Dramatic Context
Georgia Brown
The Artist | Painting Style : Life and Social Status
Hans Holbein The Younger. Painting styles and famous works, how he captures the Sitter.
The Dance of Death was one of Holbeins most famous works, shocking the public with his brave approach to death and open attitude towards it.
Holbein. H. (1947). The Dance of Death. Glasgow: Robert Maclehose and Co, LTD.
HANS
HOLBEIN
THE
YOUNGER
Most useful found reference material:
Left:
"A comparison between the drawing and the finished portrait of Southwell (Plate 29) shows how complete Holbeins conceptions were before the painting was undertaken. Although corrections were sometimes made on the panel, the notation of light and shadow and such identifying features as the scar on his throat, were pinpointed from the start with such authority that the static massed volume of the sitter was fully realized before paint was applied.
The face is changed very little between the two works- it is the garment that is altered"
"The simplicity of thwbackground and the emphatic lineearity of the design accentuate the overall sense of calculation."
Above text, images to the left and below text reference:
"Holbein used the plain background with the gold lettering that became frequent in the later years; the impression of depth is created by the figure alone."
"This tendancy towards simplicity, and the elimination of all accessories, is characteristic of his late portraits. After 1535 the sitters are usually shown in the full light, focused against a background of blue or green, and very often in simple frontal poses."
Langdon, H. (1994). HOLBEIN. Third Edition. 2 Kensington square: London. Phaidon Press Limited
"There is quality of stillness and remoteness in the late portraits."
"His patient observation of surface detail, of the texture of skin, hair and fabrics is combined with an ability to suggest weight and volume and a sense of the dignity of personality."
"Holbeins sitters are recorded exactly as they were at one particular moment, but there is never any stress on the transitory;"
"They are characterized by an unusual stillness, precision and clarity.""He rarely allowed any emotion to intrude."
"Sheer skill with which Holbein used all the technical resources of Renaissance naturalism to create an image of completely convincing accuracy."
"It was this quality of life-like immediacy in portraiture that most impressed Holbein's contemparories."
