of our
Lord's Passion was sketched in twenty-two sheets by this master's hand ; that
these sheets were full of figures of every kind, the smallness of which may be
inferred from the size of the book, and that the figure of the Redeemer ever
appeared under the form of a monk attired in black. This kind of inaccurate,
and indeed perverted description, is thoroughly characteristic of Sandrart,
who never troubles himself about the object of the pictures and their spiritual
purport, only taking interest in their actual appearance.
It was in the summer of 1535, when Thomas Cromwell, now vice-regent
of the King for the spiritual jurisdiction of the entire kingdom, issued
a commission for the general visitation of the monasteries and religious
fraternities.1 That depth of abuses, disorder, immorality, and depravity were
then discovered, into which two-thirds of aU the monasteries and religious
houses had fallen. Then were those doings revealed which had been in part
indeed before known to the spiritual lords, and had been bitterly blamed by
them, but which they had always attacked with such Uttle earnestness, that
they had thus made themselves culpable also. The places were rare in which
a vestige of religious fulfilment of duty, of care of the poor and the needy, or
of a godly life, were to be found. The authority of the clergy among the
people was carried to frivolous abuse, as was clearly manifested in one
instance, in which it even tended to dangerous political intrigues. The
hypocrisy and deceit of the clergy, speculating on the superstition of the
multitude, made a poor nervous girl into a saint and a prophetess, and
led her to engage in political agitation. It was only recently that the
unmasked "Holy Maid of Kent" had ended her days at the stake after bitter
complaints against her instigators.
In a manner as frivolous and unprincipled as that in which they dealt with
spiritual things did the clergy deal with the temporal things of the Church. The
abbots and fathers appropriated the rich possessions of their orders, not to the
interesl of the Church or of charity, but for their personal enjoyment. The
1 Froude, vol. ii. chap. x.

SATIRICAL PASSION-SCENES. 377

lands were cleared of forests and laid waste. Instead of being satisfied with
the rich revenues, they accumulated tax upon tax ; the treasures of their
own churches were stolen by monks and superiors, the vessels of gold were
given to be melted down, the jewels were taken away and sold. The eccle
siastics left their monasteries in secular attire to hasten after the pleasures
of hfe, but luxury, immorality, and debauchery found access even into sanc
tified places. There were hiding-places for corruptible maidens; the stool
of confession furnished opportunities for baseness ; criminal intercourse was
carried on with nuns, and sinful incontinence was familiar in female convents.
All this was now unsparingly exposed. The young people who, contrary to
their will, had languished within the convent walls, were dismissed ; those
who remained behind were subjected to strict discipline, and the summary
of the Commissioner's reports was entered in the Black Book, which was
submitted to the Parliament,— a document, the destruction of which was
subsequently ordered by the Roman Catholic Queen Mary.
The feeling of the period, in which Cromwell received the significant
letter of his commission, in which the excited parliamentary debates on the
matter first began, and public attention was attracted by them, is expressed in
Holbein's satirical Passion-scenes. As we see them in Wenzel Hollar's
engravings, the series begins with the Prayer on the Mount of Olives. The
sleeping disciples are lying on the woody mountain height ; Peter's sword is
hanging over him on the tree. Christ is kneeling in prayer, His bearing is
pathetic, and the angel is holding towards Him, as in the Basle Passion
painting, not a cup but a cross. This is taking place in the background,
while in the foreground appears the betrayer Judas with the purse, attired in
the garb of a monk, leading through the gate into the garden a tidy pair in
ecclesiastical attire and bearing the pastoral staff, the top of which is formed
by a hand holding a dagger.
In the second picture Christ is approaching His persecutors, and is saying
to them, " I am He whom ye seek, " and the priestly rabble are falling down
backwards before Him, struck by the power of His divine Majesty. Then
foUows the scene, in which St. Peter strikes off the ear of the servant of the
High Priest : this too has an anti- papist signification, as the verse below
shows, in which the violence of St. Peter and his successors form the
subject : — " Peter cuts of the High Preistes seruantes eare,
Peter who should the keies, no weapon beare,
But warre and weapon with his followers since
Above the keies have got Praeheminence."
Iii the fourth picture the Saviour is depicted as drawn by priests and monks
before the High Priest Annas. One of them is striking him with a book,
for their books, says the poet, strike and spit even in the face of divine truth.

378

CRANMER' S CATECHISM.

One of the grandest scenes is the fifth, where the Redeemer is brought by His
priestly adversaries before the tribunal of Caiaphas. Christ, fettered with
rosaries, is dragged along by a cardinal and a monk, who is flourishing his
inkhorn. Caiaphas is tearing his garments and sprinkling Him with holy
water, and on the wall above stand the words written in German : " wee
wider die kOmischen der sol sterben." (Whoever is against the Romans
shaU die.)
A simUar satirical feeling, though not exhibiting the same ceremony and
passion as in the series of Passion-scenes, appears in some smaU woodcuts
from Holbein's designs. The Catechism of Archbishop Cranmer, which
appeared in 1548, the English translation of a Latin text, based upon a German
catechism of Justus Jonas, contains a great number of woodcuts, and among
them some from Holbein's designs. The greater number are decidedly French
engravings in the style of Bernard Salomon, surnamed Petit Bernard, among
others the reverse side of the title-page which, appeared several years after
the death of Holbein, and which contained King Edward VI., who accepted
the dedication of the work. Only three pictures of this costly and rare book
are designed by Holbein. These are, in the first place, Moses on Mount Sinai,
a faithful and good copy of the scene which appeared on the title-page of
Coverdale's Bible, and also two scenes which Holbein designed for the work,
the first of which he has authenticated by his monogram, and the second
by his name. The former of these gives the story of the Pharisee and the
Publican, in the porch of a church of simple Renaissance architecture. Christ
is entering with His disciples and is pointing to the self-righteous Pharisee,
who is kneeling at the altar in a monk's cowl and a monk's tonsure, while the
Publican scarcely ventures to approach, and is smiting his breast with deep
contrition. In the same manner, in the second sheet, where the Saviour is casting out
the DevU from the possessed one,
the lawyers and Pharisees who are
offended at the act are characterized
as priests and monks, wearing cowls
or bishops' mitres, and for the most
part corpulent in figure. This com
position, which Holbein sketched
with rare ease, is admirable from
its dramatic life ; and though an
unpractised hand may have en
graved it, we still perceive the
significant characterization which
the master threw into the heads and figures in spite of the small scale of
the representation. The freedom of bearing and the boldness of the action,

OTHER WOODCUTS.

379

both in the figure of the possessed one and in that of the man who is holding
him, are of a kind such as we only find among the greatest masters of Rome
aud Florence.
Nearly allied in style, although somewhat less satisfactory in the execution,1
is another woodcut, which belongs to the beginning of a small English pamphlet
of a Reformatory purport, and which

^§f«T^

likewise bears the full name of the
painter. It illustrates Christ's words
from the Gospel of St. John : " I am
the good Shepehearde, a good Shepe-
hearde geiieth his lyfe for the shype.
The hyred servaunte flyeth, because
he is an hired servaunte, and careth
not for the shepe." The Lord, sur
rounded by His disciples, is point
ing with grand gesture to the faith
less shepherd, a monk, who has cast
away his crozier and is running away as fast as he can, because the wolf is
breaking into his flock. This contrast of the good and bad shepherd is also
frequent among the literary productions of the Reformation. Thus Conz Leffel
says in his song upon Hutten : 2 —
" Furwar ein gutter hiirte
. Setzt sein seel fiir sein schaff,
Bei dem man frummkeit spiirte,
So er nit ligt jm sehlaff,
Thut sich der schefflein fleysseu,
Das die wolff sie nit zerreissen,
Verderben vnd zerbeissen,
Der daglbner der fliicht,
So er den wolff nur siicht."
The pamphlet itseU, "A lytle treatise after the manner of an Epystle, wryten
by the famous clerk Doctor Vrbanus Regius," appeared in the same year as
the Catechism of Archbishop Cranmer, 1548. The period at which all these
woodcuts, or at least the sketches for them, originated, is evidently, however,
that of which we are now speaking ; that is, at the time when the proceedings
against monachism were in full force. At that period, their pubUcation was
intended, either in the books themselves, or in other pamphlets. But this
must have been frustrated, for soon afterwards the Catholic party, especiaUy
after the deaths of the Queens Anna Boleyn and Jane Seymour, obtained
greater influence, and Cromwell could no longer carry out his views as
1 Shown especially in the animals. Cf. the woodcut from a tracing which I owe to the
kindness of J. Fisher, Esq., Oxford.
2 Ulrich v. Hutten, " Schriften," edited by Booking, ii. 596.

380 WOODCUTS IN ENGLAND.
decidedly as before. In the year 1539, before his overthrow, the King and
the Parliament subscribed to the bloody bill of the Six Articles, drawn up by
the Bishops of the old faith, with Gardiner of Winchester at theh head. The
doctrine of transubstantiation, private masses, and auricular confession were
retained, the cup was taken from the laity, the priests were forbidden to
marry, and again the binding power of religious vows was sanctioned. The
introduction, also, of books printed abroad, was strictly interdicted, writings
printed in England were subject to censure, and even the reading of the
Bible by the laity was again limited. Woodcuts of such a spirit could not
now be issued publicly, and their appearance was therefore deferred until a
new sovereign succeeded to the throne, when Holbein had been dead for
many years.
These three little pictures are altogether very different to the above-men
tioned title-pages ; they were not, like these, engraved in Germany or Switzer
land, but evidently in England itseU, just like the profile head of Sir Thomas
Wyat before alluded to, and with which they show great similarity of style.
Holbein, who understood so well how to estimate the genuine national art
of wood-engraving, and who had made numerous designs for it, was now in
fluential in raising this branch of art in England. Hitherto no truly artistic
productions had been here achieved in it. The work was executed abroad, or
the wood-blocks of printers abroad were purchased. Numerous woodcuts
from designs by Holbein, after having done their service in Basle, had also
already passed across the Channel. All that was executed in the country
itself was tolerably rude. Holbein, who had acquired the utmost understand
ing of the art from his long-continued sketches for this object, and from his
co-operation with such an engraver as Lutzelburger, afforded in these small
pictures the utmost that we can imagine by the application of the simplest
means to his object,, thus rendering it possible for an unpractised stamp-
cutter to follow up his intentions in essentials. The subject is given in
little more than outlines, which are decided and clear; the scanty indica
tions of shade are attempted by simple parallel lines, and nowhere do we
find cross-hatching ; all more delicate detail is dispensed with, and how much
in spite of this is obtained, even in the expression of the faces, deserves
to be studied.
John Leland, whose Naenia, in the possession of Wyat, contained that Hol
bein head, immediately afterwards published a pamphlet, which likewise exhi
bits some woodcuts after designs by our master, — " Genethliacon illustrissimi
Eiiduerdi Principis Cambria.," &c, a somewhat retarded poem on the birth of
the Prince of Wales, which appeared in 1543, by the same pubUsher as the
Nsenia, Reinhold Wolfe. This pubhsher was a countryman of our painter, at
any rate he was of German origin, and probably belonged to the famous pub
lishing family of that name in Basle ; it was therefore all the more natural for

UBAiSMUS "IN GHUSA

.81

Holbein to enter into relations with him.1 On the back of the title-page, there
is in the first place the device of the Prince of Wales, the words ICH dien
under a crown of ostrich feathers, surrounded by a halo of glory.2 As an initial,
here as well as in other works pubUshed by Wolfe, we find an S, with Curius
Dentatus rejecting the gifts of the Samnites.3 The composition of the ex
pressive and genuinely dramatic little picture is simUar to the earlier Basle
Town-hall paintings. In publications of the same time, another initial of
Holbein's, H, with Isaac blessing Jacob, also
appears. As regards these pictures, we might
consider it probable that Wolfe had them en
graved in his own home. This is undoubtedly
the case with a very beautiful woodcut, the
device of Reinhold Wolfe.4 It Ulustrates his
motto, " charitas," in the most graceful manner
by a delineation of loving generosity, which
does not suffer itself to be disturbed by the
ingratitude for which the world rewards it.
Holbein chose for the representation of charity,
the picture of the " Gentle host," the " Wirth
wundermUd," as TJhland says,5 " the fruit-laden
apple-tree, which is plundered by boys who
are not content with what has been volun
tarily showered upon them. The same idea
appears in a well-known poem by Friedrich
Riickert. The technical execution of the en
graving is delicate, and yet full of character, and the little picture may
be ranked with that charming device of Froschover's which we have before
mentioned. A repetition of this device, enclosed in a shield, appears also
in Wolfe's publications.
Lastly, the most beautiful woodcut which was made at this period from
Holbein's designs, is a large sheet in folio, "Erasmus Roterdamus in ein
Ghus" (Erasmus of Rotterdam in a shrine), as Amerbach calls it. With
this inscription, — " Pallas Apelleeam nuper mirata tabellam,
Hanc ait, a.ternum Bibliotheca colat.
Da.daleam monstrat Musis Holbeinnius artem,
Et summi Ingenii Magnus Erasmus opes."
— which so elegantly extols Holbein's art, and so justly expresses that in the
i Cf. Detmold, " Ueber ein paar Holbein'sche Formschnitte ; " Archiv fiir die zeichnen-
den Kiinste, ii. p. 136 et seq. 2 Passavant, 51.
s Used as an initial to this chapter, after the original in R. Weigel's Collection, p. 52.
4 Passavant 53. 5 P. 39. Detmold makes the same remark.

382 ERASMUS " IN GHUS'A
figure of Erasmus the power of mental greatness seems embodied, it formed
the title-page to the edition of Erasmus' works which was published in 1540
by Hieronymus Froben, the son of Johannes Froben. There is an earUer
edition, the impression of which is still more excellent. In this, the inscrip
tion below consists of only one Latin distich, and not of two, and Holbein's
name is not mentioned in it.
When this first edition appeared is not to be ascertained. We may
assume with certainty that the sheet was engraved by Lutzelburger, but that
Holbein's design belongs to his residence in England is proved by the
advanced style of the Eenaissance ornament in the framework: WhUe
Holbein and his German contemporaries, whenever they aUowed themselves
to be affected by Italian art, for the most part experienced the influence
of the early Renaissance, and especiaUy of Mantegna's style, we find here
the influence of the High Renaissance. Instead of the vigorous and compact
forms, such as his frameworks usually exhibit, we see here lightness and
elegance. A baldachin is raised above the scholar. On each side are piUars,
on which appear the bearded statues of Atlas, bearing baskets of fruit
on theh heads. These support the entablature, above which, symmetricaUy
arranged, a male and a female figure with cornucopia, rest on either side
of the semicircular arch ; on each side of the piUars, garlands of fruits and
flowers are hanging down, and a cherub's head forms the graceful crowning
of the whole. The reposing figures, which with the utmost freedom and
lightness of action correspond perfectly with each other in form and bearing,
and thus in a decorative point of view produce an extraordinary effect,
remind us of Michael Angelo. At the same time, they are far more slender
than is usuaUy the case with Holbein, who generally delights in short bodies
and compact figures. Erasmus himseU, with his right hand resting on his
symbol, the Terminus, and raising the left in gesture, stands before us in
the attitude of speaking and teaching. The whole man is depicted with the
utmost fidelity, he is at once the fine mind, the acute thinker, individualized
even to his delicate and characteristic hands ; and yet the painter has known
how to separate the essential from the casual, and has given us a portrait
of the highest style. The faU of the drapery is masterly, and even the
material of his dress, especially the fur, is incomparably delineated.
A similar style of framework, a niche with Ionic pilasters and festoons,
appears in the Basle woodcut containing the figure of the Apostle Paul,
engraved quite cursorily, though with masterly power, and assuredly by
Lutzelburger. The artist, already high in fame, evidently received orders for
these works from his native city.
Unknown as a work of Holbein, and yet certainly by no other, is a large
folio woodcut, not very inferior to that of Erasmus, which appeared in the
first edition of Hall's famous Chronicle published in 1548, an excellent copy

HENRY VIII. IN COUNCIL 383
of which is in Dibdin's third volume of Typographical Antiquities. The socle
with the framework, which encloses the inscription " King Henry the eyght,"
is even perfectly identical with the socle of Erasmus, has the same two syren
figures as we see there, and without doubt was also engraved at Basle.
It represents King Henry VIIL in council. We look into a rich and
princely apartment, the walls of which are hung with tapestry adorned with
lilies and roses ; the ceiling with its pendentives is a master-work of wood-
engraving in the Renaissance style, although many Gothic forms, for instance
the Tudor arch, appear in it. The King's throne, surmounted by the balda
chin bearing his arms, is very splendid. In the circle round the monarch
sit his councillors, twenty-seven in number, some eagerly listening, others
absorbed in reflection, and others whispering to each other. Not only the
heads, but the hands are highly expressive. King Henry VIIL, who wears
the ordinary fuU beard after the year 1535, is seated characteristically, with his
legs wide asunder, and in a rich and elegant attire, with a cap and feathers on
his head. If Holbein could conceive him with such truth and masterly
power on this small scale, he must have had opportunity of observing the
Sovereign most closely.
Without doubt Holbein entered the service of the King at a much later
date than has been hitherto supposed from the statements of the earliest
biographers, but the period at which this finally took place is not to be ascer
tained with certainty. The first positive information on the matter we gain
from the letter, quoted in the last chapter, from the poet Bourbon to Solimar
in the year 1536, in which Holbein is mentioned as the King's painter. It is
questionable whether, with all absence of written evidence, it may be inferred
from the works of the artist that he was earlier occupied by Henry VIII.
There is a small half-length figure, known by numerous copies, the original of
which is in the Museum at Berlin, and which, from the inscription anna
eegina, is regarded as a portrait of Anna Boleyn, painted by Holbein. It
possesses, however, not the shghtest similarity with the works of our master,
and it represents a totally different personage, as is proved by the date, " 1525,
Anno Etatis 22," which does not accord with Anna Boleyn's age, but with that
of Queen Anna of Hungary, born in 1503. Unfortunately this portrait has
formed the foundation of almost all subsequent deUneations of Anna Boleyn,
even of that in the " Prince's Chamber" of the English Houses of Parliament.
Mr. George Scharf, keeper of the English National Portrait GaUery, who
has demonstrated this,1 has pointed out at the same time some hitherto
unknown and real portraits of Anna Boleyn : —
1. A life-size portrait in Windsor Castle, on which a B is suspended from
the necklace. It was customary at that time, as we have already seen, to in
troduce the initials of the name on ornaments.2 The lady represented wears a
1 Arch-cologia,, vol. xi. London, 1866, p. 81 et seq. 2 Cf. p. 364.

384 ANNA BOLEYN.

French head-dress, which aUows the hair to be seen. Her fine countenance is
distinguished by its marked lips, and by the sharply-drawn and beautiful
brows arched over dark eyes.
2. A miniature-picture in the possession of Mr. Charles SackviUe Bale,
according entirely with the former. It bears the inscription ANo XXV.,
which would give the date 1532, if we refer it to the age of the person
represented ; but if, as Mr. Scharf supposes, it relates to the year of the
King's reign, by which official reckonings were kept, it would indicate the
period from April 1533 to 1534.1
3. A picture of tolerably modern origin, but which has great similarity
with the two former, and may have been made from an original portrait of the
Queen.2 It is in the possession of the Earl of Warwick, as Anna Boleyn, and
a portrait of her sister Mary, formerly the favourite of Henry VIIL, and sub
sequently Lady Carey, appears as a corresponding piece. We do not, like Mr.
Scharf, consider the original of this portrait to be a picture in Hampton Court
designated as " unknown ;" 3 but the far better copy in Longford Castle. Lady
Mary wears a gold medalhon with the device of Leda and the Swan. It is a
pleasing and youthful countenance, and a graceful and pretty painting, yet
Waagen 4 was right when he considered it too weak for Holbein's work.
Of these portraits of Anna Boleyn, the miniature-picture alone in Mr. Bale's
possession can be called in question as a Holbein work. Unfortunately I
cannot speak of the original from personal inspection.5 It is not possible to
obtain a satisfactory judgment from a photograph, yet it seemed to me from
this, that the character of the picture was not such as would decidedly point
to Holbein, though in any case it is an exceUent little work.
The same may be said of the only known portrait of Henry Fitzroy, duke
of Richmond, natural son of Henry VIIL, who died on the 22nd of July, 1536,
at the age of seventeen. It is a miniature-painting, also in the possession of
Mr. Bale, and it bears the inscription : —
HENRY DVCK OFF RICHEMOND ..ETATIS SVJE XV.
It was executed therefore in 1534. The similarity of the youth to Henry
VIIL is unmistakeable.6
1 Elstrake's engraving possesses similarity with this picture.
2 Engraved by Thomson in Lodge's " Portraits of Illustrious Personages." Hollar's en
graving of Anna Boleyn, Parthey, 1542, seems also to accord with it.
s Earlier number, 338. Present number, 584.
4 Treasures, iv. p. 361. On the reverse of the picture a slip of paper is pasted on, with the
notice : " The Lady Carye that died with grief for King Edward's absence."
6 Mr. Bale was not to be induced, either by written request or by the recommendation of
an esteemed art-friend in London, to allow me access to his collection. This is the only case
in which my studies in England were not forwarded in the kindes#t and readiest manner.
6 Like the former, it was in the Miniature Exhibition in the South Kensington Museum.
Photographs of the two portraits have been published by the South Kensington Museum.

DEATH OF MORE. 385

On the other hand, among the Windsor drawings there appears " The Lady
of Richmond," the wife of the duke, married by him shortly before his early
death, and the daughter of Thomas Howard, third duke of Norfolk. That
the designation is right is shown by the letter R, which is variously intro
duced as an ornament in her dress. It is a charming, almost chUdlike head,
depicted full face, and wearing a small plumed hat ; the original unfortunately
has suffered much. This portrait also therefore indicates no period prior
to 1536. Although it is possible that Holbein may have entered the King's service
during Anna Boleyn's life, perhaps towards the end of it, we cannot begin
the history of his connection with Henry VIIL until the period of her
successor, Queen Jane Seymour. And at any rate the painter did not owe
his introduction to Court to his first patron, Sir Thomas More; but pro
bably to the men of the opposite party, who now stood in More's place ;
perhaps to CromweU or Sir Thomas Wyat, both of whom had had opportunity
during the last few years to test his art. Wyat first occurs to us, because he
was personally Henry's favourite, and his influence over the King was pro
verbial. If any one made his fortune at Court, he was wont to say, " He
inust have been in Sir Thomas Wyat's closet." 1
At the same time that the artist was designing the title-page of Cover-
dale's Bible, in which the King is depicted in his new capacity as head of the
Enghsh Church, the man to whom Holbein owed his first success in England
was sealing his fidelity to the old Church and its constitution with his blood.
EquaUy with Bishop Fisher of Rochester, More had refused to take the oath
to the statute of succession passed by the Parliament. It is true, he was
wiUing to acknowledge the succession established in favour of Anna's descen
dants : so far, he affirmed, did the power of the Parliament extend ; but he
would not consent to the plea of the invalidity of the marriage of Henry and
Catherine. He rejected this indirect denial of the papal authority. With deep
emotion Cromwell exclaimed that he would rather have lost his only son than
have heard this declaration from More. But either the statute of succession
was worthless, or the severest proceedings must be taken against its oppo
nents, and " the harshness and violence of a political decree based on religious
ideas " appeared in its utmost extent. Not his imprisonment in the Tower,
nor the hesitation of the Government to proceed farther against him, nor the
threatening of using extreme measures, nor the renewed attempts to settle
matters, could make Thomas More waver. On the 6th of July, 1535, shortly
before the aged Fisher, he mounted the scaffold. " He suffered death with
such a lively realization of the life to come, in which the perplexities of this
world would cease, that he regarded his departure with all the irony which
1 Lodge, in the text to Chamberlaine.
CC

386 EXECUTION OF ANNA BOLEYN.
belonged to him generally."1 His execution at this period of the revolution
in England was not more terrible and reprehensible than any other political
sentence of death ; but More's literary fame, his personal importance, and
his spotless character called forth a cry of indignation throughout the
whole of Europe.
But another bloody tragedy was witnessed by England soon after, sur
passing the other in fearfulness. The victim was now not a man who had
come to the end of life, and who became a martyr willingly and consciously
in order to remain true to his conviction ; but it was a woman, who, in the
midst of youthful beauty and the enjoyment of life, met her fate at the very
height of outward splendour and worldly magnificence. Had Holbein wished
to design new pictures of Death, what various fantasies would now have
arisen to his mind !
In the autumn of the same year in which Anna Boleyn's coronation and
the birth of her daughter had taken place, the King had looked upon her with
a certain dissatisfaction.2 But now he believed himself certain that his
suspicions, fostered in secret and long repressed, were weU founded. A short
time had elapsed since Henry's divorced wife, Catherine, had died at Kim
bolton, on the 7th January, 1536. Her letter to Henry, dictated from her
death-bed, had deeply moved him, but Anna Boleyn had put on a yeUow
dress instead of the mourning attire commanded. A few months later, on the
1st May, the annual festivity and grand tournament took place at Greenwich,
and the Queen's brother, George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, was among the chal
lengers, and Sir Henry Norris among the defendants. In the midst of the
tournament, the King started up, to the astonishment of all present, and rode
off to Westminster with a small suite. On the following morning, Rochford
' and Norris were taken to the Tower, and a few hours later the Queen herself
was conveyed there by water, the very same route which she had taken three
years before in the midst of splendour and rejoicing. She was cited before a
tribunal, the members of which were chosen from the highest men in the
kingdom as regards rank, position, and personal worth, and which was presided
over by her own uncle, the Duke of Norfolk ; she was accused of infidelity,
and was sentenced to death. Anna's guUt and innocence have been a subject
of dispute for generations. It is impossible to consider all the accusations
brought against her as invented, but aU the greater must be our sympathy for
her fate. Never has a poet devised anything so touching as those scenes in
the prison, in which her excitement led her to utter words bordering on
delirium, and the despair of the unhappy woman sometimes broke forth in
sorrow and horror of death, and sometimes in a cheerfulness which was still
more terrible. On the 19th May, she was led out to the Tower green, in order
1 Ranke, i. p. 199 et seq.
Ibid. i. p. 216. See Fronde, ii. chap. xi. Stow.

EXECUTION OF ANNA BOLEYN 387
" to receive the good Lord," and the executioner from Calais severed her head
from her body with one blow. On the foUowing day, the King married Lady
Jane, daughter of Sh John . Seymour, and at Whitsuntide she was publicly
presented as Queen.
The copies of the Coverdale Bible, the printing of which had been finished
a few months before, had only been partially issued. The editor had now to
cancel his dedication to the King in which appeared the words : " our dearest
and legitimate wife, the most virtuous Queen Anna." The new dedication,
with which the work was subsequently issued, was simUarly worded, only that
the " dearest legitimate wife " was called Jane. We find this latter name in
most ofthe copies extant of this rare book.

C C

CHAPTER XXIII.
In the King's service. — Position and duties of the Court-painter. — Portrait-painting at Courts.
— Predilection of the English for portraiture. — Holbein from henceforth is essentially
limited to this branch of art.— Wall-painting at Whitehall. — The cartoon.— The sketch at
Munich.— Portraits of Henry VIII. from this model, both before and after Holbein's
time. — His head in the possession of the Earl of Spencer. — Portrait of Jane Seymour at
Vienna. — Various female portraits. — Lord and Lady Vaux. — Sir Richard Southwell at
Florence. — Lady Rich. — John Russell. — Various portraits in the Windsor Collection ;
statesmen, country gentlemen, courtiers.— Sir Nicholas Carew. — Morett's portrait at
Dresden.

N the King's service Holbein now entered.
He became Court-painter. During the
whole of the Middle Ages, princes and
great lords were accustomed to have their
painter, who stood in permanent connec
tion with their court, belonged to their
household, and had his position among the
lowest members of it, stable boys, scuUions,
and apothecaries, all being named in one
and the same breath.1 By degrees the posi
tion of the artist rose ; with the rise of his
art, his personal importance also increased
in the eyes of his lord, the painter not unfrequently entered into more
intimate relations with his prince, and in order to give a fitting expression
to such a relation, he was constantly invested with the rank and title of a
" varlet de chambre," an honour which he shared with poets, musicians, and
often with the Court jesters. This was a great advance compared with former
experiences, although the artist had still ever to demean himseU right
modestly towards the whole suite of spiritual, knightly, and political servants
of the Court. Such was the position of a Jan van Eyck at the court of Bur
gundy ; it was also the position of the painters at the Northern courts in the
sixteenth century, of the three Clouets in the service of the French monarch,

1 See for the position of the painter at court, Le Comte de Laborde, " La Renaissance
des Arts a la Cour de France," Paris, 1850, i. p. 38 et seq.

POSITION OF COURT-PAINTER. 389

and equally so of Holbein at the English Court, who from henceforth bore
the official title : " Servant to the King's Majesty."
And what had he to do in this position ? In this respect the advance
made above the Middle Ages was far less than that with regard to rank.
The painter was and remained no more and no less than a factotum for
everything that could be done with the brush. In splendid apartments, and
in sleeping rooms, in house and hall, in stable and kitchen, he had to arrange,
to decorate, and to paint, sometimes one thing and sometimes another, the
furniture and the household matters, the coats of arms and the shields, the
pennons and flags of the vessels, the saddles of the horses, and even the cakes
that came to table. The talent and skUl of painters, their imagination as well
as their execution, were in demand for the scenery of festivities, for passing
decorations, for exhibitions and pageants. The court-painters were expected
to obey all the whims and fancies of their master, trifles occupied their time,
and they were obliged to expend their genius and their powers on a thousand
unimportant and perishable things.
One branch of artistic activity had, however, been developed since the
beginning of the fifteenth century, which procured the Court-painter real satis
faction, and afforded him opportunity after all his trifling occupation to gather
together his powers and to work as an artist, and not as an artisan ; namely,
portraiture. This branch of art grew more and more in favour at courts ; it
became a pastime, a fashion, and a matter of luxury. Portraits appeared in all
conceivable forms, in various styles, and of various sizes, sometimes as a head
or a half-length figure, sometimes the whole figure, painted in oil on wooden
panels of different forms, or in miniature on cards, or in frescoes on the wall.
They appeared in life-size, and even on a colossal scale, but still more fre
quently in a smaUer form. In this case they formed portable objects,1 which
could be taken from place to place by their possessors ; small oil-paintings
were often kept in round wooden cases, but miniature-paintings in rich setting
of gold and jewels were constantly worn as ornaments on necklaces and brace
lets. Lastly, especially in France, books with sketched portraits were usual,
which, like the album of the present day, lay open for inspection by all.
Portraits were painted for external representation, for family pleasure and
remembrance, and for gifts, either as tokens of favour from people of rank, or
as gifts of friendship, as acts of homage, or as tender keepsakes.
Holbein had to play the part of an artistic factotum under somewhat
alleviated circumstances. Henry VIIL, as we have before seen, had a great
number of other painters in his service, to whom the coarsest work was
usually assigned. The business of house-painter and decorator belonged
to the appointed sergeant-painter at that time, the Englishman Andrew
Wright. Freed from care for the most ordinary art-requirements, Holbein
1 Comte de Laborde, p. 67.

390 POSITION OF COURT-PAINTER.

could especially apply himseU to portrait-painting. If his attention was
claimed in other matters, it was not the executing hand which was demanded
from him, so much as the inventive mind, which was consulted in the most
various works of art-industry. These two kinds of artistic production fully
occupied Holbein at the Court, and excluded all other works.
Yet even before Holbein had entered the King's service, he had had
little else but portraits to paint in England. This had been the case even
at his first visit, from 1526 tUl 1529 ; and when, during his second sojourn
there, he once happened to produce a composition of a grander style, the
opportunity for this was not afforded him by Englishmen, but by his own
countrymen, the members of the Hanseatic League. England had early
cultivated portrait-painting, whether the art were exercisett~by native or
foreign talent. "'""Westminster Abbey stiU preserves the portrait of Richard
IL, a work only recently recovered from its subsequent coating of painting.
When English painting began to revive in modern times, the first artists,
Sir Joshua Eeynolds, Gainsborough, and Romney, produced their best works
in portraiture. Before this, at all times, artists of other lands had found
in England an extensive sphere of activity as portrait-painters. * That which
Holbein was at the court of Henry VIIL, Van Dyck was a century later
at the court of Charles I. He too had painted in his native country
religious and mythological compositions full of delicacy of taste and tender
ness of feeling, but in England he was limited enthely to portrait-painting.
We even know regarding Van Dyck that this brilliant but narrow sphere
of activity did not long satisfy him. When his wish to paint the banquet
room at Whitehall was not fulfilled, when the attempt to obtain at Paris
the decoration of the Louvre GaUery remained unsuccessful, these dis
appointed hopes contributed to bring him to an early grave.
We must indeed beware of assuming that all taste for art-creations of
another kind were lacking in England in Holbein's time. When he set foot
on Enghsh soU, the Church had in nowise ceased, as it had in Germany, to
employ the art in her service ; and that painting had a wide range of subjects
in the domestic and private demands of the great, we see from a glance
at the Inventory of the works of art which Henry VIII. possessed in the
palace at Westminster.1 How numerous are here the paintings of a religious
purport, from the Old Testament beginning with Adam and Eve, and from
the New, from the Birth of Christ and the Adoration of the Kings to the
Entombment of our Lord; we find here Madonna pictures, Holy Famihes,
St. Anna with all her ' kindred, the Prodigal Son, Mary Magdalene, the
Death of St. John the Baptist, St. Hieronymus with the Death's Head, and
repeatedly the patron saint of the country, St. George. Scarcely less com
monly however appear allegorical, historical, and antique mythological repre-
1 Wornum, Appendix, p. 379 et seq.

PREDILECTION FOR PORTRAITURE. 391
sentations: the nude figure of Truth, various kinds of pictures of Deafh,
the Siege of Pavia, a panel with the history of Orpheus, with sundry strange
beasts and monsters, and an especial favourite seems to have been Lucrezia
Romana. Sixty-three portraits appear among 178 numbers. The same is
also evidenced by the account books, in which the presents in return for
the new year's gifts to the King are recorded. The Italian painter Antonio
Toto had presented to the soA'ereign, at the new year of 1539, "a depicted
table of Calomie," — that is, a representation of the Calumny of ApeUes, — and
in 1541 a panel with the history of King Alexander.
The only new year's gift of Holbein, on the other hand, which we
. find mentioned, is again a portrait, the picture of the Uttle Prince of
Wales. How was it, that while other artists found opportunity, encouragement,
and reward, when they painted Biblical, mythological, and historical pictures,
that Holbein adhered to portrait-painting not only by order, but even when
he was at liberty to choose the subject for himself? Portraiture was not the
only style of art for which there was a taste in England, but it was probably
that which ranked the highest, and thus this branch of art was assigned to
the bes. master.
This predilection for portraiture is perhaps a narrowness in the English
taste for art, but it has also its foundation in the character of the nation. It
corresponds with that estimation of the personal worth of a man. with that full
appreciation of individual independence, which forms such an important
element in the English national character. Though primarily no artistic
grounds may have produced this estimation of portrait-painting, still
we may assert that in Holbein's time, artistic grounds were also existing.
What must have produced the gxtatest impression upon a nation like the
English, which was at that time entirely habituated to the artistic style of the
Middle Ages, at the sight of works of art imbued by the mode.rn_-spirit .
Naturally that which the art of the Middle Ages most lacked: not the
expression of beautiful feelings and profound thoughts, not the display of a
rich imagination, but the capability of the artist to see a definite natural
object exactly and distinctly as it is, and to hold such a sway over the artistic
power that he can depict everything as he sees it. History teaches us that
"portraiture is ever that branch of art which proves most clearly and surely
how an artist or a whole epoch is master of the means of representation.
From this point of view, therefore, we are well justified in lamenting that
Holbein with all the wealth and versatility of his mind should have* been
limited to this one branch ; if, however, we were to proceed a step further and
pity him on this account, we should be taking a wrong view of the matter.
In a material point of view, he undoubtedly found most advantage in portrait-
painting. In Germany also, it gained the highest price, and Holbein would

392 HOLBEIN A PORTRAIT-PAINTER.
assuredly have pursued it by preference, had there only been more people, who
in these years of scarcity had sufficient surplus-money to admit of their being
painted by him. We mentioned before the original memorial of Hans Bock in
the year 1579, in which he states that "a portrait of any one cost twice as
much as another painting of the same size could be sold for." A similar
proportion existed probably in England.
We have also no reason to suppose that this sphere of work was unsatis
factory to Holbein's taste. The most credible authorities, his works them
selves, prove the contrary. Even in his youth, Holbein had painted portraits
which can rank with the best which German portrait-painting has produced.
We have only to recall to mind the picture of Amerbach. Since however he
had come to England, he made continued progress, and the works which he
executed in the King's service far surpass all his former productions. Goethe's
maxim: "Erst in's Weite, dann zu Schranken," ("First extension, afterwards
limits,") we see here fulfilled. Holbein had reached the boldest heights of
religious, ideal, and historical painting. Now> at the period of his utmost
maturity, he contented himself with the narrow sphere of portraiture, but in
this limitation he exhibited all that he possessed, not merely a masterly power
in technical matters and the perfect cultivation of taste in the spirit of the
Eenaissance, but also the height of his inteUectual conception and his grand
historical style. Portraiture is the path to true historical painting in the
modern sense, resting as it does essentially on psychological conception and
only able to depict a dramatic incident, when it represents a definite his
torical personage in his character, passions, and wiU, and makes him the
vehicle of the action. In Holbein's portraits we learn to feel this, for these
have grown, so to speak, as regards ourselves into historical pictures. Holbein
conceived the persons whom he painted, not in any special situation or feehng,
but in the calm continuance and even balance of their nature, but he reveals
this nature to us so significantly that we feel as if we could see the men
whose names are recorded in history, in the moments in which they most fuUy
estabUshed their personality ; in which they conceived their decided resolu
tions and accomplished their great deeds. He imbues the portrait "so
thoroughly with that marrow of the historical spirit which at once recaUs the
individual to life, that in these works history itself breathes and lives, and
the portrait before us opens the speaking mouth with its eloquent lips, and
gathers round us its departed contemporaries, and, as in the drama, renews
the play whose curtain long, ago has fallen."
No creation by Holbein is more fitted to serve as a verification of these
words, than that first great masterpiece, which he executed in the service of
the King, namely, a wall-painting in the so-called Privy Chamber at Whitehall
Palace. The fate which has met those productions of H#lfeein which stand
forth as the utmost evidence of his power, has spared the Whitehall painting as

THE WALL-PAINTING AT WHITEHALL.

little as it has done the Lucerne facade painting, the Haus zum Tanz, the
wall-paintings of the Town-hall at Basle, the picture of the More family,
and the Triumphs of Riches and Poverty. It perished in the great fire at
Whitehall Palace in the beginning of the year 1698, and we must consider
ourselves happy that Charles I., thirty years before, had had a small copy
taken of the work by the Flemish painter Remigius von Leemput, pro
bably because the condition of the original was at that time such as
to excite apprehension.1 This copy, preserved in Hampton Court, is also
engraved by Vertue.
Still more precious, however, is a piece of the original cartoon, which is
in the possession of the Duke of Devonshire at his seat, Hardwick HaU. It
exhibits to us the half of the picture to the left of the spectator, and is
boldly traced with the brush in black and white distemper, very different from
the manner in which many famous masters of the present day draw their
cartoons : to Holbein this cartoon was not an object executed for its own sake
alone ; and he did not aim at producing an elegant effect in it, but he did it
solely for practical use in his fresco-painting. The whole outhne is pierced
with the needle-holes by which it was transmitted to the wall. The drawing
in the figures as well as in the architecture is strong, firm, and bold ; the effect
is not attractive, but it is imposing. In the Portrait Exhibition of 1866, few
works could compete with it.2
A remark of Charles Patin3 tells us that the picture was on the wall
containing the window, " sur le pignon de la croisee." Perhaps it is only a
typographical error for "sur le pignon de la chemin.e," as Herr Gottfried
Kinkel* has attempted to prove. Left and right of the window or of the
chimney-piece, which is introduced in the composition in a similar manner
as the window in several of the pictures in Raffaelle's stanze, and which in
Leemput's copy is replaced by a kind of pedestal with a Latin inscription,
stand the two principal figures, Henry VIIL and Queen Jane Seymour ; some
steps higher are the parents of the King, Henry VII. and Elizabeth of York.
The floor is covered with a carpet of a beautiful device ; the scenery is formed
1 As appears from Patin's statement. Leemput received 150.. for his copy, Walpole
informs us. It was in the Portrait Exhibition of 1866.
a Cf. the copy drawn from the large photograph by Herr Max Lohde. If the heads
appear least satisfactory, this arises from the fact that they have suffered most of all, and were
therefore least distinct in the photograph.
s " Relations historiques," Basle, 1673, p. 211 et seq. (Whitehall) : " Dans Pantichambre du
Roy il y a sur le pignon de la croisee, de la main d'Holbein, le portrait d'Henry huit et des Princes
ses enfants dont le Roy a fait tirer une excellente copie, pour en estendre la posterity s'il faut
ainsi dire et n'abandonner pas une si belle chose a la fortune des temps." That Patin should
describe the subject wrongly surprises us just as little in him as Sandrart, where the same
thing strikes us.
4 Zeitsehrift fiir Bildende Kunst, 1069.

394 THE TWO KINGS

by a stately hall with variegated marble, richly adorned pillars, niches, and
heavy cornices, open above, so that the blue sky is visible. The rich
architectural detaU in capitals, friezes, and pUasters is designed with much
spirit and character ;' there is the just proportion, with all the abundance of
plastic ornament, of that noblest Italian style, which Holbein here introduced
more certainly and unwaveringly than it ever elsewhere appears in the archi
tecture of the sixteenth century, either in England or Germany. The cartoon
exhibits in the frieze a male and female figure, issuing from garlands of leaves
and bearing a little panel with the initials of the King and Queen, H and J,
joined together by a love-knot. In Leemput's copy, on the contrary, the panel
is filled with the initials AN. D0., to which the date 1537 corresponds oh tlie
other side.
The bearing . of the two Queens is quiet and noble. Older portraits have
furnished the features and costume of Elizabeth of York and her : consort.
Henry VII., beardless, with long hair, and a wide ermine-trimmed upper
garment, falling down to the feet, appears here just as Ranke depicts him
in few words:1 "A thin man, rather tall of stature, whose countenance bore
the trace's of the storms he had endured ; his appearance produced the
impression rather of a high ecclesiastic than of a knightly king; ... he
appeared at all times composed and sober, laconic, and yet affable."
A more striking contrast can scarcely be imagined than that between father
aud son ; it is expressed even in the attire. Henry VII. appears dignified but
simple. Henry VIII. is in a magnificent costume, abounding with embroidery,
gold, and jewels; aU of which are executed by the artist hand as carefuUy as
are the architectural ornaments. In the father all is caution and reserve ; in
the son there is pride and self-consciousness. It is as if he aimed at present
ing the whole importance and grandeur of his figure, his strong calves, and the
almost unnatural breadth of his shoulders, which is even increased by the full
sleeve.:' In Henry VIIL, the weight of the body is not resting especiaUy on
one leg, but he is standing with his legs apart, resting on both equally. This
manner of standing, and the position of his right hand placed firmly against
his side, and the grasping of the dagger by his left, designate the whole man.
It shows how firmly, though audaciously, even to effrontery, he maintains the
ground on which he has gained a footing, without being conscious of any
excitement of feeling or harbouring any considerations. We see the mighty
despotic nature which determined its will and understood how to carry it out,
and which by its personal . effect could attract to itself the finest minds and
characters, in spite of severity and even shedding of blood. But just as clearly
do we see the cold selfishness, which never regarded any living man otherwise
than as. a tool, the immoderate feeling of his own perfect power, and the brutal
self-gratification, as well as the capriciousness, of Henry. We contemplate his
1 Englische Geschichte, i. p. 1 36,

HENRY VIII. AND HIS FATHER.
._.__* -11 — !-*ing.for Whitehall. (Hardwick.)

THE TWO KINGS. 395

appearance in this picture as in history, " with a mixture of horror and
admiration."1 Holbein here proved that he was able also to execute tasks of portrait-
painting in a truly monumental style. This is the " overheerlijk Portret " of
Henry, of which Van Mander says that it was " zo wel getroffen, dat het den
beschouwer met verbaastheid aandoet " (so weU hit that it filled the spectator
with dismay), for that he seemed in it to live and to move his head and limbs
naturally. But not only does he call it a work which glorifies his master,
not merely did artists value it, but we find it foT instance mentioned in the
records of a journey of Duke Johann Ernst, of Saxony, Jiilich, Cleves, and
Berg, who was in England in 1613': " Upon this his Royal Highness was
conducted into the King's apartment ; it was small but hung with beautiful
tapestries on all sides. In this room were the full-length portraits of Henrici
VIIL, and his father, Henrici VII. They were regarded as special works
of art, and similar works are said not to be seen throughout England."
In the execution of the work, as we find from Leemput's copy, the
master deviated from the cartoon in many details of costume and also in the
countenance of King Henry VIIL, which in the painting is not seen at
three quarters, but is taken full face. The study for Henry's head in this
view is in the cabinet of engravings at Munich.2 It is executed quite in the
style of the Windsor sketches, in black chalk with a mixture of red, on yel
lowish red paper. The sheet, which has somewhat suffered, also shows traces
of white Ughts laid on. The effect of the countenance is stUl more imposing
than in the cartoon. There is no grander portrait of Henry VIII. in
existence. The type of the Whitehall picture formed almost entirely the basis for
the next few years of the oft-repeated portraits of Henry VIII. There is
a portrait of the King in Hampton Court, executed before this time, which is
erroneously imputed to Holbein,3 and which seems rather to evidence French
influence in the painter. Henry is here depicted holding a scroll inscribed
with the concluding words of St. Mark's Gospel : " Ite in mundum universum
et predicate Evangelium omni creatura.." This evidently refers to the time
when Henry first permitted English translations of the Holy Scripture, there
fore in 1535 or 1536, and this date accords with the more youthful appearance
of the King, who nevertheless already wears a beard. From this time there
appear a great number of portraits of the Sovereign, which are dispersed
throughout England and other countries, almost all of them of course
honoured with the great name of Holbein; but none of them more than
1 Ranke, i. p. 224.
2 This one, like most of the principal sheets among the Munich sketches, was first dis
covered among the rubbish by Herr J. H. von Hefner Alteneck, when he was keeper of the
cabinet engravings. The photograph gives us no true idea of it.
3 Half-length figure, National Portrait Exhibition, I860. No. 124.

396 PORTRAITS OF HENRY VIII.

contemporary or later copies of the wall-painting at WhitehaU ; some more,
some less true, some of them good and others merely mechanical works.
The wall-painting itself and not the cartoon forms the basis of the view of
the head, which is throughout taken at fuU face. Among the copies of which
we know, there is one in the possession of Mr. Henry Danby Seymour,
Knoyle House, SaUsbury ; life-size and full-length figures, most faithful to
the original, even in the colour of the costume. In the background a
curtain is added to the architecture. It is an ably painted copy executed
at the same period as the painting itself, and it is said to have been
in the family ever since the time of Queen Jane Seymour, as a gift from
Henry VIII. The Earl of Yarborough possesses a copy in half-length figure,
on a green ground, which ranks artistically stUl higher. The execution of
the gold brocade and jewelled ornaments is not careful, but the hands and
head are excellent. Of this picture also, it is asserted that it was presented
to an ancestor of the Earl by Henry VIIL1 Two portraits in half-length
figure at Windsor, another in the possession of Viscount Galway, and a rather
inferior full-length portrait in St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London, are
other specimens of the numerous repetitions of this type. A very beautUul
and freer copy by a true artist hand, the style of which, however, is perfectly
different from Holbein's and exhibits rather Flemish influence, is to be seen
at Petworth. In this painting the King is also depicted life-size and in fuU-
length figure, but the adherence to the original is not exact, especiaUy in the
dress ; Henry wears an attire of sUver brocade and a blue velvet mantle
trimmed with ermine. Here also the background is architectural.
Some years later, another type for Henry's portraits appeared, the original
of which is probably the painting in the possession of the Earl of Warwick
at Warwick Castle. It was formerly considered to be by Holbein, a designation
which even the proprietor has dropped since it was recently disputed.2 The
artistic style has indeed no similarity with Holbein's. The dress exhibits none
of his delicacy and care in the execution. The head and hands are very good.
The picture evidently belongs to the King's later years, the hair and beard are
beginning to be grey, and the face is fatter and more bloated than formerly.,
and the costume is of a later style. There are numerous copies of it ; one,
belonging to the Duke of Manchester, was in the Portrait Exhibition.3 Another
is in St. Bartholomew's Hospital ; it is a half-length portrait on canvas, bear
ing the inscription : anno dni. 1544. _etatis sv.__, 55.
Henry was born on the 28th June, 1491 ; therefore the two dates do not
accord with each other. In case, however, only one statement, the age or the
date, is correct, either indicates a period at which Holbein no longer lived.
It deserves to be noticed that a picture in the possession of the Marquis of
1 Waagen, Treasures, iv. p. 67.
2 Mr. Nichols Archfeologia, vol. xxxix. 3 No. 75.

ruKTKAlTS OF HENRY VIII. 397

Bute, according to Waagen,1 exactly simUar to the portrait at Warwick, only
less perfect in the execution, was formerly ascribed to " Hornebaud." If a
name subsequently almost forgotten has clung to a work of art, this can
scarcely be without cause. Lucas Hornebaud died in 1544.
We have never seen, either in England or abroad, any oil-painting of the
King by Holbein's hand. On the other hand, there is a miniature-picture of
unusual size (more than ten inches high) of which we have no doubt that it is
the master's own work. It is in the possession of the Earl of Spencer, and is
probably now at Althorp ; we saw it at the South Kensington Museum.2 The
King wears a grey jerkin and a brown over-garment richly adorned with gold.
The costume, like the whole picture, is most delicately finished. The hands,
the right one holding a glove, are only slightly to be seen. Henry is looking
somewhat to the side, as in the cartoon of the Duke of Devonshire, a position
in which his features are far more favourably represented, and the form of the
face is better exhibited. Holbein felt this, whUe the King himself seems to
have been of another opinion. For it can evidently only be imputed to his
order, that almost aU his portraits, those prior to Holbein's time, and the later
ones after the type of the Warwick portrait, are all taken full face. Henry
wished to have his face seen like his figure, as fuUy as possible ; it was charac
teristic of him; and to this whim Holbein was obliged to conform subsequently
in the Whitehall picture. Lastly, Holbein probably executed two extra
ordinarily fine and clever miniatures of the royal pair, which are in the
possession of Mr. H. D. Seymour, and which have been in his family ever
since their origin. Henry VIII. appears on a gold ground covered with roses,
and is seen full face. On the blue background of the Queen's picture stands
the age of 23 years, and the date 1536.
After all, Holbein did not paint the King very often ; Henry VIII. seems
to have sat only twice to him. To the first sitting we owe the cartoon
portrait, which we find also in the small painting in the possession of the Earl
of Spencer ; the result of the second sitting is the drawing at Munich, which
formed the basis of the wall-painting. Yet the King seems to have sat scarcely
to any other painter at the time Holbein was at the Court. The demand for
portraits during these years was entirely met by copies of the Whitehall
painting. Artists of a very different kind were required for these, probably
the ordinary mechanical court- painters. Holbein himself was never required
to execute portraits produced in masses, which were used as condescending
1 Treasures, iii. p. 482. He saw 'it at Luton House. The gallery is now in London,
but this picture is not there. It is probably at his seat, Cardiff Castle, Wales.
2 It was also in the Exhibition of Miniatures in 1865, No. 2082. Photographed copies of
it were in the National Portrait Gallery. Cf. Dibdin, " -Edes Althorpiana.," i. p. 257 ;
Waagen, " Kunst und Kuntswerke in England," ii. p. 539. Similar head of Henry, from
the Arundel Collection, engraved by Hollar ; Parthey, 1414.

398 JANE SEYMOUR.
gifts, and he presents a contrast in this to Lucas Cranach, in whose atelier
the portraits of the Saxon Princes or of the Reformers were not merely
produced in dozens but by scores. We find no instance of this manu
factory-like pursuit of art with Holbein. In his former Basle period, it
occurred indeed, tbat he worked with assistants, but in England this was
almost never the case. It scarcely ever happens that we have to inquire at
this time respecting a painting, whether it was a picture from Holbein's
atelier or Holbein's school ; he does not seem to have had any pupils at all at
this time; he was in general answerable himself for all that was executed.
There is a painting of Queen Jane Seymour, a half-length figure and nearly
life-size, in the Belvedere at Vienna.1 It accords in the conception and
bearing with the Whitehall painting, and also with a splendid sketch in the
Windsor Collection, and it belongs to the most masterly works which we
possess of Holbein's English period. It is evidently the same picture as that
which Carel van Mander describes in the following mariner : — " There was, at
Amsterdam, in the Warmoesstraat (Vegetable Street), a portrait of a Queen of
England, admirably executed, and very pretty and nice ; she was attired in
silver brocade, which appears to be genuine sUver with some admixture, and
it was depicted so transparently, curiously, and exquisitely, that a white foil
seemed to lie beneath." The effect produced by the Viennese picture accords
perfectly with this description. It shows, at the same time, that in the
technical execution, and in the background tint which he chose, Holbein ever
accommodated himself to the subject he was depicting, and that a colder or
warmer proportion of light and shade did not merely belong to certain periods
of his artistic progress, but that he, at the same time, aUowed sometimes the
one, and sometimes the other to prevaU, according to the personage whom he
was delineating. Jane Seymour was famed for her pure fairness, and therefore
this cold and delicate tint with its faint grey shadows was suited for her
portrait, and Holbein has produced nothing more beautiful. She appears in
the most splendid costume, an under-garment of silver brocade, over which
she wears a dress of purple velvet. Wherever it was possible, rich gold
ornament was introduced ; her dress and her cap of the well-known angular
form were studded with pearls, and a chain of pearls was hung round her neck,
from which was suspended a rich jewelled ornament, forming the initials vbs.
The whole was executed in miniature-like perfection; and in spite of this
splendour, this glittering profusion, the countenance of the Queen outshone all
the rest with its wonderfully deUcate and clear tint. How soft and fine are
the hands quietly resting in each other, and emerging from cuffs of exquisitely
finished Spanish work ! How beautiful is the form of the face, how delicate is
the effect of the grey shadows, especially on the chin ! The small shade
1 A second copy, much praised by Mr. Scharf, is in Woburn Abbey. Waagen regrets
that it hangs too high to form a judgment upon it.

jajxjs SEYMOUR. 399

thrown by one of the points of her cap is very charming. The countenance
is one of regular beauty with delicate fair eyebrows ; the expression of the
closely compressed lips is extraordinarily sweet. Her eyes do not seek the
spectator, but look calmly forth, and the serene transparency of her brow has
quite a peculiar effect. It reminds us of Eonsard's pretty poem to Francois
Clouet,1 which begins: —
" Pein moy, Janet, pein moy, je te supplie,
Sur ce tableau les beautez de m'amie."
There we read respecting the main requisites of female beauty: —
" Que son beau front ne soit entre fendu,
De nul sillon en profond estendu :
Mais qu'il soit tel qu'est l'eau de la marine
Quand tant soit peu le vent ne la mutine."
Jane Seymour is delicacy itself ; her appearance is royal and noble, and is
yet full of genuine womanly gentleness aud modesty. This portrait proves
the truth of the description given of her by Sir John Russell, when he had
observed her in church.2 The richer Queen Jane was in her' attire the more
beautiful did she appear, while the contrary was the case with Anna Boleyn.
She merits certainly all the favour she has experienced ; she is the most
modest, fair, and gentle of all the ladies whom the King has had. And thus
the people also extolled her beauty, when in December 1536 she passed
through London on horseback by the side of her noble consort, the ice on the
Thames having made the passage by water impossible.3 All parties paid her
equal honour, but she never became distinguished in history, and this is the
best evidence in her favour. In a tragic moment the King had demanded her
hand, and unexpectedly she had become his wife, but from the excellence of
her character she won his esteem, and beyond this, an affection as profound as
Henry was capable of feeling. At his death he wished to be placed by
her side.
Among the Windsor sketches there are a great number of female portraits,
partly with names and partly not. We find, for instance, Lady Lister, the
wife of the famous lawyer, Sir Richard Lister, a pleasing personage; Lady
Hobby, Lady Parker, Lady Meutas (rightly Meautis), and Lady Ratcliffe. Few
more important personages appear among them, with the exception of the
Marchioness of Dorset, daughter of the Duke of Suffolk and of the Queen
dowager Mary of France. She is holding flowers and the head of a cane in
her hand. It is interesting to study the noble features of this lady, who
experienced the reverses of fortune to the utmost extent. Sprung from noble
blood, niece of King Henry VIIL, she saw her daughter, Jane Grey, ascend
i Related by Comte de Laborde, "La Ren. des Arts,'' &c. p. 132.
2 Lord Herbert, p. 451. 3 Grafton's " Chronicle."

400 FEMALE PORTRAITS.
the throne, and after a short dream of power and splendour, terminate her life
under the axe of the executioner, while she herself could only escape the
suspicion of the Cathohc Queen Mary, by excluding herself from the higher
circles in a marriage with Stoke, her master of the horse. In her funeral
alone (she died in 1559) did the old splendour that had surrounded her happy
youth, once more return.
The wealth of attire and of jewellery, which seemed indispensable to
English ladies, is indicated for the most part in these sketches. Lady
Henegham wears a string of coins round her neck ; Lady Monteagle is laden
with gold and jewels, and she wears on her breast a clasp with the picture of
the Madonna. It is not all the personages who can bear this superabundance
of costly ornament to such an extent as Jane Seymour, and on the whole we
yield the point to the German travellers, who blamed the immoderate display
of English women, especially Samuel Kiechel, of Uim,1 who says in 1585,
that the type of women in England was charming and beautiful by nature,
that he had scarcely seen such elsewhere, and who extols the women for not
painting and enameUing themselves as in Italy and other places, and only
censures the one thing in them : " das sue in der kleudung was plomps gehn "
(that they are somewhat exaggerated in their attire).
We know only one other female picture which produces a pleasing effect
in spite of this extraordinary richness of toilette, — namely, a smaU portrait
in the possession of Count Casimir Lanckoronski in Vienna ; it depicts a
very young lady seventeen years old, as it stands inscribed on the green ground,
not reaUy beautiful but agreeable-looking, with reddish-brown hair, dressed
in black, with slashings of red, and a delicate gold-chain round her neck, and
a locket on her breast. The hands are placed one in the other with the
utmost elegance. And although the countenance has somewhat suffered, all the
rest is so well preserved in its delicate perfection, that no other picture rivals,
as this does, the portrait of Queen Jane, in refinement of taste and execution.
Somewhat similar in treatment is the portrait of Lady Vaux in Hampton
Court, but a more simple toilette would have become this personage with her
somewhat broad countenance; the head also has been completely painted
over, while the accessories, the cuffs, ring, the gold and enamel clasp, with the
picture of the enthroned Madonna, and the fine black chain thrown over her
neck, exhibit the old delicacy of execution. She is holding a pink in her
hand. Lady Elizabeth Vaux, the daughter and heiress of the rich Sh Thomas
Cheney of Cambridgeshire, was five years older than her husband, Thomas
Lord Vaux (born 1510), which is easily perceived, if we look at them together
. in the beautiful collection of portraits at Windsor. The head of Lord Vaux
belongs in delicacy of characterization and execution to the most exceUent
i " Die Reisen des Samuel Kiechel ; Bibliothek des Literarischen Vereins in Stuttgart,"
lxxxvi. 1866, p. 31, edited by Dr. Hassler ; quoted by Rye.

PORTRAITS. 401

works of the whole collection. The young man with his pointed beard and
rather long hair, cut straight over his forehead, has something thoroughly
English in his appearance. With the help of the brush, the sketch is more
finished than usual ; the colours and material of the dress are noted down in
German, and the Spanish work on the collar and the soft-flowing beard are
especially delicate in execution. There is a small female portrait most
delicately executed, and true to life, in the Belvedere Gallery in Vienna.
The figure represented is a citizen's wife, depicted in half-length figure,
and apparently at the most about thirty years of age ; her whole appearance
is unusually fascinating, from her air of refined dignity, noble repose,
confidence, gentleness, and intelligence ; her beautiful blue eyes express a
kindliness of nature ; in her fine lips, in the delicate contour of the throat,
and in the almost entire absence of eyebrows, she exhibits a certain resem
blance to the Dresden Madonna; she wears over her brown hair a little
white cap, ornamented with gold, and falling from it is a black veU. The
neck is seen, the shoulders are covered ; she wears a violet-brown dress
trimmed with black, red velvet sleeves, and white cuffs, from which emerge the
life-like and somewhat masculine hands. A large gold medal, apparently
containing two figures sacrificing at an altar, is suspended on her breast.
There is an excellent picture of a lady of middle age, holding a rosary with
both hands, in the Cassel Gallery. The corresponding piece is the half-length
figure of a man dressed in black, and gloomy in expression. The other works
in the Cassel Gallery, bearing Holbein's name, have nothing to do with
him. On the other hand, we possess undoubtedly his work in a portrait
which hangs there under the name of " Diirer," the likeness of a beardless
man, in knightly attire richly ornamented with gold, holding a rosary with
both his hands, which are somewhat misformed by nature. A copy, also we
believe by the hand of the master, is in the possession of Herr Culeman in
Hanover. One of the first male portraits which Holbein painted in the time of
Queen Jane, and at the same time one of those which rank highest, as regards
taste and life-like treatment, is that of Sir Richard Southwell, in the gallery
of the Uffizi at Florence. It is accurately dated the 28th year of the reign of
Henry VIIL, therefore 1536. The date, the 10th July, and the age, 33 years,
are also given in the inscription.
The great study for this picture, a sketch in the Windsor Collection, is also
a sheet of the first rank. It bears in Holbein's hand the notice : " Die augen
ein wenig gilbett " (the eyes a little brownish), and it is distinguished by the
striking distinctness with which the individual appears before us. It is a
courtier's smooth countenance without beard, with an expression of great
phlegm and also of great cunning. In the painting he wears a black cap,
adorned with a jewel set in gold, a coat of violet velvet, from which come
D D

402 SIB EDWABD SEYMOUB.
sleeves of black satin and a gold necklace. The hands are resting on each
other. SouthweU was beginning at that time to make his fortune at the
Court ; a year before, he had played a very equivocal part in the proceedings
against More. When the counsel for the Crown, Sir Richard Rich, endea
voured to misrepresent the conversation which he had had -with More in the
prison, in order to obtain matter of accusation against him, More appealed in
vain to Southwell's evidence, who had been present at the time removing his
books. SouthweU behaved equally shamefully, afterwards, in the case of the
Earl of Surrey. Henry valued him because he was useful, and he appointed
him one of his executors ; he also occupied a position at the Court under
Queen Ehzabeth.
We also find the beardless head of Richard Rich (died 1566) among the
Windsor sketches ; he was a citizen's son, who rose to high office under
Cromwell, and was made Lord ChanceUor in the reign of Edward VI. His
wife Elizabeth, the daughter of a London merchant, appears in another sheet
far more beautiful and highly characteristic. It is the study for an exceUent
half-length portrait in the possession of Mr. Walter Moseley of Buildwas
Park in Shropshire, which was in the Portrait Exhibition under the erroneous
designation of " Catherine of Aragon," and has unfortunately suffered much
damage. Lady Rich wears a dark dress and a beautiful gold medalhon with
figures on it ; she is a matron with stern features and an energetic expression.
A small and delicately executed oil-painting of about 8 inches in height,
in Sion House, the residence of the Duke of Northumberland, represents the
brother of the Queen, Sir Edward Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp, and
after the year 1538, Earl of Hertford, who was subsequently made Duke of
Somerset, guardian of his nephew, King Edward VI., and protector of England;
he played a brilliant part and met with a tragic end. He is a young man
with a pointed, long, and fair beard, dressed in dark attire, and wearing a cap
and feathers ; his right hand appears under his mantle, and is playing with a
medal suspended from a blue riband, bearing the picture of St. George.
Among the Windsor sketches we find the half-length figure of Sir John
Russel, who had come to Court in the reign of Henry VIE, and had dis
tinguished himself in war and peace ; in 1536 he was appointed member
of the Privy Council, and subsequently he became keeper of the Great Seal
and first Earl of Bedford. He is taken almost in profile, looking towards the
left ; the right eye is blind ; l his strong beard is red, and his head is covered
with a little' black cap ; the whole countenance is dignified and important. The
finished picture is still in the possession of the family at Woburn Abbey, the
seat of the Duke of Bedford.2 The picture of his son Francis (born 1528,
i This is intimated by the inscription.
2 The author has not seen it. Waagen says (Treasures, iv. p. 331): "This looks
promising, but hangs too high for closer opinion."

SIB NICHOLAS CABEW. 403
died 1585), at that time a boy, is also among the sketches. A highly finished
sheet depicts one of the most important statesmen and warriors of that day,
William Fitz William (died 1543), the " Nelson of his time," who became Lord
High Admiral of England in 1537, and Earl of Southampton in 1538 ; a
beardless head, full of life and truth, and the mouth is very full of character.
Men also who play no part in history appear in the collection, such as Edward
Stanley, Earl of Derby (died 1574), who lived quietly on his estates far away
from the Court ; Sir Thomas Strange (died 1545), who resided in Norfolk, a plea
sant-looking young man with a gentle expression of countenance ; Sir Thomas
Wentworth (died 1551), who wears a long and handsome beard, and produces the
impression of a man enjoying life; and Charles Wingfield, of Kimbolton Castle
in Huntingdonshire, a powerful man, whom the artist depicts with his hairy
chest denuded. A highly attractive portrait is that of the fair young Edward
Clinton (born 1512, died 1584), subsequently Earl of Lincoln, who was brought
up at Court after the early death of his father, but who did not appear in pubhc
life until after Holbein's time. Also Thomas Parrie (died 1559), subsequently
one of the few disposed to Protestantism who remained with Elizabeth during
her seclusion, is depicted as a youth with a round and very benevolent counte
nance. There are also Philip Hobbie (died 1558) and William Sherington,
two young men, who occupied inferior positions at Court. Those household
accounts, which give no information respecting Holbein, mention the first of
these as " Grome of the King's Privy Chambre," and the second as " Grome
of the Robes." Hobbie had formerly been Cromwell's servant, and as such we
shall find him travelling in company with Holbein.
A very beautiful painting, in possession of the Duke of Buccleugh at his
residence, Dalkeith Palace, Edinburgh, represents a personage of the Court,
rendered interesting by his fate, — namely, Sir Nicholas Carew, the King's
master of the horse ; he was Henry's constant companion in his briUiant
court-life, he- provided with skill for his amusement, and also acquired
personal influence over him. In the year 1538, however, he feU under
suspicion of being implicated in the conspiracy of the Marquis of Exeter and
Cardinal Pole: he was thrown into prison, and was beheaded on the 3rd March,
1539. Waagen1 extols the life-like conception, the energetic colouring, and
the masterly execution of every part. The arrangement of the whole, and
the attitude of the man, exhibit great delicacy of taste. In Mr. Scharf's
sketch, the flesh tint is decidedly red, and Carew's armour is executed with
the utmost care. The great sword-hilt on which his left hand is resting, is
reflected in it, and in his right hand he holds the Chamberlain's staff;
the background is formed by a green curtain. Holbein's highly spirited,
1 Treasures, iv. p. 435. I am indebted to Mr. Scharf for his communications respecting
this picture, which I have not seen myself. From a sketch of Mr. Scharf Js the original is,
however, broader than it appears in the engraving in Lodge's work.
D D 2

404 POETEAIT OF MOBETT.
original sketch for this picture is in the Basle Museum. It depicts a head
of a thoroughly English type ; a fine well-formed countenance, remark
ably cold and restful in expression, with firmly compressed lips and a small
fair beard.
There is no painting in any public coUection more fitted to exhibit Holbein
at his utmost height as a portrait-painter, combining the utmost truth with the
finest taste, than the splendid portrait of Morett in the Dresden Gallery.
This work, that of Gysin at Berlin, and Jane Seymour at Vienna, are the
most beautiful portraits by Holbein, in German collections; three productions
which, differing from each other completely in bearing and style, stand forth
as the solution of three wholly different artistic tasks. On each occasion,
the conception and treatment perfectly suit the personage designed. Of all
three, the Dresden picture is, I will not say the most beautiful, but certainly
that one which corresponds most perfectly with the taste of the present day.
Mr. Hubert Morett — we gather the Christian name from the Royal account
books1 — was, from his badge, a jeweller. We have before mentioned the
portrait of a German goldsmith whose likeness Holbein took in London, and
whom he depicted sitting in his leather apron, with gold pieces, the token of
his calling, lying before him on the table. How differently on the other
band does the English goldsmith appear, testifying in his appearance to the
delight of show and splendour of attire which was peculiar to his nation !
Taken full-face, life-size, and half-length figure, he stands before us full of
self-confidence ; he is dressed in a jerkin of black satin, with sleeves slashed
with white, his over-garment is of the same material, with a broad collar of
sable fur, a jewel adorns his hat, his dress is studded with gold buttons, a
beautiful chain is thrown over his neck ; the left hand, covered with a glove,
is grasping a gilded dagger of splendid workmanship, which Mr. Morett
himself has probably executed. Yet, in everything, it is not so much his art
as his wealth which is exhibited. If it were not legaUy forbidden him, he
would also have liked to have worn purple and gold brocade, like the King
and his Peers. To our modern eyes, the simplicity of the colour with the
noble material appears all the more elegant and distinguished. The black
combined with the green of the heavy curtain which forms the background,
sets off the tint of the flesh in the exquisite right hand, which holds the glove,
as well as in the splendidly-formed countenance, with its long reddish fair
beard, here and there verging into a venerable silver grey. Mr. Hubert
Morett is undoubtedly a business-like, wisely calculating man, yet he stands
there in stately repose, cool and reserved, and looks at us without moving
i Nicholas Harris Nicholas, " The Privy Purse Expenses of Henry the Eighth,'' from
November, mdxxix. to December, mdxxxii. London, 1827, p. 185 : " Payments in January
Ao. xxiij (1532) 4 Jan. . . . Item the same daye paied to Hubert Moret Jeweller for such
Je welles as the Kinges grace bought of him ccxlij corons, lvj. li. ix. siiijd."

POK1KA1T OF MOBETT. 405
a feature. Not only the single individual, but the character of the whole
nation is conceived in him with the utmost acuteness.
In the year 1647, Wenzel HoUar issued Morett's head in a somewhat poor
engraving, with Morett's name attached to it, though it was not taken from
the painting, but from the original drawing, in the possession of the famous
Holbein collector, Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey. Nineteen
years before, the Earl seems to have endeavoured to get the painting also,
which was at that time in Italy, and the name of which had been changed
into that of " Count Moretta."1 This attempt failed, the picture remained in
Italy, it was added to the collection of the Duke of Modena, and was soon
after (1657) extoUed by Scanelli2 as a work wonderfully true to nature,
executed by a Northern painter, a certain Olbeno. But when the Modenese
collection was sold to Saxony in the year 1745, the name of the German
master perished, and the name of the individual depicted was still more
altered ; Moretta was turned into Moro, and the personage was regarded as
the famous Lodovico Sforza il Moro, whom Leonardo da Vinci had of course
painted. In Dresden, this designation continued until a few years ago,
although Rumohr had long ago mentioned the true author of the work, and
the name of the person represented had been proved by Hollar's engraving.8
Since the year 1860, however, the original drawing engraved by Hollar has
hung by the side of the painting ; its various names are now to us only an
historical curiosity. They remind us how long a period Germany had no idea
of her own greatest artists, and they show us, at the same time, how, even in
Italy, at a time when all taste for earlier Northern art was wanting, this work
was considered so admirable that it was attributed to one of the greatest
Italians. 1 Sir Isaac Wake to William Boswell, Turin, November 26 (December 6 ?), 1628 : " The
picture after which you do seem to inquire was made by Hans Holbein in the time of
Henry VIIL, and is of a Count of Moretta. My Lord of Arundel doth desire it, and if I can
get it at any reasonable rate, he must and shall have it." Published in Sainsbury, " Original
Unpublished Papers, illustrative of the Life of Sir P. P. Rubens," London, 1859. Quoted by
Mr. Wornum, p. 299.
2 " II Microcosma della Pittura ; " Cesena, 1857, p. 265.
8 Kunstblatt, 1847.

CHAPTER XXIV.
Holbein's activity as regards art-industry. — Beginning of Renaissance taste in Germany. —
Holbein's earliest productions in this sphere of art. — Title-pages and glass-paintings;
architecture in paintings. — Designs for armourers and goldsmiths. — Dagger-sheaths. —
Works of this kind at the English court. — Sketch-books in London and Basle. —
Medals and implements. — Tankards, bowls, and splendid vessels. — Jane Seymour's
drinking-cup. — Sketch for a clock. — Architectural works. — The chimney-piece. — Artistic
feeling in German Renaissance.
The life of that court at which Hans Holbein found a place, is depicted to us
in a small etching shaded with Indian ink, not much more than four inches
broad and three and a half high, placed under glass in the King's library at
the British Museum, and showing Henry VIII. at table. He is sitting alone
under a canopy ; the apartment, through the windows of which the light is
faUing picturesquely, is enlivened with numerous figures; two servants are
approaching the Sovereign, and the buffet is richly covered with vessels-
Holbein depicted this scene as characteristicaUy as he depicted the King in
councU in the woodcut for Hall's Chronicle, and in spite of a still smaUer space
the heads are here delineated in a most spirited manner.
Close by the side hang two other sketches of the first rank, belonging, Uke
the former, to subsequent acquisitions of the Museum, both broadly treated,
with pen and Indian ink, and certainly belonging to Holbein's English period.
The one represents a group of five musicians in the midst of their work ; the
other is evidently the sketch for a family painting. The woman, who has a
cap on her head and a small child on a pillow on her arm, is seated on a bench
with a high back. By her side sits a little boy, and a second boy with a girl
is standing in front. This sketch, slight as it is, exhibits the utmost nobleness
in the separate forms as weU as in the grouping.
There is a beautiful drawing representing figures, executed in Holbein's
EngUsh period, and in Mr. J. C. Robinson's possession in London. It is a
study of costume, such as Holbein had before made in Basle : a lady walking
along, wearing an English head-dress, a dark veil, and a rosary. In spite of the
slightness of the-execution, done throughout with the brush and with slight
indications of -colour in the face, all the details of the dress, and. especiaUy the
delicate necklace, are given with great distinctness and perfection. By the

oa__.__ vjij^o FOB WOEKS. 407
side is a lady similarly dressed, seen from behind, making a significant
movement with the hand.
Whatever drawings executed by Holbein in England, besides portraits, are
still in existence, consist almost entirely of designs of an ornamental kind, and
of sketches for the most various branches of art-industry. There are simUar
works belonging to the painter's Basle epoch ; and that he devoted himself to
them with especial predilection evidences that he was in the highest degree
fiUed with the spirit of Renaissance. In Albert Diirer, who thought and felt all
his life long as a genuine Nuremberger, the spirit of his industrial native city
was so aroused, that it was a necessity with him to attempt all possible styles,
to emboss in wax, to carve, and to model ; whatever he had learned in his
early youth from his father, who had desired at first to train him to his own
art, the goldsmith's trade, he practised constantly, not only in his engravings
in copper, but in the compositions in relief which he cut in Kehlheim stone
and in medallions which he embossed, which belong to the most splendid
works in bas-reUef. Mander, indeed, likewise informs us of Holbein, that he
embossed wonderfully and prettily in wax,1 — we have, it is true, no proof of
this— yet in general he occupied another position with regard to art-handicraft,
and was for the most part not active in it himself, but sketched models for it of
various lands. In so doing, he acted after the fashion of the great Italian
masters. These were not merely architects, or sculptors, or painters, but they
were aU together, they were artists generaUy. All that human hands created
they wished to see beautiful, whatever purpose it served, and to whatever art it
belonged, and they found for everything the appropriate form. If they built
stately palaces, in whose cheerful and festive splendour aU the luxuriance
of the Renaissance style appeared, they were not merely careful about the
architectural part alone, but they sent for other artists and artisans to provide
for the rest — nay, all that tended to ornament and decoration was devised in
their own spirit : the iron-grating of the portals, the paintings on the walls, the
stucco-work of the ceUings, and even the furniture, the tapestries, and the
utensUs. To Michael Angelo, the designs for works of cabinet-making are
inscribed, as well as the ceUing in the Laurentian library at Florence. Raffaelle,
whUe he adorned the Loggie at the Vatican, not merely made the compositions
of figures, but invented a new system of decoration in the enchanting and
fantastic ornaments of the pilasters and interstices, and also took under his
direction the execution of Barile's wood-carved gates.
It was about the year 1515, when the Eenaissance taste, in Italy already
approaching its height, took root in Germany.2 We mention this year,
because at this time Albert Diirer, iu his designs for woodcuts for the
1 Small plastic works under Holbein's name are mentioned by Walpole.
2 See J. Falcke's " Geschichte des modernen Geschmacks," Leipzig, 1866, chap, iii., for
an excellent and concise representation of German Renaissance.

408 GOTHIC AND EENAISSANCE.
Emperor Maximilian, stood for the first time entirely on the soil of the
Eenaissance, and henceforth endeavoured to establish it theoretically. It was
at about the same time that the young Holbem appeared with productions
of a similar spirit. The folding panels. of the Sebastian altar are an evidence
of this, and the title-pages issued from the Basle printing-houses from the
year 1516 harmonize most thoroughly with the architecture of Albert Diirer's
works. Is there in the whole or in the detail, in the form ot in the ornament,
in the structure or in its interstices, one trace of the Gothic to be seen?
In this respect Holbein is from the first far more free than Diirer. When
the latter left the Gothic forms, which afforded no satisfaction to his distinct
individual feeling, an adherence to nature burst forth in him, which is
ever the reaction of the Gothic.
In its contempt of the world, the Gothic had disdained the artistic
perfection of the natural form, but the healthful love of nature among the
Northern races was not whoUy to be repressed. Forms of nature without
artistic style, the mere imitation of reality, covered the strict construction
of Gothic architecture with foliage and leaf ornaments, without having
inwardly the least connection with it ; it was these elements subse
quently which burst asunder all fetters, revolted against aU the restraint
exercised by the Gothic system over each separate part, and at length
brought it completely into decline through wild luxuriance. No artist had
perhaps surrendered himself for a time so completely to tins naturahsm as
Diirer, who seems personally to have gone through the various destinies of
the national art. - In the British Museum, for instance, there is a design for a
large table service, devised as a natural tree-like growth with branches and
foliage, while various people, warriors, Turks, gamblers, shepherds, and hunts
men, rest beneath it. These outbursts tended to check subsequently his study
of Renaissance, a style which aims at applying natural figures as ornament by
giving them an artistic form. Even in Maximilian's triumphal gate by Diirer,
which is constructed with Italian columns and circular arches, and where
natural vine-branches are introduced as ornament, there is still ever the ten
dency to naturalism, though in softened and even pleasing form-
There is no trace of this in Holbein's ornamental and architectural
compositions. Many strange and even capricious forms appear ; human
figures which turn into plants and animals are grouped with vessels, flowers
and garlands encircle them and grow out of them or entwine themselves
among the shells of animals, baskets of fruit are subverted in order to
support an architectural entablature, winged children's heads rest on shields
as a crown to some lofty superstructure. No regard is paid to the inner
adaptability of the ornament. On a title-page by Holbein, representing
Christ bidding the poor and sick come to Him,1 the ornaments on the side
1 Passavant, 116.

UUTU1U AMD EENAISSANCE. 409
are formed by various musical instruments ; above St. Barbara and St. Eliza
beth in the Munich altar, sphinx figures are introduced, which certainly have
nothing to do with the religious character of the picture. The ornament was
simply to adorn ; it was not designed to signify anything.
These objections, which were raised against Holbein's ornamental designs
during his earlier career, refer however to all designs of this kind executed
by the German artists of the time, especially to the charming ornamental
sheets among the engravings of such German masters as Aldegrever, Pencz,
and the two Behams, who ingeniously developed Durer's taste. The same
objections may even be raised against the designs of Italian Renaissance ; the
same caprice appears here to a similar extent. Yet, in the one case as well
as in the other, we are charmed with the beauty and pure harmony with
which even that which seems really discordant combines agreeably and
completely with the whole. Nothing causes this but the personal feeling
proclaimed throughout, — the genius of the master himself, which is expressed
in the richest as well as in the simplest forms, while in the Gothic, on the
other hand, everything was subject to the one fixed principle, without
affording the slightest scope to personal feeling.
Without models immediately at hand, without teachers, in contest even
with the Gothic taste yet prevaihng among the people, and from which the
German architecture could not free itself for years, Holbein developed his
Renaissance taste, and his designs for title-pages or for glass-paintings
specially afforded him opportunity of exercising it. He knew how to apply
it in the simplest and severest forms, where such were suitable, as in the
niche behind the Meier Madonna, and he knew equally weU how to revel in
luxuriant richness. In the Basle Passion sketches we admired the fantastic
overloading and grotesque clumsiness of the architectural frameworks, and
the great artistic wisdom they evidenced. Holbein's sense of style taught him
that the effect of painted windows must be essentially ornamental, and that
each separate picture must be adapted to the general architectural effect. He
therefore found the means to render these compositions, dramatic and full
of figures as they were, subordinate to the framework. At the same time,
however, he produced the triumphal gate in the background of the Lisbon
picture, and that festive domed hall which forms the background of the
two monochromatic pictures of Christ the Man of Sorrows and the Mother
of Sorrows, which recently being placed in a suitable new frame in the
Basle Museum, have been united as a diptich, according to their original
intention. Not only for woodcuts and glass-paintings did Holbein make designs
durino- his sojourn in Basle, but he also occasionaUy assisted the goldsmiths
and armourers, whose art stood high in Switzerland and in the south of
Germany. He here introduced figures in combination with ornament. We

410 DAGGEB-SHEATHS.
possess many designs for dagger-sheaths executed by Holbein at this period,
one of the most beautiful of which, the dagger-sheath with the Dance of
Death, we have already described ; even the choice of the subject is here
ingenious, and contrasts with the caprice which we meet with generally in
Germany and Italy in all ornamental devices ; equally happy also, as regards
the idea, is the ornament on another scabbard shown in the accompanying
woodcut. The scabbard with the Dance of Death we imagine as worn at the
girdle of the warrior who knows how to use his weapon fatally when occasion
needs ; but this is made for the elegant cavalier, whose elaborately worked
dagger is only worn for show. On this are depicted only love stories from the
antique in a hearty humorous tone. A splendid-looking architectural design in
the Renaissance style forms the scenery in which the events are depicted. Below,
in front of a niche, is Venus, endowed with ass's ears Uke the fools, because
she befools men ; she is holding up a burning torch with a theatrical gesture,
half-beckoning and half-warning, while the little Cupid with blinded eyes is
seated at her feet. Above are two well-known stories of the delight and
sorrow of love : Thisbe is stabbing herself by the corpse of her Pyramus, who
is seen in bold foreshortening lying near the fountain, and indeed in such a
position that we ourselves should not be convinced of his death as quickly as
Thisbe, but would rather imagine that he was merely sleeping from intoxica
tion. Lastly, above, we find the trim youth Paris, who is leaning against the
piUar of a domed haU, and Mercury is holding an apple to him, whUe Cupid
aims at him. The three goddesses however, between whom the young prince is
to decide, do not certainly belong to Olympus ; they are coarse Swiss peasant
girls, scarcely accustomed to appear in the idyUic costume which they here wear.
Holbein amuses himself with introducing the antique gods and heroes, as he has
done also in many of the pictures in the Praise of FoUy and in the Bacchus on
the Pig, represented in our woodcut (page 219). The original of this design is
an etching in the Library at Bernburg. The first idea of it, cursorily sketched,
appears also in a slight etching in the Basle Museum,1 but much is here
altered, as for instance the Venus group ; the compartment below this contains
a ram's head in a wreath, and the scabbard is also terminated by a ram's head.
The same frame at Basle contains four other dagger-sheaths, in the first
place a second copy2 of the Berlin design with the Dance of Death, and a
scabbard with leaf-ornaments, and the date 1529. EspeciaUy beautiful and
exhibiting such free elegance of form that it could not have been designed
untU Holbein's residence in England, is the print of a sketch containing
Joshua's passage through the Jordan.8 The priests bearing the ark are stand-
1 Hall of Sketches, under glass, No. 32.
2 One of these copies may be an impression of the other, subsequently finished with
Indian ink.
3 Joshua iii. and iv. The sketch of this in the Basle Sketch-book is different. No. 30.

SHoi

DAGGEB-SHEATHS. 411

ing upon dry ground at the spot where the water generally flowed, and the
men of the twelve tribes are picking up great stones as an everlasting remem
brance of the divine miracle. Such weapons might perhaps at that time, when
the Reformation was making its way in England, have been executed for the
King, affording a picture of the visible protection and direct help which the
Lord vouchsafes to His warriors.
The fifth sketch of the frame, and a very slight one, represents a triumphal
procession. A scabbard with a similar representation in Rudolf Weigel's Col
lection, is weU known from Loedel's beautiful engraving. The idea of the
elephants, captives, and warriors, dragging laboriously on in their armour, is
borrowed from Mantegna's march of Caesar. Two dagger-sheaths, the hilts
also of which are preserved, are in the King's Library in the British Museum.1
One of them has rich ornaments, and smaU groups of figures in brown on a
black ground ; the other the triumphal chariot of BeUona, drawn by four
horses ; the tapering space above is filled in a masterly manner with storming,
rushing, and recumbent warriors. Such designs of delight in war, or joy in
victory, were likewise admirably suited to this object.
Lastly, Holbein designed two very beautiful scabbards on the wood-block.2
The one represents, again, a Venus with the torch, and a small Cupid by her
side, just on the point of shooting an arrow ; it is grandly composed, and the
groups of childreri in the other compartments are very pleasing ; the lower
termination is formed by a winged chUd's head. The ornament of the other
scabbard is also ingeniously chosen, being Fortune with a waving veU passing
over the sea in a shell, a fitting symbol certainly for military adventurers. In
the cabinet of engravings of Queen Maria at Dresden, there are also two rich
hilts belonging to these scabbards.3
Holbein's increased activity in this branch of art, after his entrance into
the service of the English court, is evidenced not only by many larger designs,
but by two sketch-books belonging to the master which have been preserved in
public collections. One of these, originaUy in the Sloane Collection, is now in
the British Museum, and, according to Sandrart's short statements respecting
it, is probably the one which Inigo Jones showed bim in the Museum of the
King of England. The second book, no less rich and valuable, although the
drawings in it are for the most part more cursory, and the indications of
colour not so frequent, is in the Basle Museum, but no longer in its original
form. The small pictures are now pasted separately in a new book, and also
much that does not belong to them, for instance some sheets which evidently
come from a former note-book of Holbein's father ; stUl the sheets belonging
to the younger Holbein are easily discovered, from the strong yeUowish paper
on which they are drawn. That it belongs to Holbein's English period is not
only shown by the artistic style and by the choice of many of the subjects,
1 Nos. 20 and 22. 2 Passavant, 42, 43. 3 42a, 43 a.

412 SKETCH-BOOKS

but also by the mark I. H., 1537, which stands by the side of a small group of
figures (No. 80). Holbein may have brought it back with him on his last
visit to Basle. A third book, of the existence of which nothing is known, or
rather numerous sketches, was in the possession of the Earl of Arundel and
Surrey, and a number of splendid designs from it have been engraved by
Wenzel Hollar.
Besides designs for the minor arts, these sketch-books contain also a few
other drawings ; the Basle one, for instance, has some studies from lay figures
(No. 16), hands from life (21), studies on the proportion of nude figures (19),
and some sketches of animals. In the London book, there appears a dog and
a goat reposing1 (117, 175). On all occasions Holbein exhibits pleasure in
the observation of animal hfe. In his earUer life, we noticed some studies by
him of this kind in the Basle Museum,2 among which especially a Lamb and a
Lamb's Head can only be compared with the sketches of Paul Potter for truth,
life, and deUcate masterly treatment.
The Basle Sketch-book contains also numerous compositions of figures in
the smallest size, the style of which, however, is rather plastic than pictu
resque. For the most part they are made for embossed work or for engravings,
and seem designed as ornaments for brooches and clasps, or for medallions.
Ornaments with pictures of the same kind we have already found on
numerous portraits of English personages. The Bible and mythology,
allegory and ancient history, furnish the subjects of them. We find, for
instance, three times in the same sheet, and always with some variation,
Hagar and Ishmael, with the angel appearing to them, a very noble com
position (37). The same sheet contains a fourth medallion: Abraham and
Melchizedek extending their hands over the altar, and by the side the two
principal figures again. Of other medallions and ornaments with Old Testa
ment scenes we may mention the Sacrifice of Cain and Abel (71) ; Sarah
giving Hagar to her husband (67) ; Jacob embracing Rachel with her flock,
and this in a thoroughly country-like manner (68) ; Jacob turning the stone
from the well for Rachel, especiaUy pleasing (76) ; a smaU circular repre
sentation full of figures, the impression of a slightly-coloured etching,
depicting David and the woman of Tekoah, very lifelike, — the woman is
kneeling before the king, who is surrounded by his mUitary suite, and on
the right we see the king's sons escaping from Absalom.3 The Sacrifice of
Elijah, also, especially deserves notice ; it is represented on the setting of a
gem, and in such a manner that the stone is made use of to depict the fire on
the altar.4 Lastly, a very beautiful device for an ornament is formed in the
perishing of Korah and his company (77).
1 Woodcut in Mr. Wornum's book. 2 No. 86. Hall of Sketches.
3 No. 70. Marked with the name David (inverted) and 2 Samuel xiv.
4 Nos. 63 and 65.

IN BASLE AND LONDON. 413
Among Wenzel Hollar's engravings, we find also some Old Testament
scenes on a small scale, which seem at least partly to have been borrowed
from similar models for goldsmiths and medal coiners : thus, David killing
Goliath; Uriah receiving the letter from the King's hand, who is standing
before the door of a fortress, attired in the dress of the sixteenth century, and
surrounded by his councillors and halberdiers. There are also two beautiful
circular pictures : Judah and Tamar, and David playing the harp before Saul;
the grief of the king and the deep feeling of the boy are grandly expressed
in their figures.1
Pictures from the New Testament or figures of saints also appear in the
Basle book: thus there is the baptism of Christ;2 also the Saviour looking
forth from the clouds,3 with an angel below distributing crowns to the elect,
while another angel is expelling the wicked. Repeatedly a figure of the
penitent Magdalene appears in a small oval (Nos. 55, 56, 58), similar to that
engraved by Wenzel Hollar.4 One little shield contains S. Rochus with
angels (79). On another sheet we find, twice, with some alterations, the
sketch of the Archangel Michael casting down the Dragon, designed as a
medallion for the chain of an Order (64). We also find a gentleman and
lady, both young and in noble English costume, kneeling opposite to each
other and holding a cup over which is a heart (88). Among various allegories
— among which, for instance, the Gallic Hercules5 appears — one is especially
remarkable ; a naked male figure is standing upon a knight who has been
dashed to the ground, and is shattering with his right hand Cupid's bow, and
with his left hand the sword of the warrior. Above are scrolls, destined to
receive the inscription (62). Some of the cleverest compositions are borrowed
from history or from the legends of antiquity. We find in the smaUest space
the Minding of Zaleucus and his son, which we have already noticed among
Holbein's Town-hall pictures.6 The principal figures of the two blinding
executioners, and of those to be blinded, are naked ; the bystanders wear an
antique costume. The action of Zaleucus is very fine ; he is propping himself
up with both arms, and bending forward his head to the executioner. We
find pictures of Pomona (81), of Cupid (85), of Leukothea on a dolphin (83),
of two Centaurs (53), of Juno and Parasis (74) ; among the most masterly
sketches, is a frieze-like strip with some furious Tritons (22). His humour
sometimes finds vent in Bacchanalian scenes, similar in idea to the great
woodcut initial given on page 219.
Similar small sketches with groups of figures for goldsmiths and metal
i Parthey, Nos. 71, 73, 67, 72. s No. 73, Impression.
3 Over it the words dominvs prospexit de Cvelo ; No. 75. A repetition of it, still
better adapted to the space, No. 78.
* Parthey, 180. 5 No. 69.]
6 No. 61. About one inch high and two inches broad.

414 SKETCH-BOOKS

coiners are to be seen in the small book in the British Museum. Thus we
find the Annunciation of the Virgin (19), with the inscription OKIGO M vndi
meliokis (beginning of a better world) enclosed in a frame of yellow asters
and green leaves. Similarly arranged and delicately drawn, as if with the
lightest touch of colour, is a picture of the Trinity, within a wreath of red
roses, and bearing the inscription trinitatis gloeia satiamvr (The glory of
the Trinity satiates us) (13). As a device for a brooch, Dido appears on the
funeral pUe, contemplated with horror by a male and female figure (15). A
medallion, explained by the Italian device " servai. voglio qvel che
ho givrato " (I will keep what I have sworn), exhibits a hand touching, as
if protestingly, a book that is resting on a rock (No. 22). Another aUegory
appears in No. 28, a youth lying sleeping under a fountain, struck by
Ughtning on his head, body, and feet. Especial interest belongs to a small
circular picture, containing the crowned leopard's head of the English unicorn,
with the inscription " hony. soyt. qvi. mal. y. pense," and on the outward
edge, " carolvs. dvx. svfpyoie. pro. honore. svo. richemond " (Charles,
duke of Suffolk, to his honour, Richmond) ; probably, therefore, the buckle
which Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, the King's brother-in-law, a
famous General, wore on his Order of the Garter. Three beautiful Uttle
circular pictures from this book, are hung under glass in the King's Library
(Nos. 9, 1 — 3) : the allegory of Time bringing Truth to light,1 St. John the
Baptist, and Lot's FUght.
Similar in character and intention must be six smaU circular sketches of
about 2\ inches in diameter in the possession of the Duke of Devonshire.
They are framed and hung up at Chatsworth, and, according to Waagen's 2
opinion, they are among Holbein's most delicate works : they are Phaeton's
overthrow ; the Last Judgment ; and a coat-of-arms, to which Cupid is
chained near three bee-hives, with bound eyes, and by the side the device
" Nocet empta dolore voluptas " (Pleasure that is purchased by pain is per
nicious). Almost better stiU might Albert Durer's verse be attached to it,
which he wrote under a similar representation,3 of Venus and Cupid stung
by bees: " Der Binen stich bringt grossen schmertz.
So auch die lieb verwund manchs Hertz.
Mit Freud und Lust, mitt angst vnd quai.
Lieb ist voll Honig vnd bitter gall."

(As the bee's sting produces aching smart,
So does Love torture many a tender heart :
With joy and woe alternate, fear and ill,
Love doth her cup with sweet and bitter fill.)

i With the name tempvs and Veritas. Similar composition in the Basle Sketch-book,
No. 54. 2 Treasures, ii. p. 350.
3 In the British Museum Collection of Engravings.

us uasl,u AND LONDON. 415
The other three are Hagar and Ishmael — a subject which we have also
found in the Basle book ; Diana and Act_eon ; and a knight looking at a
clock, in which a boy with a hammer is going to strike the hour, and beneath
are the words " Aspetto la hora " (I await the hour).
The abundance of ideas and the variety of subjects lead us to infer the
utmost variety in the designs and applications of these little works of art.
The serious and the cheerful element, the Christian and the heathen, the pathetic
and the tender, are all here represented. Sometimes they were evidently
gallant gifts, with allusions to tender relations ; sometimes a jest lay at their
root, at another time they were significant remembrances of distinct and
important events or of dear friends. One suited as an ornament for some fair
lady, another for the elegant and merry cavalier, and a third for tbe serious
and active man, as the reward of merit. But certainly the greater part were
destined for the King's own person, for small objects of art in which tasteful
work was combined with costly material were his greatest delight.
In the London Sketch-book, we find also patterns for the most various
useful objects or for parts of costume ; such as tassels, knots, borders, buttons,
book-covers, embroideries (in which Holbein introduced Oriental designs), broad
bands and finer strips, twisted lines, leaf-like arabesque branches, without
relief and without any specification of light and shade.1 Sometimes this
system seems to have been adopted in the ornamenting of weapons, either in
simple damaskeening or in coating nobler metal and steel. On the whole,
however, it is rather a plastic feeling which prevaUs in the art industry of the
German Renaissance, and this also pervades Holbein's works of this kind.
This is expressed in the sketches for various vessels and implements, in the
numerous designs for jeweUers, goldsmiths, and armourers. There are some
charming designs for toUet implements in London, for mirrors, brushes and
combs, the handles of which are formed by smaU fantastically formed genii
with bats' wings or terminating in festoons (21, 23, 24). Some rich mirror
frames appear in the Basle book (92, 95) and there is a large Indian ink
etching for a stUl more beautfful toUet-mirror in the Library at Erlangen.
Dolphins support the stand and surround the elegant frame, which is upheld
by a syren ; above, sit two weeping little Cupids, and the whole is surmounted
by a death's head. How full of thought is it, and how characteristic of the
ao-e, thus to combine this idea of death with the implement of earthly vanity.
In the London book, numerous patterns appear for the setting of jewels, for
twisted initials, such as were wont to be worn on ornaments, and for brooches
and clasps. " To give is more blessed than to take " (dare mvlto beativs
qvam accipere) stands on one as a device ; another shows the half-length
fio-ure of a lady with the inscription well lady well ; two other clasps bear
the words mi lady prinses, evidently referring to Henry's daughter by his
i Some specimens of these in the woodcuts in Mr. Wornum's book.

416 DESIGNS FOB VESSELS.
first marriage, the Princess Mary, who had been again received into favour
since Anna Boleyn's death.1 We find also earrings, one with two turtle doves
and the motto tvrtvrvm concordia 2 (the harmony of doves) ; also, girdles,
bracelets, and necklaces : in one of these sketches the pearls and jewels were
held by Satyrs and nymphs depicted in bold attitudes.3 Similar ideas appear
in designs for sword-hilts in the Basle book (96 — 98). In one of these, the
hilt is formed by garlands which a dragon is emitting like fire. In the
centre of them is a jewel, like a beautiful fruit, and at tbe end of the hilt is
a female figure, which is growing out of the arabesques. There is a similar
sword-hilt of great elegance, with armed children, depicted as resting, fighting
and supporting; it was engraved by Wenzel Hollar,4 and was stated to have
been designed for the Prince of Wales.
Holbein's ornamental taste, however, celebrates its highest triumph in the
designs for vessels, for plates with engraved ornaments,5 glasses, goblets, salt
cellars, tankards, and table services. How distinctly and clearly, and with
what jubilant mirth, is not the merry festive spirit of the Renaissance expressed
in them ! Throughout the material is considered, and the form corresponds
with the character of a noble metal ; but with equaUy great understanding,
expression is also given to the object of the vessel. Among Hollar's engrav
ings,6 we find specimens of tankards, with or without mouths, therefore for
pouring out or for drinking, probably of silver, and for the most part intended
for beer, which was brought in England also to the table of the nobles. One
of the two tankards (2636), the body of which, convex in form, enlarges towards
the top, with its broad mouth and graceful handle, shooting upwards like a
tender flower-stalk, thoroughly expresses the delight of lavish distribution.
Utterly different is the other, which, vase-like, rests on a slender foot : pro
bably it was intended to contain a warm drink, for the lid has the character of
closing firmly and effectively ; the mouth is formed by a serpent proceeding
from the lower part of the body of the tankard and corresponding with the
handle, which is fashioned like the tail of a rattlesnake. Those parts in which
the function of the vessel is most plainly expressed, are well entitled to assume
such animal forms, thus obtaining increased life and giving the whole work a
more decided tendency. Antiquity had already afforded the most beautiful
examples of this.
And then those graceful drinking vessels on slender base," rising so highly
1 King's Library, i. No. 14. 2 Sketch-book, No. 30. 3 Copy in Wornum, p. 85.
i Parthey, 2599. Other sketches for parts of swords and daggers, 2596 — 2598.
5 Brlangen Library. British Museum Sketch-book, No. 122.
G Parthey, 2634—2637.
7 Hollar, pp. £6—33. Basle Sketch-book, 89, 99, 100, 102, 103, 104. Several among the
goldsmith sketches of the Basle Museum, U. 12, especially No. 71. Woodcuts, No. 44, a  c.

DESIGNS FOB VESSELS. 417

and with such elasticity, that a. vigorous life seems pulsating even in the most
delicate ornament. The antique type is preserved, but it is freely handled and
ingeniously modified, and all those richer technical appliances which stood at
the disposal of modern art are turned to account. The most varied accessories,
half-plastic, half-picturesque in idea, are lavished on them; with this richness
an adherence to the laws of style was all the more difficult, and yet these are
preserved with as much delicacy as decision. Almost exclusively they were
show vessels ; nevertheless the first rule of style, that the object if not actual,
yet supposed, must be expressed, was throughout observed. Holbein's vessels
do not incur the danger of betraying at once, " that they were made only for
the sake of the picturesque or plastic art introduced in them," as is the case
with so many of our present splendid works, and with almost all that is pro
duced in our modern world-famed porcelain manufactories and goldsmiths'
ateliers, by that desire for ingenious, though indeed spiritless love of design,
combined with moderate self-estimation, which will not consent to take a
subordinate position. We may refer especially to these inventions of the
master of German Renaissance, the words which the greatest living judge, of
technical art says of the productions of the Renaissance : " Playfully, and
without study, the sense of that which is represented is linked with the object
which it is intended to adorn. It moves freely within the formal limits pre
scribed, accommodating itself to the whole, rendering it complete without
dispensing with the right of independent existence. Its relation to the whole
is far more close than to the purely intellectual character of the subject."1 '
The latter is often only very slightly connected with the intention of the
object adorned. Medallions with heads often adorn the body of the vessel,
and figures stand on the knobs of the lid. It would be idle to inquire as to
their special signification, they are only intended to be cheerful festive figures ;
hence the immortal gods of antiquity, Jupiter, Neptune, a small Cupid, and
even the severer figure of Themis with her balance, are chosen. The relation
is closer and the design more humorous, when a goblet, such as that engraved
by Hollar,2 is crowned by the figure of Moderation, mingling water and wine.
Only exceptionaUy does a more serious thought seem to be emphasized ; as,
for instance, in one of the most elegant goblet designs which Holbein executed
for the German goldsmith, Hans von Antwerp.3 Winged figures, bearing
torches, are resting at the foot, and on the lid above stands the figure of Truth
with a torch and an open book. This may, perhaps, have been conceived
as an acknowledgment of Protestant opinion.
AU Holbein's designs for vessels are, however, surpassed by the cup of
Queen Jane Seymour, the great etching of which is preserved in the Bodleian
i G. Semper, " Der Stil," &c, ii. p. 87. 2 Parthey, 2626.
3 Basle Sketch-book, No. 104.
E li

418 JANE SEYMOUE'S TANKABD.

Library, at Oxford.1 The initials of the King and Queen, H. and J., entwined
with a love-knot, appear frequently in it, and also Jane Seymour's motto,
bound to obey and to serve — a fitting device, certainly, for a consort of
Henry VIIL The general effect of colour, the splendid combination of gold,
pearls, and jewels, is indicated in the sketch. Adorned with foliage and
dolphins, masks and angels' heads, the stem grows upwards with a living
impulse, which gracefully terminates in overhanging branchwork and faUing
pearls, embodying the idea of pressure from above and elastic activity. In
contrast to the playful lightness below, the body of the vessel is studded
with embossments ; horizontal divisions and alternating ornament, sometimes
projecting plastically, sometimes remaining picturesquely on the surface, give
a slender and graceful appearance to the form ; while the busts of Roman
warriors, beauties, and emperors, stand out strongly from the centre medal
lions. Lastly, how exultingly and joyously does everything tend upwards
towards the lid with its mermaids, who, with all their power, are blowing in
trumpets of flower-stalks, while two happy Cupids above are holding the
shield with the royal crown !
In this splendid piece of work, Holbein set himself no easy task. The
whole is composed of a number of horizontal parts and members. The rich
ness and variety of the different decorative elements seem to be endless, and
all this breaks and changes the profile of the whole. And in spite of this, the
ornament is throughout subordinate to the fundamental form ; and from what
ever side we regard the vessel, its distinct contour and its clear characteristic
outline ever meet the eye.
Far more simple, but no less beautiful and significant, is the design for a
clock, a woodcut of which we have here inserted, first a sketch of the whole,
and then the crowning of it, in the same size as the original. This may have
been among the last works which Holbein executed, for the sketch in the
British Museum contains the observation : " New Year's gift, executed for the
King's chamberlain, by Anthony Denny, and presented by him to the King at
the beginning of the year 1544." 2 When this took place, the designer had
been dead for many months.
In Henry the Eighth's time, clocks were among the most favourite articles
of luxury at the court; great sums were expended on them, and in West
minster Palace aud Hampton Court a person was appointed for the winding
1 Issued as a photograph by the South Kensington Museum. An old copy is in the British
Museum, King's Library, Closet i. No. 13. Engraved in " Specimens of Ornamental Art,"
and in Mr. Wornum's book.
2 King's Library, No. 15. " (S)trena facta pro anthony deny, Camerario regis, quod in initio
noui anni, 1544, regi dedit." A document of that period certainly written by the person who
had ordered it, and who adds some observations for the clockmaker. In the original, there
are opened double doors at the sides of the hour-glass ; they are here omitted, as disturbing
the contour, which makes this part appear somewhat too narrow.

CLOCK FOK HKNltV VIII.
[Skpfrh. Kniisli iMusPiim.)

ORNAMENT FOR THE CT.OCK OF HENRY VIII.
^krtch. British Museum,)

HENBY THE EIGHTH'S CLOCK. 419
up and regulation of the clocks.1 In this gift, the plastic art was scarcely less
placed in requisition than the skill of the clockmaker. Here, also, metal was
certainly intended as the material, and it was indeed generally selected in the
Eenaissance period in the formation of vessels. The Gothic, in similar tasks,
allowed the constructive character to predominate ; Holbein's design, in the
true spirit of the Eenaissance, is of a purely plastic nature. How excellently,
however, are the thoroughly plastic forms adapted to their technical posi
tion, as, for instance, those Satyr Hermes at the base, which assume the figure
of an ear or handle ! No less characteristic is the third supporting Satyr
Hermes, in front of the hour-glass, and the whole is charmingly crowned by
a group of children supporting the dial-plate and the crown. Not only do
they delight the eye by their beautiful outline and true Raffaelle-like grace ;
but they embody in the most speaking manner, that striving after roundness
which is proclaimed in the whole structure, and aid in the distinct expression
of the three processes of receiving, bearing, and transferring.
Thorough architectural knowledge alone could have enabled the master
to labour for art-industry with such just principles of style. The back
grounds of many of his pictures furnish us with evidence of his architectural
talent. That he had, however, also practically cultivated this talent, we learn
from an authentic source, namely, a letter from the Basle Council, which we
shall mention in the following chapter, in which especial weight is laid on
the fact that Holbein can be helpful to the city with his advice in building
matters. In England various architectural works have indeed been ascribed to
him, but in this instance the tradition can never be traced to any reliable source.
If his name was attached to the ruined gate of Henry VIIL, near Whitehall,
it was a great misunderstanding ; for, from the pictures of it, it was a pre
dominantly Gothic work, in which the Tudor arch still prevailed. With
equal error, a small and graceful portal was ascribed to Holbein, the remains
of a vanished castle at Wilton, near Salisbury, the seat of the Pembroke
famUy. Here indeed there is decided Renaissance, even nobly developed in the
forms of the columns, and once, as the indications of colour allow us to infer,
exhibiting excellent polychromatic skill, but the character of the whole, as is
shown especially in the crowning, is far too feeble for us to think of Holbein
as its architect; and besides this, the costume of the half-length figures,
introduced in several of the medallions, show that the work was executed
near the close of tbe sixteenth century. The architecture of England seems to
have been less under the influence of Holbein than of other artists in the service
of the King, especially of the Italians, and Antonio Toto, for instance, built
the since ruined residence of Nonesuch in the county of Surrey.
The ceiling of the chapel of St.' James' Palace is also attributed to Holbein,
but likewise without any external evidence. Nevertheless, the style of the
1 N H. Nicholas, " The Privy Purse Expenses of King Henry the Eighth," p. 310.
E E 2

420 SKETCH FOB A FIBEPLACE.

scroll and leaf-ornaments on a blue ground, with rich gilding,1 does not at
any rate contradict the assertion, and the origin of the work occurs in his
time ; the date 1540, and the initials of Henry and his fourth consort, Anne
of Cieves, are repeatedly introduced between the ornaments.
Only one architectural decorative work can be certainly traced to our
master, and this is authenticated by the original sketch in the British
Museum.2 It is a fireplace, we infer from the arms, and was certainly in
tended for a palace. This splendid work is conceived thoroughly in
monumental style. It is a kind of portal structure in two stories, which
might have reached to the ceiling ; each story is terminated by two pairs of
columns, Doric below and Ionic above. Between the lower columns there is
the broad, low fireplace ; its pediment, which is somewhat compressed, is
filled with the representation of a battle, but in the centre of the compart
ment there is a circular shield, surrounded by rich ornament, and containing
the picture of Esther and Ahasuerus. In the same manner, every part of the
work is animated with groups of figures, for the most part not picturesquely
composed, but in relief. In the embrasures near the lower arch, there are
two medallions with a male and female half-length figure in the antique
style. The rich frieze above the lower columns is formed of leaf-work with
dogs' heads, a strange combination, and yet beautifully and successfuUy
executed; in the centre is the King's signature, supported by griffins.
The upper story, divided into three compartments by Hermes, bearing fruit-
baskets, contains on the right and left medallions with the sitting figures of
Justice and Charity, each time with Henry's signature above them, and in the
centre is the beautiful and life-like representation of a combat of horsemen,
while below are the English arms. A strong cornice terminates the whole.
Whoever designed this structure, full of grace and splendour as regards separate
forms, with a fine style of ornament, and especially distinguished for beauty
of proportion and admirable division of space, was able to direct the English
architecture of his time to better things, had time and opportunity been
afforded him for activity on a large scale in this branch of art.
But his activity in small matters, whenever it was called forth, is worthy
of high esteem, and at the present time especially, in which all those who
are artistically disposed to take interest in art-industry wUl know how to
estimate Holbein's productions in this department of art. Towards the middle
of the sixteenth century the art-handicraft of Germany had reached a height
in all its branches, which we can only contemplate at the present day with
1 See a short description in Richardson, " Architectural Remains of the Reigns of Elizabeth
and James I.," London, 1838.
2 King's Library, No. 23.
3 Walpole, who possessed this sketch, mentions a notice of Peacham's respecting a drawing
by Holbein for a fireplace for Henry's New Palace at Bridewell.

BEN A ISSA NCE ART. 42 1

admiration. It was in no degree inferior to the productions of Italy, and it
had equaUed France in nobleness of taste and power of invention. As the
most beautiful, however, that the German mind could devise in this branch of
art, the creations of Hans Holbein stand foremost. In the development of his
ornamental style, he took precedence of all those masters who by their skill
in ornament so effectively contributed to spread the Renaissance taste, and he
rivalled them as much in mind as in purity of artistic feeling. No work
of Benvenuto Cellini's, or of those numerous other masters whose works now
usually pass under CeUini's name, can compete with many of his daggers, or
with Jane Seymour's tankard.
If Holbem did not build the apartments of the English monarch,
yet a great part of their adornment was due to his invention, not only
the paintings which decorated them, but the fireplaces and other splendid
works, the artistically-devised weapons which ornamented the walls, the
utensils and costly vessels which stood in the halls and apartments, and the
smaUest objects of decoration and use, even to the costume and ornaments of
the people who inhabited these apartments.
The appearance of the King, as Holbein painted him from head to foot in
the wall-painting at Whitehall, was also in the original in great measure his
work. He had designed the setting of the jewels on his dress and hat, he had
traced the embroideries which covered his jerkin and adorned the edge of his
mantle, he had devised the splendid necklace and the splendid medal on his
breast, the dagger with its rich hUt and its beautiful scabbard, and even
perhaps the band of the hat and the Spanish work on the collar. Thus the
master, fuU of the spirit of Renaissance, conceived the Beautiful as an ele
ment of happiness and wealth, which should pervade the entire life, and
considered the smaUest thing worthy of being so treated and fashioned,
that it should harmonize with highly-cultivated artistic feeling.

CHAPTER XXV.
Holbein's journeys by royal order. — The birth of the Prince of Wales and the death of Queen
Jane Seymour. — New wooing. — Holbein sent to Brussels to paint the bride. — The por
trait of Christina, duchess of Milan. — Holbein appears in the "Expenses of the House
hold." — His visit to Basle.— Appointment from the Council. — Portraits of the Prince of
Wales. — Henry's marriage with Anne of Cleves. — Holbein's portrait of the Princess.
So joyful a day perhaps had never been known by King Henry VIII. as the
12th of October, 1537, on which Jane Seymour gave birth to a boy. Every
one had looked forward with expectation to this event ; hope had made the
King more cheerful and kindly than those around him had ever remembered
him before.1 Now at length there was an undoubted male heir to the throne ;
at the decease of the King, who began to be more and more corpulent and
weaker in body, no revolution was to be expected. The whole kingdom saw
its welfare and repose secured. Throughout the land bonfires were kindled
and public thanksgivings offered. But sorrow and lamentation foUowed on
the steps of joy ; the condition of the Queen, which had at first been satisfac
tory, took a turn for the worse after ten days, owing to want of care, and on
the 24th of October the noble and beautiful mother of the little prince was
dead. The King immediately afterwards left Hampton Court and went to West
minster, where he remained for some time in complete seclusion. The
Christmas festival was passed at Greenwich in mourning attire, which was not
laid aside by the Court until the day after Candlemas. But the Privy Council
did not long allow that the King should live as a sorrowing widower. The
future was not yet secure from uncertainty, as it hung on the Ufe of a single
child, and hence the Council urged the King, who appeared personaUy dis
inclined to the step, to enter into a new aUiance. Immediately after Jane's
death, Cromwell had occupied himself in the matter, and had gained informa
tion with regard to available princesses from the ambassadors and agents at
foreign courts. The French Princess Margaret, Marie de Guise, at that time
Dowager Duchess of LongueviUe, and subsequently Queen of Scotland, were
thought of. Cromwell seems also to have entered into correspondence with
the envoy in Flanders, John Hutton, as well as with the ambassador in Paris.
1 Froude, iii. c. iv. ; Hail's " Chronicle."

NEW WOOING. 423

The former was to look about the Court at Brussels, or elsewhere in the neigh
bourhood, for ladies who could be proposed to the King, — such seems to have
been the purport of his order. After receiving Cromwell's letter, Hutton
writes on the 4th of December,1 that he had made " as myche secret sherche
as the tyme wold permyt. The which albeit had byn of lengar countenew-
ance," he adds, " I cold not perceive that anny sherche cold have found wone
soo notable a personage, as wen meit lyknyd to that noble Eaynge." There is,
he says, " a lady of thage of 14 yerres, daughtar unto the Lord of Breidrood,
of a goodly stature,'' who it was thought would have a good dowry, also the
" wyffe of the late Yerle of Egmond," who was indeed over forty, " the wiche
dothe not apeire in my judgment by hir face." Lastly, there was also " the
Duchess of MyUayne," whom he had not seen, but who was reported to be " a
goodly personage and of excellent beautie." Here Hutton had hit upon the right
one. Christina, the young niece of the Emperor, daughter of King Christian
of Denmark, had been thought of by the English court. Since the 24th of
October, 1535, she had lost her husband, Duke Francesco Maria Sforza of
Milan, to whom she had been married the previous year. The union of Henry
with her would have been the best token of a new and friendly relation
between England and the Emperor, which would have proved to all Europe
that the divorce of his aunt, Catherine of Aragon, had been completely
forgotten and forgiven. Charles V. had aheady received with eagerness a hint
respecting Henry's inclination. When the matter had gone so far, the usual
etiquette in princely wooings was observed on the part of the English court ;
the wooer despatched a painter to take the portrait of the lady of his choice.
This seems to have been the custom since the time of Charles VI. of France.
His guardians had despatched the most experienced painter to depict the
princesses in question, and after seeing the portraits the young King had
decided in favour of Isabella of Bavaria.2 Thus also Jan van Eyck was sent
to Portugal in the year 1428, to paint the iUustrious bride of Duke Philip
the Good. Holbein was now despatched to Brussels on the same mission.
"Pleasithe your good Lordshipe, to be advertissid," wrote Hutton to
Cromwell on the 14th of March, 1538, "that the 10th of this present moneth e
in the evening arivid here your Lordshipis sarvand Phillip Hobbie, accom-
penied with a sarvand of the Kynges Majisties namyd Mr. Haunce, by wiche
Phillip I recevyd your Lordshippis letter, beryng date at Saynet Jamys, the
second day of this present. Theffect whereof apercevyd, havyng the day
beffore sent wone of my sarvandes towardes youre Lordshipe withe a picture
of the Duches of Myllain, I thought it very nessisarie to stey the same, for
that in my openion it was not soo perffight as the cawsse requyrid, neyther as
i " State Papers," vol. viii.
2 "Chronicle of the Monks of St. Denis," chap. v. Quoted by Count de Laborde, "La
Renaissance des Arts," &c. p. 56.

424 POETEAIT OF THE DUCHESS OF MILAN.
the said Mr. Haunce coold make it. TTppon wiche determination I dispachid
another of my sarvandes in post to return the same, wiche your Lordshipe
shall receve by this berrar." Hutton informs him further that on the
foUowing morning be had sought an interview with the Regent of the
Netherlands, Queen Marie, and also with her niece, the Duchess of Milan, and
had communicated to them that Cromwell " hed hard great commendation of
The furme, beautie, wisdom, and other verteos qualiteis, the wiche God had
indewid the said Duches with," and that he " cold perceve no mean more meit
for the advauncement of the same (i.e., marriage) then to procure her perffight
picture." Therefore his " Lordshipe had sent, in compeny of your said sarvand,
a man very excellent in makyng phisanymies ; '' and he desired that his servant
might be allowed to greet her ducal grace and to request that she would please
to fix time and place, when the said painter could fulfil his task. On the
same day Hobbie had audience, and the day after, the 12th of March, at
" wone of the cloke in the aftrenoon," a gentleman from the Court fetched
Mr. Haunce; " whoo," says Hutton, " havyng but three owers space hathe shoid
hymself to be master of that siens, for it is very perffight ; the other is but
sloberid in comparison to it, as by the sight of bothe your Lordshipe shaU
weU aperceve."
The painting which Holbein executed after this three hours' sketch
justifies the high expectations which the first drawing excited. It is in
Arundel Castle, and is known only to a few friends of art, as it hangs in the
private apartment of the Duchess of Norfolk, and is, in our opinion, the finest
work by the master which is now in England, and may be ranked with the
three most exceUent portraits in German galleries of which we have before
spoken. When the other painter, whose work Hutton caUs "but sloberid,"
painted the Duchess of Milan, she had laid aside her mourning attire, and
had sat to him in fuU regal attire. " You should have only seen her so," a
lady of the Court had observed to the English envoy. Holbein, on the other
hand, saw the princess as she was wont to be daUy, in mourning attire,
according to the Italian style. But this black widow's dress produces here
such an artistic effect, that we would not exchange it on any account for
the gold brocade and jewels which the noble ladies of that day usuaUy wore.
Christina of Milan wears a little black cap, enthely concealing the hair ; her
dress is of black satin, as weU as the over-garment, which is lined and trimmed
with sable. A narrow white coUar is seen at the throat, and the hands, which
are holding a pair of yellow gloves, come forth from white cuffs. A gold
bracelet studded with red jewels, on the left arm, forms the sole ornament.
The painter depicts her in full-length figure, in order to show her slender
form. "She is of taller stature than either of us," said the ambassadors
Wriothesley and Vaughan some months later. The head is in full Ught, which

fUKIKAlT UF THE DUCHESS OF MILAN. 425

faUs from the right ; the flesh tint is unusually transparent, though of a faint
red glow. " She is not so delicately fair as the deceased Queen," writes
Hutton, " but she hathe a good countenance ; and when she smiles, two little
dimples appear in her cheeks, and one in her chin, which becomes her well."
How thoroughly all this corresponds with the pleasing face in the picture,
which cannot be called truly beautiful, at least not regularly beautiful, just as
Wriothesley calls her only "competently faire," though charming in her
youthfulness. She was then just sixteen years old.
And it is just this which imparts such a charm to this painting. Holbein
has truly conceived it as an artistic task to paint a widow of sixteen, and he
executed this task in the most skilful manner. Christina stands before us as
half a child, and to this the honourable and princely mourning attire forms a
strange contrast. With her large dark eyes, beneath the slight and fair eye
brows, she looks as sweet and innocent as a roe. The simplicity of her whole
appearance, which is increased by the plain blue background, suits her
character. " She is very friendly," says Hutton, "very graceful in her bearing,
and soft in speech, she seems to be of few words ; and she lisps somewhat in
talking, which does not become her badly." He had inquired at first whether
her great modesty arose from mere ignorance or from natural inclination and
inteUigence; now, however, he observed her almost daily both in serious
conversation, in card-playing, and other pastime, and he perceived that she
did not lack wit at all, but that among many wise at the Court she was rather
the wisest.
All these traits we find in the picture, both in the expression of the
countenance as well as in the figure, and even in the manner in which she is
lightly stepping forward, but above all in the wonderfully painted hands,
which, in form and in the appearance of the fingers, are highly characteristic
of the delicate, gentle, and reserved nature of the young Duchess. The noble
flow of the drapery, for which nature alone formed the model, the beautiful
painting of the fur and satin, the fine effect of colour combined with great
simplicity of tint — all this completes this work of art, in which Holbein has
proved that he could not only be true and skilful in psychological conception,
but also elegant. Yet what noble, manly elegance !
The painting has been for some time in the possession of the Howard
family. Walpole says that Vertue saw it in Mr. Howard's possession in Soho
Square. It is one of the few works of art which remained to this house from
the collection of Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey. Sandrart saw
it in his possession in the year 1 627, noting it down with his usual inaccuracy
as the portrait of the King's "incomparable beloved one, a princess of Lorraine"
(unvergleichlicher Liebstin, einer Pinzessin von Lothringen) : Christina married
subsequently the Duke of Lorraine. Holbein had depicted her so vividly at
the desire of the King that he fell in love with her immediately ; but she

426 POETEAIT OF THE DUCHESS OF MILAN.
declined, and sent word to the King that she would have gladly accepted the
honour, " had she had two heads." This reply of Christina's is only a fable.
She seems, on the contrary, personaUy to have had a desire to be Queen of
England. When Wriothesley, at the time that political difficulties threatened
to prevent the marriage, urged her to disclose to him her personal inclination,
she blushed deeply, and said, " My inclination ? What am I to say ? " and she
added smUingly, " You know I am the Emperor's poor servant, and must obey
his wiU." Charles V., however, was soon of another opinion ; the alliance with
England was broken off, and even gave place to warlike threatenings.
The Earl of Arundel must have obtained the picture from the Earl of
Pembroke, with whom he had also exchanged the Windsor sketches. When
Carel van Mander mentions the opinion of the Italian painter upon Holbein's
Steel-yard pictures, he continues, " The said Zucchero was also delighted
with the portrait of a certain Countess, dressed in black satin, hfe-size, a
fuU-length figure, unusually pretty and weU painted by Holbein, and kept
in Lord Pembroke's house, where he saw it in company with some painters
and lovers' of art, and took such great dehght in it, that he declared he had not
seen the like in art and deUcacy even in Eome ; therefore went away fiUed
with admiration."
In the List of Henry the Eighth's works of art, at WhitehaU, which how
ever never gives the artists' names, we find mention made of a large panel
with the picture of the Duchess of Milan in a full-length figure.1 But we
find also a second notice : " Item a table with the picture of the Duchesse of
Myllayne." This second portrait is a half-length figure at Windsor, to which
Mr. Scharf has recently drawn attention, after the personage it represented
had been whoUy forgotten.2 Mr. Scharf's idea that this was the picture
made by Holbein at Brussels in three hours, we cannot, however, implicitly
accede to. The sketches from life which exist of many of Holbein's portraits,
especially the sheets in the Windsor CoUection, in which the whole effect
of the painting is given, the accessories are indicated, and the materials and
colours are noted down in writing, lead us to infer that Holbem on this
occasion also only made a sketch at Brussels. Nothing else indeed could
have been done in the short space of three hours. But even if in this case
we might suppose an exception to the artist's mode of proceeding possible,
we cannot find in the picture at Windsor that freedom and bold masterly
style which absolutely belong to a sketch from life, and which alone could
i Inventory of Henry VIIL, Gardrobe ; Bibl. Harl. 1419a. From the original in the British
Museum. " Item a greate Table with the picture of the Duchyes of Myllayne beinge her
whole stature.''
2 " On a Portrait of the Duchess of Milan recently discovered a. Windsor Castle; " Archse-
ologia, vol. xiv. With a lithograph of the painting by T. H. Maguire, as well as a sketch of
the picture at Arundel ; London, 1866.

BOOK OF HOUSEHOLD EXPENSES. 427

have excited such lively admiration in John Hutton. The picture at
Windsor is very pretty and graceful, but has something almost sober in
its treatment. It can indeed be just as little a copy from the large painting. It exhibits
some differences in the costume, for instance a somewhat larger fur collar, and
another position of the fingers, although the characteristic attitude of the
hands is essentially the same. Christina also wears three rings instead of a
single one ; namely, a black widow's ring on the little finger of the right hand,
and on the' next finger a gold hoop with a square black stone. We might,
therefore, believe that this is a copy by another hand of the sketch Holbein
painted from life. In favour of this opinion, we find the head, which the
sketch naturally gave most distinctly, by far the best part of the painting,
while the rest, which was only indicated in the sketch, appears far weaker.
The expenses of this journey of Hobbie's and of our artist are noted in the
book of his Majesty's Household Expenses, beginning with the 1st January,
1538 :x " Paymente in Marche: Item paid to Philip Hoby by the kinge
commandment certifyed by my lord privy seale lettre for his coste annd
expences sent in all possible diligence for the kinge affaires in the parties of
beyonde the See. xxiij£. vjs. viij..."
Immediately afterwards, Lady-day 1538, Holbein is also for the first time
mentioned in the Household Accounts, as receiving his quarter's salary of
71. 10s., a payment always paid at the expiration of the quarter. In order to
give us an idea of the worth of the sum at that time, we must compare it
with other salaries. A yeoman of the King received on an average quarterly
45s. 6c.. ; a page 50s.; Piro, the French cook, 66s. 8c..; Nicolaus Kratzer, the
King's astronomer, 51.; the surgeon, John Aylif, the same sum, but the King's
first physician in ordinary, 251. The two Italian painters, Antonio Toto and
Bartolommeo Penni, received together 12.. 10s. for the quarter, therefore less
than Holbein ; on the other hand, Lucas Hornebaud, as we have before
remarked, received somewhat more, namely, 55s. 6c.. monthly. The entire
yearly expenses of the Court under Henry VII. amounted to somewhat more
than 14,000/. ; under Henry VIII. they were hardly 20,000/. The income
possessed by a country gentleman, to qualify bim to be Justice of the Peace,
amounted to 20/. yearly ; 2 therefore, two-thirds of Holbein's salary, which was
thus rather considerable.
At the next term, Midsummer 1538, we find it registered: "Item for
Hans Holbyn paynter for one hole yeres annutie aduanced to him before hand
1 See Walpole ; also, Mr. A. W. Frank's " Arcbseologia," vol. xxxix.
2 See Froude, vol. i. chap. 1. The present English money compared with the money at
that day, stands in the proportion of 1 : 12, both as regards the real and the relative change
in the value of the coin. Thus, Holbein's yearly income amounted to about 360.., according
to the present standard.

428 BOOK OF HOUSEHOLD EXPENSES.
the same yere to be accompted de from our lady dey last past the somme of
30/." And again at Michaelmas : " Item for Hans Holbyn paynter wage 
nihU quia solutum per warrant." Such payments in advance were a rare
occurrence, and it follows, therefore, that the artist must have stood in
especial favour with the King.
At Christmas in the same year, he of course received " nihil," but it
is entered in December : " Item payde to Hans Holbyn one of the kinge's
paynters by my lorde pryvi seals lettre 10/. for his coste and charge at this
tyme sent abowte certeyn his grace affares into the parties of High Burgony
by way of his grace rewarde."1
How can this have been for a journey ? Walpole regards this amount as
payment for Holbein's journey to Brussels, when he painted the Duchess
Christina. But this had happened three-fourths of a year before, and the
expenses had been already settled with Hobbie. Moreover, High Burgundy
is in nowise identical with the Netherlands, but it was the name given to
the county of Burgundy (Franche Comt4), which belonged to the Emperor,
in distinction to the duchy of Burgundy, which was French. And that
Holbein was really sent to Franche Comte, appears probable, as in September
and October we find him in the immediate neighbourhood, namely in Switzer
land, as we shaU presently mention.
What could Holbein have, however, to do in the county of Burgundy ?
Whom could Henry VIII. wish to have painted there ? It is a difficult point
to answer. It could not be to take the portrait of another princess, for Henry
was stiU wooing the Duchess of MUan, and he could have no occasion for any
other wooing in the county of Burgundy in Imperial territory. It is not
likely that the King should have given him money for his journey to Switzer
land, although, according to mediaeval geography, the denomination " High
Burgundy" would not have been impossible for that country, for the
form used in the payment to Hobbie is simUar, " abowte certeyn his grace
affares." We may perhaps assume that Holbein had again been sent to the court of
the Duchess Christina of Milan. Certainly one fact, which has hitherto re
mained quite unnoticed, seems to speak in favour of this idea. In the August
1538, there is a payment noted down to Philip Hobbie, just of the same amount
as the payment in March, likewise for a journey over the sea, and mentioned
in exactly the same manner. Hobbie's second journey is evidently connected
with this journey of Holbein, who remained absent longer, and on his return
received 10/. more in addition to the common travelling money, which had
been paid to his companion Hobbie on his departure. It is possible that
1 The sum of 10.., mentioned in the middle of the text, is again repeated at the margin.
Mr. Wornum, probably only knowing the matter from Mr. Franks, supposes that Holbein had
received 20/. The sight of the original shows at once that this is erroneous.

VISIT TO BASLE. 429

Henry, who had received Christina's portrait in mourning attire, wished now to
see her painted otherwise. It is possible, also, that he may have sent her
his own portrait as a tender gift, and may have chosen the painter himself
to convey it to her. Perhaps, indeed, Christina may have spent some part
of the summer in High Burgundy, previous to the well-known meeting
of the Imperial and French courts at Cambray and Compiegne, which took
place in the end of September.
A month after his second departure for the Continent, we find Holbein in
his own home, and thus we perceive a very important reason for the advanced
payment of his salary; care for his family had induced him to ask for it
previous to his journey. The legal decision that no one might take a higher
sum with him from England than 51. without royal licence — a prohibition
under which Erasmus had once bitterly suffered — did not affect the painter,
as he traveUed on his Majesty's order.
On the 12th September of the same year, Rudolf Gwalther, who was at
that time studying in Basle, wrote to the antistes Bullinger in Zurich : " Hans
Holbein came recently hither from England on his way to Basle ; you can
scarcely imagine how he extols the happy state of things in that kingdom.
After some weeks he wUl return there again. If you, therefore, have anything
which you may have forgotten eight days ago in the whirlpool of business,
send it to me, and I will see that it is taken care of."1
To this visit Dr. Ludwig Iselin's interesting words refer in the sheet dis
covered by Herr His-Heusler: "Do er aus engelland wider gen Basel uff
ein zit karn, war er in Siden vnd Samett bekleidt : do er vormols must Wein
am Zapfen kauffen" (When he returned to Basle for a time from England,
he was attired in silk and velvet ; before this he was obliged to buy wine at
the tap).2 This short notice from a man who may have heard direct tradi
tions of Holbein from his immediate relatives, is almost the only one which
allows the master to stand personally before us as a living man. At the time
of his visit to his home, Holbein was at the height of his fame ; he was in
the service of the mighty King, and had recently executed for him the
important commission of taking the portrait of the Princess he was wooing.
In the same year, the beautiful creations of his former years, the Old Testa-
1 " Venit nuper Basileam ex Anglia Johannes Holbein, adeo felicem ejus regni statum
prsedicans, qui aliquot septimanis exactis rursum eo migraturus est. Quare si quid habes
quod nundinis istis ob negotiorum turbam a Te ommissum est, ad me transmit-as. Ego ut
omnia curentur videbo." Dated " Basileee ex asdibus Miconii, xx. Cal. Octobris, 1538."
Zurich State Papers. Letters belonging to the Antistitial Archives, viii. I am indebted
for this abstract to the kindness of Prof. G. von Wyss and Herr His-Heusler. Hegner first
mentioned this passage, which he probably knew from the transcript in the Simmler Manu
script Collection in the Zurich Library.
s To fetch wine at an inn from the cask was regarded in Basle, with its abundance of
wine, as a sign of poverty. Whoever was in better circumstances had his wine in the cellar.

430 LETTEB FBOM THE COUNCIL.
ment pictures, and the pictures of Death, were issued in woodcuts, soon to be
disseminated and to become famous in all lands, and at the same time
appeared those poems of Nicolaus Bourbon which extolled him as greater
than Apelles. Now, at length, the acknowledgment and reward he deserved
became his portion; and, joyful and self-conscious in the possession of that
which he had striven to obtain, he again set foot in his own city, in which he
had previously had to struggle with so much distress and hardship.
After Isehn has added that Holbein died soon after his return to England,
he continues : " His intention was, had God lengthened his life, to paint many of
his pictures again, at his own expense, as well as the apartment in the Town-hall.
The house ' zum Tanz,' he said, was rather good." We see frequently in Hol
bein's works, that he even understood how to be critical as regards his own
creations: this passage affords a remarkable confirmation of this ; his former
works satisfied him no longer, and as the Town-haU pictures were at that time
evidently damaged, he promised to execute them anew, and better than before,
as soon as he definitively returned from England. It is characteristic, that
the only production which finds favour in his own eyes, is the house " zum
Tanz," that genuine Renaissance work, in which his imagination rose into
the free world of ideal conception. In this we recognize the master again,
who created the pictures in the GuifdhaU of the Steel-yard.
Holbein had not obeyed the circiUar letter of the burgomaster who had
summoned him home in September 1532 ; the pension promised him was
not sufficient to induce him to do so. Twice during his absence in 1533 and
1537, he had been " laid out for the banneret," by his guild " Zum Himmel;"
that is, appointed as one of those who had to perform the military service of the
guild, and stUl he had not felt himself obliged to return. Now, however, he
found himself at the court of a foreign sovereign, and to receive money for
service from a foreign master was aUowed to no citizen of Basle without the
consent of the Council ; hence it was now necessary personaUy to arrange
these matters, and to gain longer leave of absence. Yet it seemed to the
Council an affair of honour to retain the man in his home, whom it had
formerly suffered to starve and to go away when he had not enjoyed such
fame. It is true the city of Basle could not offer him enough to enable him
at once to give up his advantageous position in England, yet between the
two parties the following compromise was effected, the whole tone of which
furnishes clear evidence of the esteem in which the master was now held.
Letter of appointment of Hans Holbein the painter : —
" We, Jacob Meyger,1 Burgomaster, and the Council of the city of Basle, do make known
and acknowledge with this letter that :
" From the special and favourable will which we bear to the honourable Hans Holbein,
the painter, our dear citizen, since he is famous beyond other painters on account of the
1 Meier zum Hirschen.

LETTEB FBOM THE COUNCIL. 431
wealth of his art ; weighing further that in matters belonging to our city respecting building
affairs and other things which he understands, he can aid us with his counsel, and that in case
we had to execute painting work on any occasion, he should undertake the same, for suitable
reward, we have therefore consented, arranged, and pledged to give and to present to the
above-named Hans Holbein a free and right pension from our treasury of fifty gulden,
though with the following conditions, and only during his lifetime, whether he be well or il),
yearly, in equal parts at the four quarters.
"As however the said Hans Holbein has now sojourned for some time with the King's
Majesty in England, and according to his declaration it is to be feared that he can scarcely
quit the Court for the next two years, we have allowed him under these circumstances to
remain in England the two years following this date, in order to merit a gracious discharge,
and to receive salary, and have consented during these two years to pay his wife residing
among us forty gulden yearly, i.e. ten gulden quarterly, which are to begin from next
Christmas, as the end of the first quarter. With the addition that in case Hans Holbein
should receive his discharge from England within these two years and should return to ns at
Basle and remain here, that we should from that moment give him his pension of fifty
gulden, and let it be paid to him in equal parts at the end of the quarter. And, as we can
well imagine that the said Holbein, with his art and work being of so far more value than that
they should be expended on old walls and houses, cannot with us alone reap much advantage,
we have therefore allowed the said Holbein, that, unimpeded by our agreement, for the sake
of his art and trade, and for no other unlawful and crafty matters, as we have also impressed
upon him, he may gain, accept, and receive service money from foreign kings, princes, nobles,
and cities ; that moreover he may convey and sell the works of art which he may execute
here once, twice, or thrice a year, each time with our special permission, and not without our
knowledge, to foreign gentlemen in France, England, Milan, and the Netherlands. Yet on
such journeys, he may not remain craftily abroad, but on each occasion he shall do his business
in the speediest manner, and repair home without delay and be serviceable to us, as we have
before said, and as he has promised.
" In conclusion, when the oft-mentioned Holbein has paid the debt of nature according
to the will of God, and has departed from this valley of tears, then shall this warrant, pen
sion, and present letter be at an end, and we and our descendants therefore are not pledged to
give aught to any one. All upright, honourable, and with integrity. This letter, signed
with our official seal, we have given into the hand of the oft-mentioned Holbein as a true
document. Wednesday the sixteenth day of October, anno xxxviii."
With regard to the payment of the pension to his wife, there is nothing
recorded in the accounts of the Council; it may therefore, as was often the case
with pensions of this kind, have been given out of the monastery revenues,
which stood under special guardians. After the termination, however, of the
agreed term of two years, Holbein did not return, and the agreement must
therefore have expired. For himself, England was far more advantageous, and
his family was at this time assisted in another manner. In November 1540,
Sigmund Holbein had died at Eome, after having appointed his dear nephew
Hans his heir, and in the January of the following year the wife of " Meister
Hansen " succeeded to the property after she had sent thither Franz Schmidt,
her son by a former marriage, as her authorized agent. That she herself sub
sequently settled in Berne would appear probable, yet no authentic con
firmation of this has been discovered.
Soon after this journey, we hear of the master again in England. In the

432 HOLBEIN'S NEW YEAB'S GIFT.
list of the new year's gifts of the thirtieth year of Henry VIII.'s reign, thus
at the beginning of 1539, it stands recorded: "By Hans Holbein a table of
pictur of the prince grace." And the corresponding gift of the King is also
stated : " To Hans Holbyne, paynter, a gilte cruse with a cover (Cornells),1
weing x oz. 1 quarter." He was therefore not portioned off like the rest with a
few shillings of money ; the manner in which Henry responded to Holbein's
gift shows how highly he esteemed it. And nothing, indeed, would have
afforded him greater delight than the subject chosen by our master. The little
Trince of Wales was his father's pleasure and hope : in relation to this child,
King Henry shows the human side of his character. Eichard Cromwell once
wrote from the Court, " When the business was settled, his Grace went to the
Prince and amused himself there the whole day, playing with him, holding the
boy a long time in his arms, and walking thus with him to the window that
all the people saw him and rejoiced." 2
And the Prince Edward was indeed a splendid lovely little boy. His fat round
little face seems exactly like his father's, as we see it in that beautiful picture
in the Welfen Museum at Hanover. The boy, life-size, and in half-length
figure, is taken full-face. He wears a red velvet coat trimmed with gold cord,
and the sleeves, are entirely of gold brocade. A red hat with a beautiful ostrich
feather, and fast tied under the chin, surmounts the closely fitting little cap
which covers the head. The delicately painted, thin, fair hah appears beneath,
and is combed over his forehead. EspeciaUy perfect is the painting of the fat
little hands, in which the slightest wrinkles of the skin are faithfuUy por
trayed, and the right one is holding an infant's rattle. The beautiful colour of
the dress, with the delicate red tint of the face, harmonizes weU with the light
sky-blue ground. Child-life is here conceived with graceful simplicity and the
most exact adherence to truth. Beneath stand some Latin verses, written by
the poet and diplomatist Sir Richard Morysin (died 1556), which exhort the
child to follow his father. He cannot surpass him, he is only to be like him,
and then the highest aim of human wishes is attained. Morysin considered it
advantageous to write his name beneath the verses ; Holbein, however, did not
find it necessary to record his own. Since the year 1533, with the exception
of his own portraits, we know of scarcely any painting marked either with his
name or with his monogram. There is something grand in this assurance of
the artist that his creations are recognizable in themselves, without external
authentication. An excellent old copy of the picture in Hanover is in the possession of
the Earl of Yarborough, in London.3 The original study for the boy's head is
1 That is, by the goldsmith, Cornells Hayes. Cf. Mr. Frank's " Archseologia,'' xxxix.
2 Froude, vol. iii. chap. 16.
3 See respecting portraits of the Prince, the excellent papers by Mr. J. G. Nichols, " A
Catalogue of Portraits of King Edward the Sixth," 1858.

POETBAITS OF THE PBINCE OF WALES. 433
in the Windsor Collection. At about the same time, at the most a few months
later, a somewhat larger picture of the boy was executed, in which the same
study of the face was made use of.1 It is now in Sion House. It has suffered
much from cleaning, so that the execution does not delight us in the same
degree as the picture at Hanover; but it also is excellent, and the hands,
which are somewhat altered in position and are without the rattle, are ex
quisitely painted. The boy is standing in full-length figure, dressed as in the
other painting, with a green velvet cloth under his feet, while a green curtain
forms the background. Below Morysin's verses again appear.
There is lastly a very pretty sketch, of which we give a woodcut,8 in that Basle
Sketch-book of which we spoke in the
last chapter. The style of drawing leads
us to infer that the sketch was made for
a small plastic work, probably some gold
smith's work. The little Prince, dressed
as in the paintings, is sitting on a pillow
on the grass, playing with his little dog.
The characteristic movements of the child
are delicately observed ; in spite of the
mere sketch and its small size, the like
ness is excellent.
In the Windsor CoUection there is
another sketch of the Prince, which is
distinctly to be recognized by his round
face and pointed chin, and which is taken
full-face. He appears about five years old, and it was therefore executed at
the latter period of Holbein's life. The profile of another boy of about ten or
twelve years of age, with a plumed hat, and bearing not the least similarity
with Edward's portraits, erroneously bears his name in the Windsor CoUection.
So long as Holbein lived no other artist, it seems, painted the Prince. To be
allowed to approach him at all, was a token of great confidence, for attacks on
the life of the one legitimate scion were feared, and he was guarded with
anxious care. Besides his regular suite, no one, of whatever rank, had access
to him, without the express order of the King.3
In the spring of 1539, the negotiations respecting Henry's marriage with
the Duchess of Milan were broken off, and the Emperor assumed a hostile
attitude towards England. A year was lost in useless wooings, and it seemed
more than necessary to hasten a new marriage. Charles V., and Francis I. of
1 Formerly imputed to Mabuse, until Waagen first named the true painter of it.
2 From the excellent drawmg which Herr von Hefner Alteneck had the goodness to make
for me.
3 Froude, iii. chap. xiv. F F

434 POETEAIT OF ANNE OF CLEVES.
France, had paid visits to each other and appeared to have forgotten their old
enmity; but their alliance threatened England with danger, and thus the
necessity became apparent of obtaining a secure ally. Cromwell's eyes turned
to the Protestant princes of Germany, and he obtained Henry's consent to a
union with Anne, the sister of the Duke of Cleves, — who, by his seizure of
Guelders, occupied a threatening position towards the Emperor, — and sister-
in-law of the Elector of Saxony. By this step Cromwell hoped to crown the
proud structure of his policy, to effect a lasting union of the Germanic nations
of Europe against Romanism and the Papacy, and at the same time in England
itself to see the religious party of the bishops, who had already carried out
their Six Bloody Articles, completely overthrown.
When this matter was begun to be set on foot, Holbein was again com
missioned to paint the bride's portrait. In July 1539, he was sent " vpon
certain his gracis affaires, together with Mr. Richard Bearde one of the gromes
of the kinge's privit chambre, with the parties of the High Almayne," and the
important sum of 40/. was paid them for their " costes and chardgis." Holbein
received besides 13/. 6s. 8d. for "the prepairacion of such thinge as he is
appoynted to carie with him." 1 This was without doubt a portrait of the
King, perhaps a miniature in a costly frame, which he had to paint and to
present to the Princess as a gift from his monarch. Soon after, the 11th
August, Nicholas Wotton, who was sent to Cleves, as a negotiator in the
marriage affair, wrote from Castle Duren to the King : "Your grace's servante
Hanze Albein has taken th' effigies of my Ladye Anne and the Ladye Amelye,
and hathe expressyd their imaiges verye lyvelye." 2 On the 1st September,
Holbein again returned to London, as the notice of the French ambassador
Marillac informs us : " King Henry has sent a painter to Germany who is
highly distinguished in his art, to take the portrait of the sister of the Duke
of Cleves ; he has this day returned." 3
Later historians have imputed to Holbein an unmerited error, and have
declared that his picture of the Princess was so flattering that it induced the
King to marry her, and thus prepared for him a disappointment, disagreeably
revealed by the sight of Anne herself. Nothing, however, less accords with
Holbein's nature than this ; he could not have done it had he even wished ;
the prime characteristic of his portraits is their complete truth, and Anne's
picture, which is nowise charming, affords one of the most distinct testi
monies to this fact.
There are, indeed, no authentic sources which impute this blame to
1 See Household Expenses.
2 Henry Ellis, " Original Letters illustrative of English History," vol. ii. 1825, p. 121.
State Papers.
3 Quoted by Mr. Nichols, " Areh-eologia," xl. : " Remarks upon Holbein's Portraits of the.
Royal Family of England.''

i-uujiiAii ut ANNE OF CLEVES. 435

Holbein, and Henry himself lays the fault of his disappointment upon
words alone, and not upon a picture.1 As CromweU immediately after the
King's first meeting with her asked how he liked the Lady Anne, he said,
" Nothing so well as she was spoken of." In his solemn statement in the nego
tiations for the divorce, Henry VIII. further declares : " I say and affirm, that
when the first communication was had with me for the marriage of the Lady
Anne of Cleves, I was glad to hearken to it, trusting to have some assured
friend by it ; I much doubting that time both the Emperor, France, and the
Bishop of Rome, and also because I heard so much both of her excellent
beauty and virtuous courtliness." When, however, he first saw her at Roches
ter, he found her just the contrary to what had been said of her. Yet those
reports which Henry accuses were not so brilliant ; at any rate the King might
have easily seen through them had he cared to do so, and he might have per
ceived from the first, that this lady could not have satisfied his demands. The
true state of affairs has been seen by Ranke with the eye of a great historian,
although he says but a few words upon the whole matter, and had certainly not
the same cause as we have to enter into the detaUs of the question.2 Pohtical
apprehensions made the marriage appear serviceable to the King ; " but the
apprehension had already vanished, and with it the motive for a Protestant
union had subsided, when the King's new consort arrived." He now gave
free vent to his caprice, and he found it no longer necessary to restrain his
egotism ; he sought to lay the responsibility upon others, and afforded a new
matrimonial scandal to Europe.
The King could not possibly have been unprepared for what he found. In
December 1537, previous to the wooing of the Duchess Christina, Hutton
wrote to Cromwell in giving him information with regard to possible alliances :
" The Dewke of Clevis hathe a daughter, but I here no great preas neyther of
her personage nor beawtie." And when the ambassador Nicholas Wotton
sketches her general appearance in his letter to Henry VIII. he writes thus :
i Burnet speaks of Holbein, and Stow indeed of " pictures," but that this was his own
addition is proved by the expressions of the King himself. Mr. Wornum carries the point
still further ; but when he alleges as a proof of Holbein's innocence, his conviction that the
marriage was a matter concluded .when Holbein was sent, he is in error. The Earl of Hertford
certainly wrote some weeks previously, on the 17th July, to Cromwell : " I rejoice exceedingly
at the good resolution of the Duke of Cleves and his mother and counsellors beyond anything
else, since the birth of the Prince." But the matter was far from being concluded by the
inclination shown on the part of the Cleve family, as Mr. Wornum supposes. In the very
letter which speaks of Holbein's coming, Wotton writes that Anne is not fettered by the fact
that her deceased father had promised her to the Duke of Lorraine, for she may marry whom
she will, and the Cleve counsellors are incliued to express this openly, lt was thus quite at
the beginning of the negotiations, and only at this stage, that the mission of » painter to
execute' the portrait of the Princess had any meaning and corresponded with the custom. It
was not till the 16th September, that the envoys from the Cleve family came to England to
conclude the matter, and the marriage took place late in the autumn.
1 Froude, chap. xvii. F F 2

436 DESCRIPTION OF ANNE.
" As for the education of my sayde Ladye, she hathe from her childehode (like
as the Ladye SybiUe was, tyll she wer maryed, and the Ladye Amelye hathe ben
and is) ben brought up withe the Ladye Duchesse her mother, and yn maner
never from her ellebow, the Ladye Duchesse being a wyse Ladye, and one
that very streytelye lookithe to her children. All the gentylmenne of the
courte, and other that I have askyd of, rapporte her to be of very lowelye and
gentyll condicions, by the whiche she hathe so muche wonne her mother's favor,
that she is very lothe to suffer her to departe from her. She occupiethe her
tyme moste with the nedyll ; wherwithaU she . . . she can reede and wryte
her (name), but Frenche, Latyn, or other langaige she . . . one nor yet canne
synge nor pleye upon onye instrument ; for they take is heere yn Germanye
for a rebuke and an occasion of Ughtenesse that great Ladyes shuld be lernyd
or have enye knowledge of musike. Her witte is so goode that no doubt she
wille yn a short space lerne th' Englisshe tongue, when so ever she puttithe
her mynde to hit. I cowde never heere that she is ynyclned to the good cheere
of this cowntrey, and merveyle it wer yf she shulde, seinge that her brother,
yn whome yet hit were sumwhat more tolerable, doth so well absteyne from
hit." This is Wotton's entire praise : he wisely says nothing of Anne's ap
pearance, and only adds that Holbein " hathe expressyd her imaige verye
lyvelye." The only man, in short, who was personally accused of having depicted
Anne too favourably (this blame cannot be attached to Cromwell, the con
triver of the marriage, who only knew her from report) was the Earl of South
ampton. He, however, had only written from Calais, whither he had gone to
bring the Princess to England and he excused himself by saying that "the
matter had now gone so far that he considered it to be his duty to make the best
of it."1 And even the praise of the brave warrior was not very dangerous. He
writes2 to the King indeed, the answer which he had given to two gentlemen of
the Court of Cleves, who had brought him a present from the Duke ; namely,
that the alliance pleased the King much. " When I heard," he says, " much
mention of the remarkable virtues of my present mistress, and of her distin
guished beauty, — which, I perceive, is in no degree less than was depicted, — my
heart prompted me to say that your Grace was inclined and favourable to the
alliance." The same letter, however, contains the characteristic passage that
the gentlemen had entreated him in the name of their prince to be a sincere
friend and counsellor to his sister, and to give her Grace a hint from time to
time, how she should behave and demean herself to his Majesty's pleasure
and satisfaction. And when stormy weather for some time impeded the
passage across, how did Anne of Cleves spend her time ? It never occurred
to her to learn English, or to try a little music, but she asked the Earl of
1 Strype's " Memorials," vol. ii. quoted by Froude.
2 Letter of Marillac, 8th of July, 1540, quoted by Ranke.

PORTRAITS OF ANNE. 437
Southampton to sit with her at the card-table and teach her a game that
the King was wont to play. — "And I assure your Majesty," he writes,
" she played as nicely, with as much propriety and good humour as I ever
saw a noble lady play."
When we hear these two statements of Anne's character and education, we
gain a distinct picture of the barbarism and lamentable ignorance which at
that time prevailed among the nobles of Germany, and in the small courts.
All that was great and good in Germany at that time was only to be found
among the people and in the citizen class ; in France and in England the
court and the aristocracy were higher circles, enjoying great culture. Such
a princess could only play a sorry figure among them. The citizens and com
mon people on the other hand were well satisfied with her. "The people loved
and honoured her," writes the French ambassador, "as the gentlest and kindest
queen they had ever had."1 And while at her arrival the ladies of the Court
criticized her coarse manners and habits,2 the chronicler Hall, the eye-witness
of her entrance and coronation, says : " Oh what a sight was this to see so
goodly a Prince and so noble a King to ryde with so fayre a Lady, of
so goodly a stature and so womanly a countenance, and in especial of so
good qualities." Somewhat later he speaks of her " most demure countenance
and sad behaviour."
With all this, Holbein's picture of the Princess in the Louvre accords
perfectly. Her countenance is good and regular in form, in spite of a some
what long nose, and she has even beautiful eyebrows, but her expression is full
of empty insipidity, devoid of aU higher life and of aU attraction. Her
stiffness is evidenced in the manner in which her hands are folded together.
Faultless in stature, she stands as stiffly as if waiting a word of command; she
is taken fuU-face, without a movement in the corners of her mouth or the
winking of an eyelash. All is characteristic even to the smaUest touch. Her
dress accords with the costume which Hall describes at her entry : a 'dress
of crimson velvet falling smooth and round, for after German fashion no train
was worn, and delicate folds of linen appearing at the bosom. Petticoat,
bodice, and the wide hanging sleeves are trimmed with a broad edge of gold
embroidery and pearls, and on her head she wears a transparent headdress, and
over it a cap studded with pearls and jewels, a necklace of rich and glittering
stones, and rings on many of the fingers, even on the thumb. This parade of
attire is indeed but little advantageous to the poor simplicity of the wearer,
but in its execution Holbein indemnified himself for that which was denied
him in the personage herself, and the painting is excellent in colouring, the
delicate reddish flesh tint affording an agreeable harmony with the glittering
gold and crimson of the attire and with the restful green background. Yet
i Letter of Marillac, 8th July, 1540, quoted by Ranke.
2 Froude. Communicated by Lady Browne to her husband.

438 PORTRAITS OF ANNE.

the nicety of the details is not so great as in other portraits by the artist.
The picture is painted on fine parchment, fastened on a wooden panel, and is
therefore probably a subsequent sketch from life, executed in colour, while a
still more perfect original is perhaps stUl to be found in a private coUection in
England.1 Besides this painting, which is life-size and half-length figure, there is a
miniature picture, now in the possession of Colonel Meyrick at Goderich
Court, which the author has not seen. Houbraken's engraving 2 of it shows
that this painting is taken from the same sketch. Here, too, the Princess
does not appear more pleasing ; but as regards its fine execution Walpole con
sidered this picture perhaps the most perfect of Holbein's works. Waagen's
opinion of it was equally favourable when he saw it in the Manchester Exhibi
tion of 1857. A miniature of Henry VIII. corresponds with it, and both are
preserved in extremely finely cut ivory cases in the form of a rose, which,
according to Walpole, are worthy of the jewel they contain.
1 A portrait from the Arundel Collection is engraved by Wenzel Hollar.
3 The Heads of Illustrious Persons of Great Britain : London, 1747.

CHAPTER XXVI.
Last years. — Generosity of the King towards the painter. — Henry's divorce from Anne, and
Cromwell's fall. — Marriage, of the King with Catherine Howard. — Portraits of the Duke
of Norfolk and the Earl of Surrey. — Portraits of the new Queen. — End of Catherine
Howard. — Henry's last marriage.— -Works for citizens. — The painting of the Barbers' and
Surgeons' Guild. — Portraits of Dr. Butts and his wife. — Dr. Chamber. — Holbein as
portrait painter. — His own portrait in his last years.
Henry's ill-humour towards his new consort was for some time known only to
very intimate persons. Before the eyes of the world he was chivalrous and
respectful to her, and personally he was kind to her, even if he held her at a
certain distance. The following winter months witnessed a succession of
splendid festivities, and the statesman who had brought about the marriage
still stood at the height of his power ; on the 8th of April, 1540, Thomas
CromweU was appointed Earl of Essex. Holbein certainly felt nothing of the
ill-humour of bis sovereign, for it fared with him better than ever. The
German princess was perhaps also the patroness of the German artists in
London; at any rate, we find the goldsmith Hans von Antwerp in her
service. The marriage itself brought increased work ; the festivities placed
the talent of artists in requisition. Rich gifts were presented on all sides ;
new opportunities were afforded for painting pictures, goldsmiths and jewellers
were kept in employ, and Holbein's skill in design was summoned to their
assistance. In June 1539, he again received his salary for the first time after
a long interval, for the year which he had received in advance terminated on
the 1st of April. In the end of September he received his 71. 10s. for the
quarter that had elapsed, but before this it is noted down in September :
" Item paide by the Kynge's highnes commaundement certified by my lorde
Pryviseales lettres to Hans Holbeune paynter in the advauncement of his hole
yere's wagis beforehande aftre the rate of xxxii by yere which yere's advaunce
ment is to be accompted from this present mich. And shall ende vltimo
Septembris next commynge the somme of 30/." Nevertheless, at Christmas
in the same year, therefore just at the time of the marriage, the usual
quarterly rate is again paid to the master, and this also takes place at the two
following quarters of the year 1540. From this it appears that the King must

440 CROMWELL'S FALL.

have given him those three quarter payments of 22/. 10s. probably for his
increased work, and from his satisfaction in Holbein's productions. No artist
in Henry's service had ever met with similar treatment, and this liberality
may have been the decisive cause for Holbein's allowing the autumn of 1540
to elapse without returning to Basle, according to his engagement. The same
did not indeed happen at the fourth quarter, but at that time the matrimonial
crisis had already occurred. On the morning after Midsummer Day, after the
very day that the King had for the third time shown himself so generous to
Holbein, King Henry VIII. ordered the Queen to leave him and to go to the
palace at Richmond ; on the 12 th July the divorce was pronounced, and was
received by Anne of Cleves patiently and phlegmaticaUy. Shortly before, the
Catholic party had overthrown the statesman who had thought to forward his
political tendencies by this very marriage. None of CromweU's predecessors,
neither Wolsey nor More, had faUen so suddenly as CromweU. On the 10th
June, in the midst of the Privy CouncU, the Duke of Norfolk went up to the
Earl of Essex and arrested him for high treason ; the badges of his office were
torn from him, and the gate of the Tower was closed behind him. The greater
number of the nobles saw with delight the overthrow of the upstart ; those
belonging to the old faith exulted loudly, and spent the night in noisy festivity.
CromweU had gone further in his efforts in behalf of the Protestant cause
than accorded with the King's intention ; it cost him no struggle to sacrifice
the statesman, to whom he owed almost everything that the English policy
had obtained. Thus on the 28th July feU the head of the mightiest and most
absolute minister that had ever held sway in England. Three days afterwards
Henry exhibited a new scene of his unsparing severity ; on the 31st July
three Protestants were burned as heretics, and three Catholics were
executed as traitors in Smithfield.
" The reign of Henry VIIL," says Ranke,1 " presents a grotesque and repul
sive aspect hi the intermingling of his matrimonial affairs with political and
religious matters." When on the 8th August Lady Catherine Howard, the
daughter of a strictly Catholic house, was raised to be his consort, the ascend
ency of the Catholic party was again decided. The Queen's uncle, Thomas,
duke of Norfolk, was Prime Minister, and in union with Gardiner he carried
out the Six Articles with the utmost severity. Those men who had stood high
in CromweU's time were now on the brink of ruin ; even Sir Thomas Wyat
was accused, but he was able to prove his innocence. The Roman Catholic
party even thought to have Cranmer in their power, when the King himself
took him under his protection. Neither this reaction, nor any subsequent one,
could, however, annihilate the Protestantism which CromweU's hard, violent,
yet grand and truly national policy had established in England.

1 Vol. i. p. 219.

POETEAIT OF THE DUKE OF NOBFOLK. 441
At this time Holbein painted the Duke of Norfolk, who was now standing
at the height of his greatness. He must, indeed, have known him before.
Norfolk had been, in Roper's words, the specially good friend of Sir Thomas
More, but, making allowance for circumstances better than the latter, he had
kept his Catholic opinions so far silent that he had made no hesitation in
acknowledging the King as head of the Church. Subsequently the King's
policy had suited him less, yet in spite of this he had been able to preserve
his high office and his voice in the Council, and had now at last gained the
victory over the opposing party. In the copy of his portrait in Arundel
Castle, an inscription gives his age as sixty-six. There are, indeed, so far as
we know, no certain authorities respecting the year of Norfolk's birth ; yet as
he appeared at Court as a youth about the year 1499, he was born probably
about the year 1475.
Yet among the numerous copies of the Duke's portrait which appear in
England,1 the picture at Arundel does not make the best impression ; it is
only an old copy, and the true original in the former Arundel Collection 2 must
have been carried elsewhere. According to an anonymous catalogue, on the
23rd April, 1732, at Amsterdam, a " Zeer uitmuntend Stuck door Hans Holbeen
de Hartog van Norfolk nooit zoo goed gezien," was sold for the high price of
1120 florins.3 The copy at Windsor, by Holbein's own hand, is very good ; it
is without inscription, and has a simple green background. The head here also
has suffered, but Holbein's masterly power is revealed in the thin expressive
hands. It is a full-face portrait, and from the beardlessness of his finely-
formed, reserved, and true statesman-like countenance, Norfolk appears as a
man of a former period. In the brownish tint of the flesh, the painter has
faithfully given the natural hue of the man, and with this all the rest accords.
He wears a dark over-garment trimmed with ermine, which displays the red
sleeves of the jerkin, round which hangs the chain of the Order of the Garter;
in his left hand he holds the white staff of the Lord High Chamberlain, in his
right the gold staff of the Grand Marshal of England : thus he exhibits all his
dignities. Holbein also painted at about this time his son, Henry Howard, Earl of
Surrey. The painting seems now to have disappeared : it is no longer in the
possession of the Norfolk family, neither in the palace in London nor in
Arundel Castle. We know it from Fruy tier's copy of Van Dyck's painting of
i A portrait at Norfolk House, London, engraved in Lodge's work, which exhibits the
Duke in an altered and more theatrical attitude, is a free imitation executed in the seven
teenth century.
2 Engraved by Vorstermann. Waagen praises the copy in Arundel Castle, and doubts, in
his German book, the Windsor picture : he modifies this opinion in the English edition :
" The head is very delicate in drawing, and the hands excellent, but the colouring is unusually
dull and heavy for Holbein."— P. 430.
3 Communicated by. Herr Siiermondt.

442 POETEAIT OF SUEBEY.
the family of Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, which belongs to
Lord Stafford. The famous Holbein admirer is depicted sitting with his wife
and children, and the portraits of his predecessors taken by Holbein, — namely,
the portrait of the Duke which we have described and that of Surrey,— each
with legible inscriptions, are hanging on the wall. Surrey, a youth of five-
and-twenty,1 wears a black cap with a feather, and a black mantle, from which
the right hand protrudes. Having moved in Italian society, he knows that
simplicity is more in harmony with a truly aristocratic appearance than the
overloaded splendour usual in England. His head, which is inclined to the
right, presents a knightly and inteUigent appearance, with its reddish fair hair
and delicate beard, long chin, and lively brown eyes, though there is a touch
of intrigue in the expression. Two sketches from life for this picture appear
in the Windsor Collection, and we find him here moreover a third time as a
boy.2 His wife also, Countess Frances, the youngest daughter of John de
Vere, Earl of Oxford, appears among these drawings.
Surrey belongs, both from his person and his fate, to the most remarkable
personages of this time. Highly gifted, and descended from one of the
noblest famUies, he was the most intimate friend of Henry's natural son, the
Duke of Richmond. Travels, especially in Italy, had completed his educa
tion. He had passed a youth full of love and knightly deeds, and his noble
poetic gifts rendered him, with his older friend, Sir Thomas Wyat, one of the
first Enghsh poets of his time. The briUiant period now dawning for his
family did not last long. A second time a niece of his father's shared the
royal throne, yet Catherine Howard, like Anna Boleyn, ended her life under
the axe of the executioner. Nevertheless the youth ever aimed high, and
took pleasure in fostering the boldest hopes. His indiscreet youth led him
not only to nightly excesses in the streets of London, but it allured him also
to utter hasty words such as had already endangered many a noble head.
That he was treated as a prince by his companions, and assumed arms like
those of the royal family ; that he boasted of the position of his house, and in
genuine aristocratic contempt of all " new men," — as, for instance, the Seymour
famUy, — declared that after the King's death the regency belonged to no other
but himself : aU this brought him to the scaffold, for in those days suspicion
and condemnation were almost synonymous. In the beginning of 1547 he
was executed, and it was only the death of the King which preserved his
grey-headed father from a similar fate.
Holbein also probably painted the new Queen. In the library at Windsor
1 Inscribed on a sky-blue ground : " henry. Howard, erle. of surry. anno, .etatis.
sv_e. 25." Engraved by Hollar. Parthey, No. 1509.
2 These three portraits bear the erroneous designation of " Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey."
This was his son, who was executed in 1572, on account of his adherence to Mary Stuart, bu
who at Holbein's death was still a little boy, about seven years of age.

DEATH OF CATHEBINE HOWABD. 4A3
there is a miniature picture of her, which may with justice be ascribed to him.
It represents a lady in rich attire and with a French head-dress, which was at
that time the fashion in England. The sketch in the Windsor Collection,
which is named " Catherine Howard," does not accord with this miniature, but
with a small oil-painting in the possession of the Duke of Buccleugh, which,
according to Mr. Scharf 's opinion,1 is decidedly of French work. Since Jane
Seymour's time, there is no portrait of the King taken from life, or of any
member of the royal family, which proceeds from any other artist but
Holbein. It now almost seems as if the rise of a new party had brought
forward other artists, even if only temporarily.
Holbein was not now treated as liberally as he had been at the time when
Cromwell was Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. He now also receives his
salary in advance, but only for half a year, at Michaelmas 1540, and at
Easter 1541 ; with the Michaelmas of this year, the account-books unfor
tunately come to an end. On the other hand, in the subsidy rolls of the city
of London, of the twenty-fourth of October of the same year, " Hanns Holbein"
is mentioned among the " strangers" living in Aldgate Warde, in " the Parishe
of Saint Andrewe Undershafte," therefore at the east end of the city, with
the addition that he had to pay 3/. from his income of 30/.2
In October 1541, Henry VIII. ordered a public thanksgiving that so
virtuous a wife had been bestowed upon him. The next day, however, a
letter from Cranmer discovered to him that he had been deceived. It now
lay in the interest of the Protestant party to overthrow the Catholic Queen,
and they succeeded .only too well in unveiling Catherine's frivolous and
criminal life before and after marriage. On the thirteenth of February, 1 542,
she was punished with death. A few months before Holbein's decease, the
King married, for the sixth time, Lady Catherine Parr, the widow of Lord
Latimer. Our artist seems not to have taken her portrait, but her brother,
Sir William Parr, subsequently Marquis of Northampton, appears among the
Windsor sketches, an elegant cavalier of pleasing exterior, yet without more
important characteristics. He is depicted in half-length figure, looking some
what towards the left ; the hands are resting in each other, and he wears a
fur-trimmed overcoat and a plumed cap. His fair beard is delicately
executed. On the left we see the study of his dagger, on the scabbard of
which stands the word Mors, and also the design for a medal containing
a fio-ure with two swords. In this coUection we also find the father of Parr's
second consort, WiUiam Brook, Lord Cobham, whom Holbein has depicted
with bare chest ; the shorn hah and the prominent cheekbones give the head
a very strange appearance.
At this period the artist seems to have had occasional leisure to depict also
1 Archseologia, vol. xl. p. 87.
2 Communicated by Mr. Franks, Arch-eologia, vol. xxxix.

444 THE PAINTING OF THE BABBERS' GUILD.
personages who did not belong to the highest circles. In the Vienna Belve
dere, there is a portrait, dated 1541, of a young man of twenty-eight, evidently
belonging to the citizen class. His face is beardless ; his atthe consists of a
black cap, black fur overcoat, and violet jerkin. He is sitting behind a green
covered table, holding his gloves in his left hand, and turning over the leaves
of a book with his right. The painting is striking from its unusually brown
flesh tint ; but the conception is true and lifelike, and the hands especially are
exceUent. A masterly portrait, according to the inscription likewise executed
in 1541, and representing a man of thirty-seven years of age, is in the
possession of Herr Siiermondt at Aix-la-Chapelle. The personage depicted, a
half-length figure, is holding a pair of gloves in his hands. His head, with its
full beard, is decidedly English in character ; the fine modelling of the face is
admirable, and the grand repose and simplicity of the conception is imposing.
A large chalk drawing in the Stadel Museum at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, is
marked with the year 1542 ; it is the portrait of a young man of twenty years
of age, with a genuine EngUsh physiognomy, whom the inscription names as
Magnus Petronius. To the same year belongs the portrait of a youth of
twenty-eight years of age in the Museum at the Hague, senselessly designated
in the catalogue as " Thomas Morus." It is, as Mr. Burger asserts,1 a picture
of the first rank. The individual, seen almost full-face, with short hair and
red beard, bears a falcon on his left hand, which wears a glove, and the right,
which is wonderfully painted, is holding the bird's hood.
To Holbein's latter years belongs one of the largest and fullest pictures
painted by the master in England ; namely, King Henry VIII. granting charter
to the masters of the Barber-Surgeons' Company, a work stUl in the guild-
house of the London barbers in Monkwell Street, in a hall rather unfavourably
lighted on the ground-floor. No work by the master produces at first sight
such a divided impression as this, not only from the style of execution, but
from the whole arrangement and composition. Holbein's masterly hand is
unmistakable in some heads ; others again are so unimportant and inferior, and
the figure of the King himself is so repulsive, that it is difficult to collect one's
thoughts before the picture and to appreciate its excellencies. The mixed
impression produced by the picture is noticed by Van Mander in his remarks
upon this " unusually splendid work : " — " According to the feeling of some," he
writes, " Holbein is said not to have completed the piece himself, but that the
deficient parts were painted by some one else. Nevertheless, if this be the
truth, it must lead to the conclusion that the completer of the work must
have understood how to follow Holbein's manner so judiciously that no painter
or artist can from good reasons decide that various hands have been engaged
in it." Van Mander has here passed his judgment somewhat too favourably ;
1 " Musees de la Hollande, Amsterdam et la Haye," p. 303.

THE T-A1JST1JXG OF THE BABBEBS' GUILD. 445
the want of unity in the picture is distinctly evident. But it is important to
us to hear from him, that even in his time the tradition existed that Holbein
had not completed the work. The historical dates support this tradition
perfectly. The thirty-second year of Henry VIII.'s reign, therefore 1540-41,
is the date of the Act of Parliament which invested the hitherto separated
barbers and surgeons with common corporation rights.1 Not until after this
of course could the picture in remembrance of this event have been ordered,
therefore only a short time before Holbein's death, who besides, as painter to
the King, was occupied with other works, and could only slowly complete so
large a picture. The composition of the whole certainly belongs to our master;
he transferred to the panel the heads of the kneeling foremen of the guild, the
greater number being from his own sketches ; the traces of pinholes by which
this was done are partly to be seen. In many instances he has also executed
the hands and the entire figure. A part, however, which has nothing to do with
Holbein, is the figure of the King himself. Not even its sketch can belong to
the master. Although somewhat behind, it appears by far larger than the
other figures. The height reached by the sitting figure of the King would
have been sufficient had he been represented standing on the throne, and this
was probably Holbein's original intention. At that time, the master of
northern Eenaissance would no longer have made such a concession to the
loyal reverence and submissiveness of the brave London companies, as to
depict the King, as the principal person, half as large again as themselves,
according to the antique mode of representation. Moreover the form of the
King is bad and drawn without understanding, the foreshortenings are a
failure, the figure does not recede, and the indifferent and careless arrange
ment of the costume betrays that Holbein had nothing to do with it. The
King sits there like an awkward wooden idol, the sword in his right hand, the
charter in his left, the crown on his head, looking straight forward, without
reference to the foremen kneeling below. The countenance itself is far better,
for here again the type of Holbein's Whitehall picture of the year 1537
furnished the basis, and it has been repeated with tolerable success.
Scarcely one of the other heads is in the original condition. Nevertheless,
many of them produce a splendid impression ; thus, for instance, the old Dr.
John Chamber, who is kneeling foremost at the right hand of the King.2 The
head of Dr. Butts next him has been much retouched, and that of T. Alsop
behind them is far feebler. That these three men kneel apart, and at the
right hand of the Sovereign, seems to indicate their higher rank. The rest
follow at Henry's left hand : T. Vycary, who receives the document with rather
feeble hands ; and T. Aylef (already known to us in the Household Accounts),
who is wearing a black cap. His head indeed, which is the best in the picture
in spite of much retouching, as well as his hands and his whole bearing, are
1 " Statutes of the Realm," iii. p. 794, chap. xiii. 2 Left from the spectator.

446 SIB WILLIAM BUTTS.

exceUent. Next follow N. Symson, E. Harman, a very life-hke face with a
snub-nose, J. Monforde, a complacent middle-aged man, with a beardless
expressive head, and J. Pen, a young man of slender figure. His face and the
heads of the two last masters, N. Alcoke and R. Ferries, are completely
destroyed. They are aU kneeling on a carpet, the execution of which is very
good. A second row of seven more heads, two only of which are designated,
X. Samon and W. Tylly, are of later introduction ; they are badly drawn, so
that no single chin is rightly placed, and their dirty yeUow hair is very
different from the transparent and warm brownish tint of the other heads in
spite of all their retouchings.
No particular evidence is afforded of the understanding of art by the
honourable guUds in old times, from the manner in which they treated Hol
bein's unfinished work. A dauber completed it, and did not even spare the
parts executed by Holbein. Only behind the King there is a gold embroidered
tapestry ; the rest of the background is fiUed with roughly painted flowers
and fruits, probably introduced at least many years later. The names are
inscribed above the figures in dirty gold colour, and in letters many inches in
height, like the inscription in Assyrian reliefs. Above on the right, there
was formerly, as is shown by a copy kept in the College of Surgeons in
London, executed in the beginning of the seventeenth century,1 a window
through which was seen a view of a Gothic church tower ; it is called the old
tower of St. Bride's, so that the presentation must have taken place in Bride
well Palace. Subsequently, in place of the window, a great Latin inscription
was introduced on a white ground, which destroys the whole harmony. The
picture is nothing but a ruin, in which we have to search with difficulty for
the traces of Holbein.
Two of the masters of the surgeons' and barbers' guUd have been also
speciaUy painted by Holbein, and indeed the two of most importance, namely
Butts and Chamber, both physicians-in-ordinary to the King. In these
portraits they exhibit just the same bearing as that in the great picture at the
Barbers' Hall ; the same likeness is evidently their foundation, and it may
therefore be inferred that the artist was commissioned to take theh portraits
also separately for their own families at the time that this picture of the
ceremony was in process of execution.
The half-length picture of Sir William Butts and the corresponding picture
of Lady Butts were in the National Portrait Exhibition of 1866, and are
both in the possession of Mr. W. H. Pole Carew. The head of the man 2 is dis
figured by coarse retouching, which could be easily removed ; the face of his wife
also is not entirely free from it. The inscriptions give his age as fifty-nine, and
hers as fifty -seven. Unfortunately we do not know the year of Butts' birth; it
1 This difference also appears in Baron's engraving of 1736.
2 Old copy in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

un. CHAMBEB. 447

is not even recorded on his tombstone at Fulham, where he died in 1545. Sir
William Butts is attired in a black cap, dark fur, and gold chain ; he is taken
almost in profile, looking towards the right ; he also appears as is well known
in Shakespeare's Henry the Eighth : in the second scene of the fifth act, he is
a witness of how the accused Bishop Cranmer is obliged to wait among the
servants outside the Council-chamber, and he points out this "strangest
sight " to the King from the window. Not only his weight with the Sovereign
has thus been immortalized by the poet, but also his good heart, and the fat
gentleman with his large chin looks indeed just as benevolent and easy as he
is acute and clever. His wife, the masterly sketch from life, whose portrait
is in the Windsor Collection,1 appears in simple attire, with the angular
English head-dress, and a fur-trimmed mantle, fine Spanish work on the
collar, and flowers at her breast. She is the true picture of a worthy
matron of the upper citizen class, and her furrowed, expressive, and
almost manly countenance is brought simply and strongly before us by the
artist. Still more important is tbe portrait of Dr. John Chamber in the Belvedere
in Vienna, of which Dr. Waagen2 says that in execution, modelling, and
coldness of general tone, as well as in the excellent hands, it accords more
than any other picture of Holbein known to hini, with his famous portrait of
Morett in the Dresden GaUery. Chamber, eighty-eight years old, according
to the inscription, appears almost in profile, in simple black dress trimmed
with fur, holding his gloves with both hands, and with his black cap pressed
far over his brow ; a venerable old man, full of deep seriousness, and of firm
character, whose furrowed countenance, especially in the lower part, is worn
with work in a manner such as we almost only see in men of the sixteenth
century, and scarcely ever in the present day.
This painting is perhaps the latest of those works which placed Holbein at
the height of his fame as a portrait-painter. He, the painter of the Court and
the aristocracy, now appears before us for the last time depicting a personage
belonging to the citizen class. It is one of the greatest characteristics of this
great portrait-painter, that they are not distinct classes and styles of men
whose portraits succeed with him especially. Every class, every age and sex,
is depicted by Holbein in a corresponding manner ; a worthy matron like
Lady Butts, and youthful ladies like Jane Seymour and Duchess Christina,
with all the charm that beauty and nobleness of nature impart ; the King and
the statesmen, Warham, More, CromweU, in all the exactness and importance of
their character ; and equaUy so the honourable citizen and the simple merchant
in his writing-room, such as Gysin and the men of the Steel-yard, or pro-
1 Encraved by Hollar (p. 1553). The old gentleman, who is here assigned to her as the
corresponding picture (1554), is quite different from Butts.
2 "Die vornehmsten Kunstdenkmaler in Wien," i. p. 170. Engraved by W. Hollar.

448 HOLBEIN AS POBTEAIT-PAINTEB.
foundly absorbed thinkers and scholars like Erasmus, who, separated from the
outer world, is completely lost in that which he is writing and producing ;
and, lastly, all the innocence and grace of child-life, as in the two children in
his family picture, or in the magnificent little Prince of Wales. " He makes
faces, and we merely masks," exclaimed Piazetta, when he saw the Meier
Madonna in the possession of Count Algarotti in Venice,1 and that was only
the copy which he saw ! In depicting each separate personage, Holbein took
the point of view which each required in himself, and gave to each all that
belonged to him, so that in looking at his portraits we only think of the in
dividual represented, and can perfectly forget the artist who has brought
him before us.
This principal quality of the portrait-painter, to place his own subjectivity
subordinate to the object represented, has only belonged to few artists in a
like degree. Albert Diirer, however much he strives in portraiture to retain
the smaUest details, aUows the peculiarity of his own nature to appear just as
distinctly as the character of the represented. The circle, also, of men in
whose portraits he succeeded, was limited. His men and women belong
to that small citizen life such as we find in the German Imperial cities,
thoroughly national in its nature, honest and kindly, though uncouth and
angular, and often pedantic. The Emperor Max, also, when depicted by
Diirer, seems included within this circle, for he appears far rather as " the
burgomaster of Augsburg" than as the knightly Emperor. " Meister Albrecht"
would never have been able to represent King Henry VIII. as Holbein did,
nor to penetrate so thoroughly into the depth of the nature of the English
statesmen ; he could not, moreover, have been sent to paint the bridal portrait
of a young and beautiful princess. Even a refined and complicated character
like Erasmus succeeded but ill with him.
The other painters, also, of this epoch, whom we admire to the utmost
in their portraits, are yet bound by narrower limits. Leonardo da Vinci,
whose portraits in many ways show most affinity with those of Holbein, as far
as regards their delicate perfection of execution and their acuteness of indi
vidualization, is really only at ease in portraiture when he has to represent
female characters of a peculiar kind, whose secret inner life he traces tenderly
and profoundly, seeking to read it as an enigma. Titian, again, can scarcely
depict any but noble natures. Though master of every means to make his
figures appear round and lifelike, yet truth in depicting the natural appearance
is never his real aim. He does not represent the man himself, but he borrows
from him only the idea of a free poetic figure of the heroic style, who seems
by the magic of colours to be transported into a higher existence."
So, also, the great portrait-painter of the following century, whom we are
most inclined to compare with Holbein, because he laboured on the same soU,
1 Algarotti, " Lettere sopra Pittura," vi. p. 134.

VAX D YUK— VELASQUEZ. 449

is the painter entirely of the aristocratic circles, and is in himself aristocratic
in bis conception. We only understand how fully to estimate Van Dyck's
portraits when we learn how he invited to dinner the people who sat to him,
in order to be able to observe them in unconstrained social intercourse and in
exciting conversation. He did not so much watch those whom he was de
picting in the daily routine of their doings and actions, as in society.
Holbein depicts men as they are, Van Dyck as they behave. Even in those
who have felt most deeply the storms of life, Van Dyck subdues gloominess
and care into slight and interesting melancholy. When Holbein depicts
a man, he thinks of nothing else but him — he isolates him, be places him
before him in unbiassed objective truth. Van Dyck, on the contrary, cannot
forbear thinking not merely of the subject of his painting, but also of the
spectator, whom he seeks to interest aud to fill with sympathy. In this
he only does what the people themselves were wont to do, so soon as they
appeared before the world. Had, however, Holbein's contemporaries deemed
this necessary, his eye would nevertheless have keenly penetrated the veil.
Though overladen with ornament and arrayed in festive garments, Holbein
has seen them at their work, in the midst of aU the cares and troubles of
active Ufe. In these men the whole seriousness of their age is stamped —
of that grand and agitated epoeh in which contests were fought which had
been prepared for centuries, and in whieh the soil was created for the doings
of succeeding ages.
In still closer relation to our master than Van Dyck', stands Velasquez,
who shares his capacity for exact and absolute truthfulness to life. Yet there
seems to be nothing more different than the delicate and careful execution
of the paintings of the German masters, and the breadth and boldness of the
Spaniard. But that Holbein was capable of this also, when it seemed to him
suitable, is shown by his sketches and cursory outlines, and is exhibited in a
work such as the cartoon in the possession of the Duke of Devonshire, or
Holbein's family picture at Basle.
If we look, however, for one among his own contemporaries who shows
the most decided affinity with him in portraiture, we can tum to no other
than Raffaelle. He, too, combines the utmost individual distinctness with the
most delicate taste. He depicts with the greatest sincerity even ugly charac
teristics, as in the portrait of tbe squinting prelate Inghirami at Florence ; he
knows how to raise his portraits, as, for instance, those of the Popes, into a
o-rave historical style. Lastly, Raffaelle, in his picture of Leo X., reaches that
rjerfection so especially admired in Holbein, a perfection exhibited in the
faithful execution of subordinate things, of the Prayer-book with miniatures, of
the bell on the table, of the mirror on the back of the ohah, in which the whole
scene is reflected, because all these accessories seemed to produce the tone of
feeling suitable to the representation of this personage. " The Portrait studies
u g

450 POETEAIT OF HIMSELF.
of Holbein show his affinity with RaffaeUe more distinctly than his composi
tions," says Rumohr, when speaking of the Basle sketches.
In the year 1543, Holbein painted again his own portrait, as it appears
in the miniature in the possession of the Duke of Buccleugh in London,
which is scarcely the original, but an old and perhaps contemporaneous copy ;
the same portrait also appears in the engravings of Vorsterman and Hollar,
though in both it is to be seen from the opposite side. Mander and Sandrart
both speak of such a portrait. The date is distinctly perceived in the minia
ture, but only the first figure of the age, 4 . . , is legible. If we study this
face and compare it with the youthful portrait in the Basle Museum, we shaU
perceive the similarity of form in spite of the difference of years. The simi
larity shows itself also in the expression of the eye, which betokens the distinct
observation and the calm self-confidence of the man. The strongly-project
ing round chin, which strikes the eye in the Basle portrait and in the
head of the boy of fourteen at Berhn, is now grown over with a short
crisp beard. Holbein appears in simple black undress attire, wearing a round
cap of the same colour ; both hands are seen, and the right is holding a
pencU. Thus did the master look at the period when he stood at the goal
of his labours.

CHAPTER XXVII.
Holbein's end.— The Plague in London.— The master's will.— Durer's death and that of
Holbein. — Comparison between Holbein and Diirer. — Alleged and true followers of
Holbein.— Christopher Aniberger.— Condition of German art at Holbein's death-
Further course of the Renaissancs in Germany. — Conclusion.
Often during the reign of Henry VIII. had desolating pestilences prevailed
in London, but the most violent of all occurred at Michaelmas 1543 : "Thys
yeare was in London a great death of the pestilence," say the chronicles
of Hall and Stow.1 After the constant wars with Scotland, and the feud
that had just broken out with France, this new scourge fell upon the people.
Holbein had repeatedly experienced the horrors of pestilence, even in his
native country — horrors to avert which at that time all human art and pre
caution seemed in vain. As they are depicted in the beginning of the
Decamerone, they again returned universally in the sixteenth century. From
the sick to the healthy the malignant poison flew, "just as fire communicates
itself with the dry or greasy substances which it approaches." Men sat at
the noon-day meal in perfect health, and lay as corpses in the evening.
Rarely did those attacked survive the third day ; the physicians knew neither
help nor counsel. The universal misery arrived at such a pitch that all
the bonds of social society were loosened. The feelings of duty and love
were benumbed by the fear of death, the sick were avoided by their friends
and nearest relatives, and perished without assistance and nursing. There
was a lack of human hands to keep the cities clean, to remove the corpses
from the streets and to bury the dead. The consecrated ground was too
small to receive the masses of dead, which were usually conveyed to their
resting-place without sound or music, or funeral train, and which were cast
into great ditches without distinction, in layers one over another. Whoever
could, fled the place over which the misery had broken out, and those who
remained sought refuge in penance and devotion, or stupefied themselves
with revelry and wild excesses, to avoid the thought of the misery around
them. 1 Stow : " And a great death of pestilence was at London, and therefore Michelmas terme
was adiorned to St. Albons." Hall : "Thys yeare was in London a great death ofthe pesti
lence, and therefore Mighelmas terme was adiourdned to saint Albcnes, and there was it kept
to the ende."
GG 2

452 HOLBEIN'S DEATH.
Just when the pestilence of 1543 had reached its height, Hans Holbein
died, and thus, without doubt, Carel van Mander is right, when he states
that the master died of the Plague,1 though he errs as to the period of his
death, as he places it in the year 1554, at a time when there was no
plague in London. The will of the master, discovered by Mr. Black in
the archives of St. Paul's Cathedral in the year 1861, renders it likewise
probable, from its hasty and formless style, that it proceeded from one smitten
with the Plague.
It is as follows : —
" In the name of God the Father, Sonne and Holy Ghooste, I, Johnn Holbeine, ser-
vante of the kinge's majestie, make this my testamente and last will, to wyt, that all my
goodes shal be sold and also my horse, and I will that my debtes be payd, to wete, fyrst to
Mr. Anthony, the kynges servaunte of Grenwiche, ye summe of ten poundes thurtine
shyllinges and sewyne pence sterlinge. And moreover I will that he shal be contented for
all other thynges betweene hym and me. Item, I do owe unto Mr. John of Anwarpe,
goldsmythe, sexe poundes sterling, wiche I will also shalbe payde unto hym, with the fyrste.
Item, I bequeythe for the kypyng of my two chylder wych be at nurse, for every monethe
sewyne shyllynges and sex pence sterlynge. In wytnes, I have sealed and sealed this my
testament the viith day of October, in the yere of our Lorde God, MivCxliij. Wytnes,
Anthoney Snecher, armerer, Mr. John of Anwarpe, goldsmythe before sayd, Olrycke Obynger,
merchaunte, and Harry Maynert, paynter."
Beneath in Latin stands the following confirmation : —
" On the 29th November in the aforesaid year of our Lord, John Anwarpe, appointed
executor in the testament or last will of John, alius Hans Holbein, recently deceased in the
parish of Saint Andrew Undershaft, appeared before Mr. John Croke, Commissary-General,
and re-signed the execution of the will, which renunciation was allowed, and the administration
of the property left was consigned to the before-mentioned John Anwarpe as sworn in, which
was admitted and accepted by him. The right of each intact. Date, &c."
" Holbene. — The 29th of the said month, the administration of the -property of John,
alias Hans Holbene, and recently deceased ab intestato in the parish of Saint Andrew Under
shaft, was consigned to John Anwarpe as sworn in, and was admitted and accepted by him.
The right of each intact. Said day of month, &c." 2
1 Iselin says that he died of the English sweating sickness. The tidings of Holbein's death
by an epidemic may have reached Holbein's home, and they may have thought of the sickness
especially prevalent in England.
2 " xxix0 die mensis Novembris anno Domini predict. Johannes Anwarpe, executor
nominat in testamento sive ultima voluntate Johannis, alius Hans Holbein, nuper parochie
Sancti Andrei Undershafte defuncti, comparuit coram Magistro Johanni Croke, Commis-
sario Generali, ac renunciavit omni executioni hujusmodi testamenti, quam renunciationem
dominus admisit deinde commisit administrationem bonorum dicti defuncti prenominato
Johanni Anwarpe in forma juris jurato et per ipsum admissa pariter et acceptata. Salvo jure
cujuscunque. Dat, &c."
" Holbene. — xxixno die mensis predicti commissa fuit administracio bonorum Johannis,
alias Hans Holbenii, parochie Sancti Andrei Undershafte nuper ab intestato defuncti Johanni
Anwarpe in forma juris jurato ac per ipsum admissa pariter et acceptata. Salvo jure cujus
cunque. Dicto die mensis, &c."

HOLBEIN'S WILL. 453

On the publication of this document, which establishes the fact that
Holbein died between the 7th October and the 29th November, 1543, eleven
years sooner than had been hitherto imagined, the English investigators1
thought it. necessary to furnish accurate proof that this Hans Holbein, servant
of the King, could be no other than the great painter. It is now perfectly
superfluous to repeat these proofs, for since that time, Herr His-Heusler has
discovered the letter of the Basle Council of the year 1545, referring to
Holbein's son Philip, in which mention is made of the "late Hans Holbein,
his father, our citizen." 2
The witnesses to the will were all or for the most part countrymen of the
painter. We have already mentioned the goldsmith Hans von Antwerp,
and his connection with the painter ; the merchant Ulrich Obynger is certainly
a German from his name, and probably belonged to the Steel-yard ; the painter
Harry Maynert likewise bears a name that sounds either German or Flemish.
Respecting Anthony Snecher, the English investigators have not been able to
discover anything, yet his name also sounds foreign, and he may, according to
Mr. Frank's supposition, have been one of those " German armourers at
Greenwich," whose monthly salary is noted in the Book of his Majesty's
household expenses, under this designation, without mention being made of
any special name ; he is probably identical with Holbein's principal creditor,
" Mr. Anthony, the kynge's servaunte, of Grenwiche," mentioned in the will
itself.3 And it is highly characteristic, that here at Holbein's death-bed we
find an armourer and .a goldsmith, for whose art our master had made such
numerous designs.
No executor is expressly mentioned in the testament, but Hans von
Antwerp appears as such on the 29th November. Mr. Franks gives the
opinion of an English lawyer, that the silent appointment of the executor of
a will was allowable by law. It is certainly a matter to be wondered at, that
it is not the first-mentioned witness, but the second who appears as executor.
But perhaps in this season of pestilence, the first witness had died meanwhile,
although nothing is said of it. When Hans von Antwerp declined' to be
exeeutor, it may have been his intention thus to defend himself from certain
duties, which may have belonged to him as executor, though not as mere
administrator of the property.
The picture which this testament affords of the outward circumstances of
the great painter is not brilliant ; he mentions nothing more belonging to him
than a horse and some effects, from the sale of which his debts are to be paid,
i Mr. Frank's " ArchaDologia," vol. xxxix.
3 " Beitrage ziir vaterlandischen Geschichte," Basle, vol. viii.
3 This is also the opinion of Herr His-Heusler, Appendix viii. The Fnglish investigators
bring forward other conjectures, superfluous, it seems to me, as the addition ¦' of Grenwiche
speaks in favour of the above supposition.

454 ALBEBT DUBEB'S DEATH:
and a modest monthly sum left for two children — evidently illegitimate, unless
we have recourse to far-fetched explanations. There is no mention made
of his family in Switzerland or of his son in Paris ; his belongings were
already provided for by the bequest of Sigmund Holbein. His honest uncle
in Berne, in the simple citizen and artisan-like exercise of his calling as a
painter, had obtained a small well-arranged property from the savings of his
work, yet a man such as Hans Holbein, for years regarded as the greatest
painter of the North, never attained to this. Although those stories of Patin
respecting the painter's dissolute life are decidedly to be refuted, it is never
theless quite sure that Holbein was not in especially comfortable circum
stances, as is evidenced, in addition to his debts, by the repeated advance of
his salary ; his necessities and his appearance may have been very different to
that of the guild master in his native country. Iselin's words show that he
delighted in splendid attire, and that he never disdained a draught of wine.
He kept a horse like Leonardo da Vinci, who had no greater amusement
than horses, and, although unwearied in work, Holbein had tasted the enjoy
ments of love, and rejoiced in the pleasures of life.
More than fifteen years had elapsed since Albert Durer's death. In his
dear old native city, by the side of his wife, in the house which had been the
scene of his rich and assiduous toil, he had reached his end. He had early
grown old and emaciated in his laborious work. Frau Agnes had latterly
scarcely aUowed him social intercourse, for which Pirkheimer blames her.
Diirer himself never complained of her. Although not yet fuU of days, he
had long ago put his house in order; a year before he had finished the pictures
of the four Apostles, and had presented them to his native city as a sacred
bequest, in which he once more expressed the deepest feelings of his heart.
All earthly matters had been also provided for ; his possessions were in well-
ordered condition, and he left his wife the value of 6,000 gulden, saved by
sedulous diligence. Theoretic and scientific works now occupied him most,
but when he closed his eyes, " A Saviour not yet completed, by the hand of
Albert Diirer " (Ein Saluator So Albrecht Diirer nit gar ausgemachtt),1 was
standing on his easel. The beautiful hair, the transparent crystal ball in the
hand, the luminous blue and red of mantle and dress, all were finished, only
not the countenance, as if the master had lingered here because he could
not satisfy himself in imparting the highest expression of divine love and
greatness to the features of Him whom he had so often painted during his life.
When Diirer had worked at this task, it was to him like a religious service.
And when in the Holy Week of the year 1528, the truest German heart
ceased to beat, the spring sun shone as joyously as ever into the room, and
1 Wilibald Indiof's List. A. v. Eye. Leben und Wirken Albrecht Diirers. The picture
is now in the possession of Herr Reichard in Munich. It was sold among rubbish by the
Haller family, and was discovered in spite of subsequent retouching.

COMPARISON WITH DURER. 455
painted the round panes on the wall, as we see it in Durer's engraving of
St. Hieronymus ; the various implements stood brightly and neatly in their
places, and a quiet domestic peace was spread over aU.
Holbein, on the contrary, died far from his country and from his people.
Suddenly, unexpectedly, pitilessly, the avenger Death approached him, just as
he himself had depicted in his series of woodcuts. Scarcely was time aUowed
him to make his testamentary arrangements in a few disjointed words. The
pestilence carried him away in the prime of life, and an abundance of plans
and hopes were buried with him. And while even at the present day the
simple tombstone in the Nuremberg cemetery of St. John's, with its inscrip
tion " All that was mortal in Albert Diirer lies under this stone," is a pilgrim
age for aU friends of German art, a century after Holbein's death the Earl of
Arundel could not find the spot in which the master rested, whom he valued
above aU, and to whom he desired to erect a monument.
The end of the two great German artists is just as different as their whole
life. Frequently in the course of this work we have had occasion to compare
Diirer with Holbein, for the most part in order to show how Holbein surpassed
the Nuremberg master with regard to form. This was necessary in order to
place Holbein's peculiarity in a distinct point of view ; no intelligent reader
will have felt it as a depreciation of Diirer. He and Holbein do not in any
degree stand as rivals with regard to each other, but each mutually forms the
complement of the other, and the work of the one fills up the measure lacking
in the other.
In one respect Holbein does not reach Diirer. Durer's greatness, like his
works, does not belong alone to artistic matters. Added to all that he achieved
in all possible branches of art, we find theoretic works and literary productions.
He had the power of expressing himself also in language ; various remarks
and letters of Durer's afford us an insight into the depth of his being, while
Holbein never seems to have felt the necessity of expressing himseU otherwise
than by means of his art, and his handwriting, however long he lived away
from his family and country, is preserved to us only in a few scattered observa
tions on his sketches and drawings. Holbein's hfe and his creations are com
pletely veiled : in Diirer, on the other hand, the whole man stands forth as
perhaps no other figure in the history of art. Not merely for the sake of his
art, but for the sake of his whole character, he was loved and honoured by
the Emperor Max and by the Elector, Frederick the Wise of Saxony, by Pirk-
heimer and Erasmus, by Luther and Melanchthon, and au almost unexampled
esteem was awarded him by his contemporaries. This is the great and
essential thing in him, that he experienced within himself the movements and
struggles of his age, and that in this respect the man and the artist are one in
him. Those three tendencies, the concurrence of which in Germany produced
the great historical revolution,— namely, the popular, the humanistic, and the

456 COMPARISON WITH DUBEB.
free religious tendencies, — he acknowledged equally ; and as Luther by the
combination of these elements was quaUfied for his work, so Albert Diirer also
thus became tbe Eeformer of German art.
For as such he wUl ever stand before the eyes of posterity. We called
Holbein at the beginning of this work the true painter of the German Renais
sance. By this we in nowise said that Diirer belonged to the Middle Ages.
The essential task of the modern period, none accompUshed more decidedly
than he; he allowed his personal feelings to assert themselves, and, bursting
asunder aU the fetters of tradition, they pointed out the path to him and
fixed the standard of his works. But it suited not his individuality to enter,
after the manner of the Italians, into the joy of that bright world of imagi
nation, and to conceive, beauty of form. He expressed the power of his
character, especiaUy in ideas. Endowed with a power of invention, such as
perhaps no other possessed, he brought under his sway a wholly new sphere
of representation. The mighty and the terrible, the humorous and the
cheerful, the familiar and the kindly, the marvellous and the ordinary ; all
find a place with him. The enthe national life of the period is embodied in
his pictures, and no one can understand the personages of the time who does
not know them from Durer's representations. Even that which seems inca
pable of figurative delineation, he charms within the kingdom of his art ; the
obscurest enigmas of hfe he seems to solve, the most vehement struggles oi
the mind he endeavours to express, characteristically enough beginning his
career with the pictures from the Revelation of St. John.
In Diirer, however, as Hotho1 says, Prospero's threat to rend an oak and
peg Ariel in its knotty entrails is accomplished. Diirer, as another writer
says,2 was the Prometheus, who imparted the divine fire to calm, ordinary,
and narrow men, such as the petty, limited life in his native country and
native city brought before his view, and the art which he found there created
them. For a long time there is no trace of linear beauty, or of any ennobling
of the forms of the body or the fall of the drapery. On the one side he
exhibits Northern adherence to nature, on the other side the unsettled con
dition of taste belonging to the period of late Gothic decline, which made him
seek for all that was motley and strange, rude and quaint. Yet what Durer's
works lacked in beauty they afforded in expression, and he found the suitable
vehicle for his mode of representation in engraving and woodcut, in which
wealth of invention and power of thought are more easily displayed than
a beauty which delights the senses. AU deficiencies of form were richly
i "Diirer Album." Berlin: G. Schauer.
F. Falke, '• Geschichte des modernen Geschmacks," Leipzig, IFG6, p. 105. Also A. v.
Zahn, " Durer's Kunstlehre und sein Verlialtniss zur Renaissance," Leipzig, 1866 ; A. Springer
" Der altdeutsche Holzschnitt und Kupferstich. Bilder aus der neueren Kunst geschichte "
Lonn, 1867.

COMPARISON WITH DURER. 457
counterbalanced by the increased intellectual importance and incomparable
popularity of his art. Nothing is more untenable and unjust than the often-
repeated lament that Diirer was fettered in his freer development by the
depressed circumstances of his home. If he knew the splendour of artist life
abroad, and yet did not accept the favourable conditions offered him in
Venice, and subsequently in Antwerp, he knew what he was doing, and knew,
too, the soil on which he was rooted. His thorough German nature necessi
tated just as much the greatness as the limits of his art.
He was himself perfectly conscious of these limits. The effort after purity
of form was awakened in him, his journey to Venice was not without its
influence, and he was the first to create the theoretic basis for the principles
of the Renaissance. His own motley and crowded pictures, once his delight,
satisfied him no longer in later years, as Melanchthon states from Diirer's own
words.1 He perceived that the simplicity of nature was the highest ornament
of art, and he sighed at his weakness that he now no longer could reach the
goal which at the close of his life stood distinctly before his view. At length
he approached this goal — at least, in one work, the four Apostles, in which he
did not certainly attain to perfect beauty of form, but to serene and simple
grandeur of style.
Where his work ceased, Holbein's began. He carried out practically
what Diirer knew theoretically ; he possessed from the beginning what Diirer
only attained in his last work, and even then only approximately — namely,
free feeling for beauty of form. It was not the influence of Italy which led
Holbein on this path, although subsequently he may have advanced under the
effect of Italian art, but he marked out the goal independently through the
medium of Northern art and its realism. Since Hubert Van Eyck, Holbein
was the first whose eye was not distorted in his view of nature by the
grotesque tastelessness of the Gothic period of decline. He saw things
actually as they were, a capacity which, with precocious development, he
possessed even as a child, beginning with portraits as lie concluded with
portraits. Holbein avoided not the utmost extremes of realism; he repre
sented with medical fidelity the leprosy of the poor and suffering at the feet
of his Saint Elizabeth ; as Christ in the grave, he painted a corpse from
reality expressing all the horrors of death. His own child, although in
no wise beautiful, he depicted as the Infant Christ in the arms of the Meier
Madonna, or as a little Cupid. Even in the smallest trait and the most
delicate emotion he imitates nature, bringing the realistic tendency to the
highest perfection of which it is capable.
In spite of this, realism does not remain Holbein's ultimate and highest
aim, and even his grand importance as a portrait painter, which formed for a.
1 Mel. Ep. li. p. 100. Letter to George von Anhalt.

458 COMPARISON WITH DURER.
long time his sole reputation, does not proceed from this alone. His eye was
so organized that, Uke the old Dutch painters, he perceived all the detaUs of
nature with the utmost exactness. At the same time, however, he under
stands also what they did not understand — namely, to draw back a step, and
to see that which he represented not only in detaU, but also as a whole. Thus
there is for him a higher truth than that which exists in the absolute delinea
tion of various things ; he recognizes the general laws which lie at their basis,
and he passes over the cleft which usuaUy in Northern art lies between the
characteristic and the beautiful. The same picture of St. Elizabeth which
contains the natural delineation of fearful sickness, reveals in the form and
countenance of the saint the highest ideal beauty. Perfectly individual
and yet ideally glorified does the Divine Mother also appear in the famous
Madonna picture at Darmstadt. There, and also in the newly-discovered
Madonna painting at Solothurn, there is a just balance of the masses, and a
linear beauty in the composition, such as had not elsewhere existed out of
Italy. Without having made such profound theoretic studies as Diirer — with
out, for example, understanding anything of anatomy — Holbein adopted
purely from his artistic eye the laws of style, the flow of the lines, the treat
ment of form, which the Italian Renaissance had developed. The solid,
compact figures of his earlier works gave place to slender and noble forms.
Masterly power in form was hnked from the beginning with beauty of colour.
While Diirer treated this only as a gay and brilliant addition which pleased
the eye, Holbein's paintings are at once conceived in colour.
As he sought a sphere of activity abroad when it was not afforded him at
home, so he also adopted foreign elements of culture wherever he met with
them. He understood how to derive actual advantage from the study of ItaUan
art, whose influence German and Netherland painters of that time rejected
as evU ; while these outwardly imitated instead of learned, his own character
was strong enough to be able truly to appropriate the foreign element. He
stood with regard to Italian Renaissance, as the Renaissance stood to the
antique. Whatever creations in this style he saw, were not to supply the
place of Nature and to serve as a model instead of her, but they came to the
aid of Nature and helped him to understand her more clearly and purely. He
acted in accordance with the conviction which Diirer so beautifully conceived
in words : J " Depart not from nature in order to follow thy own opinion,
because thou thinkest to find it better from thyself. For truly art is hidden
in Nature, and he who can draw it out, he possesses it." The same position
of Holbein with regard to Diirer, viz. that each mutually forms the comple
ment of the other, we shaU likewise perceive when we look at their works
according to their inteUectual purport ; but in this respect Holbein holds a
second rank compared with the pioneering Diirer, while with regard to form
1 " Proportionswerk," iii. t. 3b. Quoted by Zahn, p. 84.

COMPARISON WITH DURER. 459
he takes the lead and opens new paths. With respect to idea and invention
he treads a soil which Diirer had been the first to prepare for the national
art. Nevertheless his independence of this master, who exercises such a
constraining influence upon his German contemporaries, is very astonishing.
Many points in which Diirer is deficient, he brings to perfection. If Meister
Albrecht is not to be surpassed in varied epic narrative rich in episode,
Meister Hans on the other hand represents the dramatic scene more strikingly
and pointedly. He combines with humour that touch of satire which was
alien to Diirer. If to him the sphere of the grandly fantastic, the super
human, and the untangible which Diirer allured into form, was excluded, still
the powerful and the terrible, as in the pictures erf Death, stood none the less
at his command, but he never transgressed the bounds of the picturesque in
order to give vent to fancies to which the poet alone can give expression.
WhUe in Diirer much that is strange and quaint in form arose from that
exuberance of thought and imagination which was not to be restrained, in
Holbein no disunion ever appeared between idea and form, between the will
and the power, between the urgings of imagination and the means afforded
by nature. Purport and result stand in pure harmony.
Lastly, Holbein's creations also grew out of the soil of their age, and
proclaim to us all that was agitating it or occupying it. In those numerous
designs for woodcuts, that genuinely popular German art, he takes part in the
various efforts of humanistic literature, and in the passions and struggles of
political and religious matters, he is the herald of the Eeformation, though
indeed not like Diirer. expressing a positive personal acknowledgment of faith,
but all the more decidedly in a negative manner he combats for their cause
with cutting irony and bitter satire. Nevertheless this is in nowise his
highest artistic aim ; but he employs the whole splendour of his power of
delineation in free creations of ideal purport and style, the effect of which is
influenced by no conditions of time nor national limits. Thus his art is one
which, to use the words of a poet of our own day, Herr Geibel, not merely
proclaims that which the epoch possesses, but it also produces in anticipa
tion what it lacks.
Of the two masters, therefore, Diirer is greater as a genius, but Holbein,
on the other hand, is superior as an artist, or more accurate as a painter.
That which Diirer creates is the highest artistic revelation of the specific
German mind; Holbein, on the other hand, places the art of his country in
unison with the great modern advance of art.
While Albert Diirer not only exercised inestimable influence upon art
throughout Germany, but also formed a great number of pupils, who carried
his style still further, we can in nowise speak of a school of Holbein. It
is true German and Swiss portrait painters produce numerous works which

460 CHRISTOPHER AMBEBGEB.
betray an affinity with Holbein's style, yet it cannot be shown of any single
more important artist of the foUowing epoch, that he learned personaUy from
Holbein. It has been frequently asserted that some artists of Switzerland, for
instance Nicolaus Manuel of Berne and Hans Asper of Zurich, studied under
him, but this is palpably erroneous. The former, older than Holbein, had
some influence over him ; and the second, an abler portrait painter, coarse and
clumsy in form, though excellent in colouring, is wholly unaffected by the
taste of the great Basle master. Sandrart mentions a South German artist as
probably Holbein's pupil ; namely, Christopher Amberger, who subsequently
lived at Augsburg. With justice he points to the fact that Amberger
"followed the famous artist Holbein, in his manner of painting, and especially
in portraiture." And he remarks that he worked much in the neighbourhood
of Basle, round about Strasburg. But it is more probable that Amberger was
a pupil of Hans Burgkmair, at Augsburg, with whose style his own shows
undeniable affinity ; yet, if not the pupil, he was the follower of Holbein, he
must in any case have studied Holbein's works, and have experienced also
direct influence from Italy, especially from Venice and Lombardy. We often
find him combining the German . character with this modern manner, as
in the masterly coloured and well-designed altar-piece of 1554 in Augsburg
Cathedral : representing the Holy Virgin surrounded by angels making
music, and by the patron saints of Augsburg, a creation which may be
numbered among the noblest works of German painting. Often, however,
as in the picture of the wise and foolish virgins in St. Anna at Augsburg, of
1560, he is carried into mannerism like most of his contemporaries, from
misunderstood imitation of the Italians. We could better appreciate him if
those works had not perished which Sandrart praises the most, and which,
according to the tendency of the age, must have far more suited an artist
nature of that day than true church paintings ; namely, those " ingenious
inventions and histories " which he painted outside the Augsburg houses, and
the twelve great tempera pictures on canvas from the history of Joseph in
Egypt, which Sandrart with pain saw already threatening to decay. Truly
might this artist rank among Holbein's followers, if he conceived such repre
sentations from the Bible, especially from the Old Testament, in this simple
human aspect, and depicted them purely as stories, "with unusual understanding
and truth, exhibiting passions, affections, desires, and expectations, showing
all minute peculiarities of animals, buildings, landscapes, and other things, all
executed and devised with masterly power so that the like has never been
achieved by Germans nor by others." Such statements may remind us not to
believe too hastily in that universal artistic decay of Germany in the course
of the sixteenth century, of which we generally hear. Many of the splendid
works have perished, yet what remains affords material enough for a better
appreciation of this epoch. What sort of a master Amberger was, is pro-

CONDITION OF GEBMAN ART. 461
claimed especially by his portraits. The head of Sebastian Munster, in the
Museum at Berlin, is among the highest productions of portrait-painting in all
ages, and is scarcely inferior to the works of Holbein himself, whose name has
been repeatedly given to Amberger's works.1
In England Holbein seems to have stood quite alone, and to have worked
in general without pupUs or assistants : his artistic style here found no imi
tators. The best productions in portrait-painting -in the latter years of Henry
VIIL and under Edward VL are to be assigned with certainty to Netherland
masters ; and under the Roman Catholic Mary, Antonio Moor and Joas van
Cleve of Antwerp carry the day. That Holbein in his maturest period, when
his style had risen to its utmost perfection, remained absent from his native
country, was a heavy loss for the national art, which needed such a model.
For we must repeat : above all, we must guard against believing the oft-
repeated story of a universal decline in the German art of that day. This idea
can only be fostered by those who know not the true artistic life of the period,
and who, setting-up a foreign standard, seek for it wrongly. Only this is true :
that the rich development which had attended German art hitherto was
followed by no corresponding advance ; he who knows its nature and its
history will readily understand the cause.
German art had been in its whole development the art of the citizen
(classes, it had taken root entirely in city life, and it had grown upon a solid
| trade-like basis, pursued by the masters of the guilds. The other classes, the
disorderly nobles and the rude uncultivated courts, had just as little share in
[ artistic life as they had in national progress. Hence art from the first could
not exist here as it had done in Italy, where it was united with the entire
\ life of the nation. I'or a time, indeed, it seemed as though from the sound
and flourishing condition of the separate German cities, a great national life
might be developed. At the time when Luther appeared, the rise of Germany
rendered other results probable ; perfect freedom from the yoke of Rome in a
religious and political point of view, national unity and a mighty Imperial
power based on the cities, seemed at hand. Yet nothing of aU this took place.
The Reformation, on the success of which the entire national destiny depended,
attained actual victory just as little inwardly as it did outwardly. The
stranger who wore the Imperial crown pursued solely his dynastic aims, and
had no understanding for German policy. And when in the lower stratum of
society a movement broke forth which might have led to the triumph of the
national cause, when the peasants appeared with their just and moderate
demands, which were nothing else than the necessary conditions of an exist
ence worthy of men, the low spirit of the cities gained the victory over
political judgment, and they helped to overthrow the peasants instead of
1 For instance, the portraits in the Collection of Antiquities at Stuttgart and in the
Maximilian Museum at Augsburg.

462 CONDITION OF GERMAN ART.
joining hand in hand with them. Towards the middle of the sixteenth
century Germany was divided in a political as well as in a religious point of
view ; the separate princes and petty nobles had derived advantage at the
expense of the whole, the aspiring power of the cities was fettered in its
growth, their commercial and political importance fell gradually into decline
by the opening of new paths of intercourse with the world, and theh subjec
tion in the Smalkaldic war cut off from them the hope of all further progress.
In spite of this we cannot now speak of a true decline in the life of the
cities, which did not occur until the Thirty Years' War ; it only remained
stationary at the point which it had hitherto reached. The same may be said
of German art. It is true we must not look for its principal achievements in
the sphere of religious representation, for it lies in the nature of modern
development that this now no longer occupied the art generally, but only
formed a branch of it ; nor in the art of a higher style must we seek for it, for
a great national life is the necessary condition for this art, and this life was
now lacking. And thus, a brilliant genius like Holbein, who burst asunder
the fetters of the limited petty art of the guilds, and adopted the grand style
of genuine Renaissance, could only solitarily pursue the path he had taken.
Nevertheless the abundance of artistic talent in Germany was in nowise
exhausted; it was perhaps here more rich and healthy than it was at this
period, with the exception of Venice, throughout Italy, where degeneration
and mannerism had foUowed in the steps of the greatest masters. So long as
German art did not quit the class to which it had originally belonged, it
exhibited a flourishing life, and an unweakened vigour. Masters with inven
tive power continued to foster the arts of woodcuting and engraving, which
have still in the art-life of Germany the same importance as formerly. When
Holbein died, an artist such as Hans Sebald Beham continued the work, and
in genuine national conception of reality, though free from aU constraint and
hardness, depicted daily life and doings ; and even in religious subjects — we
have only to remember his wonderful smaU figures of the Apostles — found the
true tone of this simple popular style. The same course was also taken by
most of the other masters of this class, such as Virgil Solis, even in the follow
ing generation, and they carried engraving, as regards its technical execution,
to the utmost perfection in their small and delicate works.
In the same manner, those branches of painting flourished which are most
closely connected with simple citizen life, as, for instance, portraiture. In the
new art-sphere of landscape, an original and skilful master appeared at the
end of the century in Elzheimer. Excellent works were produced also in
] decorative fresco-painting, particularly in house-facades. The Fool's Staircase
in Schloss Trausnitz, near Landshut, Tobias Stimmer's house " zum Ritter," in
Schaffhausen, and the paintings of many Augsburg dwelling-houses are splendid
works of art ; in a technical point of view, German fresco-painting has never

AJLjl IN GERMANY. 463

l\

produced anything similar. Artists who in their easel-paintings and church
pictures exhibit mannerism, here display a splendour of colour, a fresh bold
ness, and rich joyful imagination.
And like the facade painting, so are the houses themselves in which they
appear, — worthy creations of the art of the period. Not until the latter part
of the sixteenth century can we trace the architecture of Renaissance in
Germany, and it also sprang principally from the soU of civil life, producing
princely palaces, town-halls, and dwelling-houses of citizens, displaying a
surprisingly noble and healthy taste, often showing more affinity with the
productions of Italian early Renaissance than the architecture of Italy itself
at the same period, and even successfuUy preserving, both in design and
ornament, many elements of Gothic architecture.
The citizen's house was now the true sphere of art in Germany, not only
without, but also within ; not only in itself, but also in that which it con
tained. All that meets the eye here furnishes evidence of a glorious prime of
German art-handicraft: the panellings and wooden ceilings of the apart
ments, as well as the tapestries which covered the walls.; the furniture, with
its carving and inlaid work, the locks of the doors, the railing of wrought hon
which shut off the pasture-land and the fore-courts, the small sculptures and
ivory carvings, the vessels of simple glass or clay, and the dazzling goblet of
silver and gold. In all these branches of industry, we see the most delicate
feeling for art and the purest taste predominant, and we find the intrusion of
the grotesque style longer resisted than in other lands. At that time German
art-handicraft played a conspicuous" part in the European market, while at the
present day it is aided by the refuse of other lands. The works of German
\ goldsmiths were sought for everywhere : the ateliers of South German ar-
jmourers in Augsburg, for instance, received orders from the princes and nobles
/of foreign countries ; even the splendid armour of the French kings, designs
for which are to be found in the Cabinet of Engravings at Munich,1 caine from
German manufactories. Indeed, this epoch, which ignorance or assumption
depreciates as an age of decline in art, possessed an art based on such a healthy
foundation that we can only look back to it with envy and astonishment.
And we shall soon become still more conscious of this feeling, since the new
National Museum at Munich has been opened, where the German art of
the Renaissance finds its true exposition.
The artistic life of Germany therefore contained in the utmost degree the
capability of producing, under favourable circumstances and at a fitting time,
an art of a higher style. Such an art must indubitably have pointed in imita
tion and study back to Holbein, just as did the champions of a new art-epoch
in Italy and the Netherlands; among others, according to Sandrart, Michael
Angelo da Caravaggio, the head of the realistic style of Italy. He, it is said,
1 Discovered and photographically issued by Prof. J. H. von Hefner Alteneck.

464 MODERN ART.

received the suggestion for his famous groups of gamblers from tlie small
scene in Holbein's Picture of Death, and the great Peter Paul Rubens
esteemed Holbein highly, and studied him assiduously in his youth. But at
the time when a master like Rubens gave again a national language to
Flemish art, when in Holland a mighty artist like Rembrandt appeared, the
Thirty Years' War broke over Germany, destroying all national life, aU civili
zation, and the blossoms as well as the germs of German art.
It was not till the close of the last century that after a long pause a new
movement began in the sphere of art. If we look attentively at the masters
who now took the right path, namely Asmus Carstens and Carl Friedrich
Schinkel, and in some measure also Cornelius, their aim appears to coincide
closely with that after which the German art of the sixteenth century strove,
and which Holbein had reached. When they wrestled to conceive grand ideas
and distinct feelings in pure and beautiful forms, when they studied the crea
tions of classic antiquity and the great masters of the sixteenth century, not
imitating them, but learning to see nature from them, they acted in the spirit
of the Renaissance. ThQ, connection with this spirit is to be perceived through
out, wherever the modern mind is capable of revealing itself by means of
the plastic arts.
In the recent development of art in Germany, reactions have occurred, just
as in the recent national development of Germany herself. Nevertheless we
feel justified in believing that German art is on the point of healthful pro
gress. That, at least, which the art of the sixteenth century lacked in its
onward course, and which alone renders it possible for artistic power to
produce its highest tasks, namely a great national life, is now more than a
mere dream.

INDEX.

A.
-Egidius, Petrus, Holbein's introduction to him
by Erasmus, 294, 324.
Aix-la-Chapelie, Holbein's works at, 138.
Allegorical pictures by Holbein, 354.
Alphabet of Death, by Holbem, 203, 283.
Alphabets designed by Holbein, 218.
Altdorfer, Albrecht, his pictures at Augsburg, 23.
Amberger, Christopher, said to have been a pupil
of Holbein, 460.
Amerbach, Bonifacius, portrait of, by Holbein,
178 ; his history, 170 ; his collection of Hol
bein's works, 84, 181, 189, 190,196,203, 326,336.
Anatomy, Holbein's ignorance of, 133, 267.
Anne of Cleves, portraits of, by Holbein, 434.
Annunciation of the Virgin, in Holbein's altar of
St. Sebastian, 101.
Architecture as treated by Hans Holbem, sen., 50 .
Architecture, Holbein's taste for and knowledge
of, 102, 133, 163, 207, 419.
Architecture in Augsburg, 23.
Armour, Holbein's designs for, 410.
Art industry, Holbein's designs for, 406.
Arundel Castle, pictures by Holbem at, 302, 303.
Astronomical books illustrated by Holbein, 215.
Augsburg, its school of art, 20, 21 ; the city of
German Renaissance, 22 ; described, 23—25 ;
its history, 26—30 ; works of Holbein at, 69,
77, 83, 84 ; monastery of St. Catherine at, 51 ;
monastery of St. Ulrich, Holbein's portraits of
the monks, 79.
Augustus, the Roman Emperor, founder of Augs
burg, 24. B.
Barbara, St., in the altar of St. Sebastian, 100.
Barber-Surgeons' Company, picture for, 444.
Bartolozzi, his engravings after Holbein, 305, 313.
Basle Cathedral, organ-doors by Holbem at, 131.
Basle, decoration of the Town-hall by Holbein,
164 — 174, 332 ; iconoclasm at, 325 ; its social
and historical importance, 110 ; letters from the
Town Council to Holbein, 430 ; schoolmaster's
signboard by Holbem at, 113 ; Holbein's wall-
painting of the house "zum Tanz," 161.
Basle, sketch-book of Hans Holbein, sen., at, 47,
48, 50, 57.
Basle, sketches by Holbem at, 78, 81, 83, 84,
91, 104, 116, 117, 121, 124, 127, 130, 133,
137—139, 160, 163, 164, 176, 178, 181, 188,
196, 218, 227, 232, 241, 255, 256, 264, 265,
268, 273, 274, 281, 289, 318, 326, 327.

Beham, his pictures of Death, 257, 462.
Berlin, sketches by Holbem at, 78, 81, 100, 114,
138, 218, 241, 263, 264, 302, 339.
Bernburg, sketches by Holbein at, 81.
Berne, works by Holbein at, 273.
Biblical illustrations, 222, 332, 333, 373.
Boleyn, Anna, portraits of her ascribed to Hol
bein, 383.
Book printing in Basle, 111.
Born, Derich, portrait of, by Holbein, 342.
Bourbon, Nicolaus, portrait of, 367 ; his poems
in praise of Holbein, 235, 272, 369, 370.
British Museum, Holbein's works there, 140, 241,
268, 313, 349, 374.
Brunswick, Holbein's works at, 343.
Brussels, Holbein's works at, 811.
Burgkmair, Hans, his pictures at Augsburg, 23,
30 ; supposed relationship to Holbem, 36 ; in
fluence on Holbein, 83,'87, 88 ; work as a wood
engraver, 202 ; pictures of Death, 258, 266.
Butts, Sir "William and Lady, portraits of, by
Holbem, 446.

Carew, Sir Nicholas, portrait of, by Holbein, 403.
Catherine, St., Holbein's picture of, 95.
"Cebes, the panel of," by Holbein, 210.
Chamber, Dr. John, portrait of, by Holbem, 447.
Charles V. of Burgundy, his portrait, 73.
Chatsworth, sketch by Holbein at, 344.
Chimney-piece, design by Holbein for, 420.
"Christ the True Light," illustrations for, 243.
Chur, wall-paintings by Holbein at, 285.
Cologne, its school of art, 11.
Copenhagen, sketches at, 77, 81, 99, 203.
Corrozet, Gilles, his verses on Holbein, 236, 269.
Court-painters, temp. Henry VIII., 390.
Coverdale's Bible, title-page to, 374, 387.
Cranmer's Catechism illustrated by Holbein, 378.
Cromwell, Sir Thomas, portraits of, by Holbein,
364, 365 ; his- visitation of monasteries, 376,
439 ; his fall, 440.
Crucifixion of St. Peter, Holbein's picture of,
86. D.
Dances of Death, by Holbein and others, 133, 245
et seq., 280.
Darmstadt, works of Holbein at, 91, 146.
Dinecker, jost, his wood-carvings at Augsburg, 30.
Dresden Museum, Holbein's works in the, 82,
139, 146, 149, 241, 302, 303, 811, 314, 315.
Drink-money paid to Albert Durer's wife, 56.
H H

466

INDEX.

Diirer, Albert, compared with Holbein, 2, 15, 25,
129, 455 ; his supposed portrait of Holbein's
sister, 71 ; his pictures of Death, 256, 257 ;
his supposed domestic unhappiness, 329 ; other
notices of him and his works, 200, 226, 230
—232, 260, 264, 286, 355, 448, 454.
E.
Eigner, A. , his restorations of Holbein's works,
141.
Elizabeth, St., in altar of St. Sebastian, 99.
Elyot, Sir Thomas and Lady, portraits of, 317.
Engelberg, Burkhardt, his works at Augsburg,
31, 51 ; portrait of him by Holbein, 77.
England, Holbein's first journey to, 294 ; second
visit, 336.
English art in the time of Henry VIII., 301.
Engraving, origin of the art of, 16, 17.
Erasmus, his connection with Holbein, 174, 179,
180, 183, 196, 209, 211, 293—295, 298, 318—
320 ; portraits of him by Holbein and Diirer,
184 ; his " Praise of FoUy" illustrated, 190,
193—195 ; his notices of Sir T. More, 307 ; his
letter on Holbein's painting of the More family,
323.
Erasmus "in Ghiis," engraving by Holbein, 381.
F.
Female portraits by Holbein, 139, 400.
Fesch, Remigius, his notices of Holbein, 147.
Fisher, Bishop, portrait of him by Holbein, 313.
Flemish art, its influence on Holbein, 45, 46, 89;
on German art, 16, 17, 290.
Flemish wood engraving, 200.
" Fountain of Life," painting at Lisbon ascribed
to Holbem, 124.
Franck, Hans, his wood engravings, 204.
Frankfort, paintings by Hans Holbein, seu., at, 48,
58 ; by Hans Holbein, jun., at, 299.
Freiburg, arms of the town engraved from the
designs of Holbein, 215.
Freiburg Minster, altar panels in, 135.
Froben, his friendship with Holbein, 77, 209, 222,
326.
Fugger family, their portraits by Holbein, 81,
74, 104 ; their influence on German art, 87.
G.
Genre pictures by Holbem, 216.
Geography, illustrated by Holbein, 214.
German art, effect of the Reformation on, 1 — 6 ;
influence of Flemish and Italian art on, 11, 12,
15—17, 44, 461.
German wood engraving, its historical importance,
198.
God.alve family, portraits of, by Holbein, 315.
Goldsmiths' work, designs for, 409, 439.
Gotha, works of Holbein at, 263.
Gothic art contrasted with Renaissance, 7 — 9.
Gia. * painting, its early development, 10 ; Hol
bein's designs for, 138, 409.
Graf, Urs, his pictures of Death, 257.
Gi .en, Hans, Ms pictures of Death, 257, 266.
Uri mm, Herman, on Holbein's correspondence
with Erasmus, 293.
Griin, Heinrich, his portrait by Holbein, 80.

Guildford, Sir H. and Lady, portraits of, 313, 314.
Gysins, Jbrg, portrait of, by Holbein, 339.
H.
Hagen, C, hia works on German art, 3.
Hampton Court, picture by Hans Holbein, sen.,
at, 58 ; others by, or ascribed to, Holbein at,
178, 188, 303, 304, 393, 400.
Hanover, works by Holbein at, 241, 302, 343,
432, 433.
Hanseatic League, Holbein employed by, 339.
Henry VII., portraits of, by Holbein, 394.
Henry VIIL, his patronage of Sir T. More, 308 ;
of Erasmus, 309 ; of Holbein, 299, 318, 324,
338, 345, 389, 422, 439, 445 ; portraits of him
by Holbein, 394, 396, 397 ; clock designed for
him by Holbein, 419.
"Henry VIII. in Council," engraving of, 383.
Herbster, portrait of, by Holbein, 90, 103, 116.
Herlen, Fritz, his artistic works, 19, 20.
Hertenstein House, wall-paintings at, 119.
Hezekiah, picture of, by Holbein, 334.
His-Heusler, on Holbein's life and works, 203,
204, 206, 230, 291, 329, 336, 453.
Historical painting, remarks on, 168.
Holbein family, its history, 34—36.
Holbein, Ambrosius, brother of the painter, notices
of his life and works, 35, 36, 67, 68, 105, 107,
198, 209, 220, 226, 257, 263 ; portrait of him
by his father in the Basilica of St. Paul, Augs
burg, 54 ; his portrait by Hans Holbem, 70.
Holbein, Bruno, a supposed brother of the painter,
notices of, 35, 36.
Holbein, Elsbeth, wife of Hans Holbein, his por
trait of her, their domestic relations, 145, 326.
Holbein, Hans, supposed grandfather of the
painter, 37 — 43.
Holbein, Hans, father of the painter, his life and
works, 34—45; 47, 52, 53, 55—59, 94, 105, 292 ;
his portrait by himself at Augsburg, 54 ; his
works in connection with his son, 68, 83, 84.
Holbein, Hans, the national quality of his art, 2 ;
compared with Albert Diirer, 2, 15, 25, 455 ;
his birth and parentage, 32, 34, 35, 67 ; his por
trait by his father at Augsburg, 54 ; his phy
siognomy, 69 ; his sketch-books at Berlin, Basle,
and Copenhagen, 68 ; portrait by himself, 197 ;
early works, artistic connection with his father,
83 ; character and habits, 195 ; his portraits of
his wife and children, 144, 327 ; supposed un
happiness with his wife, 328 ; his children and
descendants, 331 ; his small circular and oval
portraits, 343, 364 ; miniature paintings, 370 ;
satirical and religious designs, 378 ; appoint
ment and works as Court-painter to Henry
VIIL, 388 ; considered as a portrait painter,
392, 448 ; journeys by order of Henry VIIL,
427 ; portraits of himself at Basle, Berlin, and
London, 450 ; his death, 452 ; his will, 453.
Holbein, Philip, son of the painter, 329.
Holbein, Philip, grandson of the painter, 331.
Holbein, Sigismund, brother of the painter, notices
of, 35 ; his portrait by Holbein, 70 ; Madonna
by him at Nuremberg, 105 ; his will, 106.
Holl, Elias, his architectural works, 23, 24.
Hollar, Wenzel, his engravings after Holbem,
305, 314, 342, 356, 365, 377.

INDEX.

467

Howard, Catherine, portrait of her ascribed to
Holbein, 443.
Huss, John, his influence on German art, 7, 29.
Huth, Henry, portrait of Sir T. More by Hol
bein in his possession, 309, 311.
I.
Initials, designs by Holbem for, 207, 283.
Italiau art compared and contrasted with German,
2-4, 7, 33, 44, 235, 289, 355, 357; its in
fluence on Holbein, 87, 122, 159.
Italy, supposed journey of Holbein to, 121.

Jameson, Mrs., her "Legends ofthe Madonna," 155.
John of Antwerp, portrait of, 341, 452, 453.
K.
Eager, Matthaus, his pictures at Augsburg, 23.
Kaisheim, altar-piece by Holbein, sen., at, 49.
Kleberger, Johannes, of Lyons, his publications
illustrated by Holbem, 234.
Kratzer, Nicolaus, portrait of, 314, 369.

" Lais Corinthiaca," Holbein's picture of, 289.
Lambeth Palace, portrait of Archbishop "Warham
at, 312, 316.
Leipzig, works by Han_ Holbein, sen., at, 58.
Leland, John, his remarks on Holbein's portrait
of Sir Thomas "Wyat, 362, 380.
Leonardo Da Vinci, his influence on Holbein's
art, 123, 133, 289.
Liegnitz, sketches by Holbein at, 138.
Lisbon, painting of " The Fountain of Life "
ascribed to Holbein at, 124.
Lochner, Meister Stephan, artistic works, 11, 12.
"Lomeuitlin, the," her portrait by Holbem, 79.
Longford Castle, Holbein's great picture and other
works at, 187, 302, 319, 359.
Lucerne, Holbein's residence and works at, 117,
121, 140.
Luther, Martin, his influence on German art, 7,
29 ; his works illustrated, 222, 227, 233, 242.
Lutzelburger, Hans, his wood engravings from the
designs of Holbein, 203, 223, 225, 231, 233,
241, 382 ; his pictures of Death, 265.
Lyons, Holbein's " Pictures of Death " published
there, 269, 278. M.
Madonna at Augsburg, by Holbein, 86.
"Madonna with the Lily of the Valley,'' by
Holbein, at Ragatz, 89.
Madonna at Solothurn, by Holbein, 142.
Madonna, the Meier, by Holbein, at Darmstadt
and Dresden, 147, 148, 311.
Madrid, Holbein's works at, 317.
Mantegna, Andrea, his influence on Holbein's art,
122, 130, 158.
Manuel, Nicolaus, his pictures of Death, 256, 258,
260, 261, 273.
Map of the World, by Holbein, 213.
Massys, Quentin, his portrait of Erasmus, 184;
his connection with Holbein, 290, 294.
Mathematical books illustrated by Holbein, 215.

Maximilian, Emperor, his influence on German
art, 29, 30 ; Holbein's portrait of him, 71 ; his
orders for wood engravings, 202, 207.
Mediaeval art contrasted with Renaissance, 7 —9.
Meier, Jacob, Burgomaster of Basle, paintings by
Holbein at his house, 105 ; his letter to Holbein,
336 ; Holbein's portraits of his family, 103, 114,
153, 1 65 ; the Meier Madonna, 154.
Melanchthon, Philip, his portrait by Holbein, 189.
Milan, Duchess of, her portrait by Holbein, 424.
Milan, its school of art, 290.
Miniature painting, its early development, 10;
specimens by Holbein, 370.
More, Sir Thomas, Holbein introduced to him by
Erasmus, 183 ; their intercourse, 196, 209, 293,
336, 338 ; More's " Utopia" illustrated by Hol
bein, 211 ; his family life, 307 ; portraits of him
and his family, 310, 311, 318 ; his death, 385.
Morett, Hubert, portrait of, by Holbein, 404.
Munich, altar of St. Sebastian, and other works
by Holbein at, 95, 316, 342.
Munich, works by Holbein, sen., at, 48, 56.
N.
New years gift to the Prince of Wales, 432.
Norfolk, Duke of, his portrait by Holbein, 411.
Northampton, Marquis of, his portrait, 443.
O.
Oberschbnefeld, Holbein's works at, 83.
" Offenburgin, the," by Holbein, 291.
Oxford, Holbein's sketches at, 241.

Painters' guild in Basle, 288.
Paris, works of Holbein in the Louvre, 146, 16(1,
186—188, 268, 302, 311, 312, 3.9.
Passavant, his references to Holbein, 37, 201, 204.
" Peasants' Dance," by Holbein, 217.
Pertiz, Hans, his portrait by Holbein, 81.
Petri, Adam, his publications illustrated by Hol
bein, 222, 227, 228, 233, 273.
Petworth, Holbein's works at, 344, 396.
Plague in London in 1543 : death of Holbein, 451,
452.
Pordenone, his pictures at Augsburg, 23.
Poyns family, portraits of, by Holbein, 366.
Prague, works by Holbein, sen., at, 56.
"Praise-of Folly" iUustrated, 190, 213, 241.
Prices paid to Holbem and others for pictures, 47,
52, 55, 288, 292, 332, 335, 427, 439, 441, 443.
Printers' devices by Holbein, 221.
R.
Eagatz, the Madonna with the Lily of the Valley,
by Holbein, at, 89.
Reformation, the, its influence on German art and
Holbein's works, 2, 4—6, 28, 29, 222, 276,
287, 325, 334, 358, 373, 460.
Rehoboam, Holbein's picture of, at Basle, 332.
Renaissance art, influence on German art and Hol
bein's works, 3, 7—9, 22, 25, 103, 407, 421, 463.
Revelation of St. John, illustrated, 226.
Reverdino, his skill as an engraver, 285.
Richl, W. H, his remarks on aj-t, 22, 25.

468

INDEX-

Richmond,. Henry, Duke of, and his wife; portraits
of, by Holbein, 384.
Roper, Margaret, portrait of, 319, 322, 323.
Rubens, his opinion of Holbein, 245, 464.
Rumohr, Baron von, remarks on Holbein's sketch
books and engravings, 68, 127, 201, 203, 290.

Samuel and Saul, Holbein's picture at Basle, 333,
356.
Satirical pictures by Holbein, 241, 260, 276, 375,
377.
Scheuffelin, Hans, his picture of Death, 257.
Schmid, Franz, the son-in-law of Holbein, 145.
Schnaase, Herr, his works on German art, 3.
Schongauer, Martin, artistic works, 17 — 21, 45, 46.
Schulz, his copy of the Darmstadt Madonna, 152.
Schwartz, the Burgomaster of Augsburg, his
history, 91, 92 ; votive portrait of mm by Hol
bein, 77, 92, 98 ; his epitaph, 93.
•Sebastian, St., altar of, at Munich, 95.
Seymour, Queen Jane, tankard designed for her
by Holbein, 418 ; her death, 422.
Seymour, Sir Edward, portrait of, 402.
Shakespeare, his reference to the "Dance of
Death," 279, 285.
"Solomon and the Queen of Sheba," Holbein's
painting of, 356.
Solothurn, altar-piece at, 141, 157, 158.
Steel-yard, Holbein's portraits of its German
merchants, 336, 338, 339, 343 ; festive decora
tion in honour of Anna Boleyn, 345, 348.
St. Petersburg, Holbein's works at, li6.
Suffolk, Duke of, Holbein's portraits of his wife
and sons, 371.
Surrey, Earl of, his portrait of, by Holbein, 441.
Swabian art, 15, 17, 19.
Syff, Andreas, son-in-law of Holbein, 331.
T.
Tankards and drinking cups designed by Holbein,
416.
Title-pages, Holbein's designs for, 207, 223, 229,
307, 373. 409.
Travelling in the sixteenth century, 297.
Trechsel famUy, their publications Ulustrated by
Holbein, 234, 269.
' ' Triumph of Riches " and " Triumph of Poverty,"
by Holbein, 348.
Tuke, Sir Bryan, portrait of, by Holbein, 316.
Turin, Holbein's works at, 188.
U.
lTlm, its school of art, 20, 21.
"Utopia," Sir Thomas More's, illustrated by
Holbem, 212, 298, 307. V.
Yanzelles, Jean de, his preface to the Lyons' edi
tion of Holbein's " Pictures of Death," 270.

Vienna, sketches by Holbein at, 82, 90, 138, 188,
203, 263, 302, 343, 358, 364, 400.
Virchow, Ms remarks on Holbein's works, 100.
Van der "Weyden, Ms artistic works, 14, 17, 19.
Van Eyck, Hubert, his artistic works, 12 — 15.
Van Eyck, jun., Ms artistic works, 13, 14.
Von der Rosen, Kunz, his portrait by Holbein, 71.
Von Hutten, Ulrich, his acquaintance with Hol
bein, 174.
Von Leyden, Lucas, his picture of Death, 258.
Von Meckenen, Israel, his engravings of the works
of Holbein's father, 46.
Von Sandrart, JoacMm, his notices of Hans Hol
bein and Ms father, 2, 35, 70, 104, 117, 128,
130, 147, 148, 155, 245, 349, 463.
Von Zurich, Hans, portrait of, by Holbein, 342.
W.
"Waagen, Dr., his works on German, art, and Hol
bein's works, 3, 20, 95, 103, 121, 147, 149, 290,
316, 317, 322, 344, 355.
Wagner, Lienhard, his portrait by Holbein, 81.
"Waldenses, the, effect of their persecution on
German art, 6, 7.
Wales, Edward, Prince of, son of Henry VIIL,
portraits of, by Holbein, 433.
WaU-painting, its early development, 10 ; its
practice by Holbein, 118, 160, 393, 463.
Walther, Ulrich, portrait of himself and family,
by Hans Holbein, sen., 52.
Warham, Archbishop, his life ; portrait of, bv
Holbein, 312, 316, 339.
Wax reliefs from Holbein's " Pictures of Death,"
at Berlin, 285.
"Wheel of Fortune," picture of, by Holbein,
344.
Wiekliffe, effect of Ms doctrines on German art,
29.
Wilhelm,* Meister, his artistic works, 11.
Wilton, Holbein's portrait of CromweU at, 364.
Windsor Castle, works by Holbein at, 188, 303
—305, 311—315, 321, 341, 342, 361, 366,
368, 371, 396, 400, 426, 433, 441, 443.
Winn, Charles, copy of Holbein's painting of
More's family in his possession, 321.
Wohlgemut, Michael, Ms pictures of Death, 256.
Wolff, Thomas, Ms publications iUustrated by
Holbem, 222, 224.
Wolsey, Cardinal, his love of art and science, 300,
336.
Wood engraving, designs by Holbein for, 16,
198, 205, 380.
Wyat, Sir H., portrait of, by Holbein, 311, 361.
Wyat, Sir T., portraits of him by Holbein, 311, 360.
Z.
Zeitblom, Bartholomaus, his artistic works, 20.
Zucchero, his praise of Holbein, 348, 426.
"Zum Tanz," the house at Basle, painted by
Holbein, 161.

LONDON: R. CLAV, SONS, AND TAYLOTl, PRINTERS.

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