Hans Holbein the Younger, Volume 2 (of 2) — Story, Setting & Ideas

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Authors: Chamberlain, Arthur B. (Arthur Bensley), -1931, Holbein, Hans, 1497-1543 [Illustrator] Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2022 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Holbein, Hans, 1497-1543 -- Criticism and interpretation; Painters -- Germany -- Biography Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Reading time 806 min

Text sections 44

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This volume examines Holbein's English period through Chamberlain's close attention to pictorial detail, provenance puzzles, and the artist's technical choices in portraiture and miniature painting.

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f any bad habits, was followed by severe punishment. Its members, too, were obliged to take their share in the wider civic life of London. The Steelyard was represented by an Alderman and a Deputy, and, among other duties, each merchant had his allotted post in case of war, and was obliged to keep the necessary arms ready for the defence of the city.

The buildings of the Steelyard were finally pulled down in the autumn of 1863, and the ground was excavated immediately afterwards. The Cannon Street Railway Station covers approximately the whole site of the Steelyard except the strip on the north front cut off for the widening of Upper Thames Street. See Philip Norman, “Notes on the Later History of the Steelyard in London,” _Archæologia_, vol. lxi. pt. ii. (1909), pp. 389-426; Wykeham Archer, _Once a Week_, vol. v. (1861); J. E. Price, _Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archæological Society_, vol. iii. 67 (1870). See also for the whole history of the Steelyard, Lappenberg, _Urkundliche Geschichte des Hansischen Stahlhofes zu London_, Hamburg, 1851.

Dr. Norman, however, considers that it has nothing to do with a weighing-machine, but that it is an Anglicised form of the German “Stahlhof.” See his paper in _Archæologia_, quoted on the preceding page.

Their privileges were so great that they had always been unpopular, and this dislike grew in strength until the reign of Henry VIII, when the first attempts were made to break up their monopolies, which ended, some sixty years later, in their complete overthrow. When Holbein first came among them, however, they still occupied the foremost place in the commercial life of London, and were an exceedingly rich and prosperous community. They served the King and Court in more ways than one, for they were constantly made use of for the despatch of letters abroad and for the translation of communications received from foreign countries. They made arrangements with their agents in Europe for the payment of the diets and other expenses of Henry’s ambassadors and special messengers, and much confidential continental news was received through their business houses. Books, prints, and various rare and artistic objects were also forwarded to them for delivery to the English court. Thomas Cromwell, in particular, made much use of them in the sending and receiving of foreign correspondence. They also entertained all important visitors, artists, craftsmen, and others of their own countrymen who visited England.

Holbein, however, does not appear to have come into contact with them during his first visit to England; no portrait, at least, of a Steelyard merchant of that date has survived, though he painted Niklaus Kratzer, who must have known many of them intimately. Possibly his introduction to them in 1532 was due to his friendship with the German astronomer. In any case, between 1532 and 1536, he painted a considerable number of them, chiefly small half-length portraits, in which the sitter is shown in his own room or office, dressed in sober black, with the accessories of his work scattered round him, and with letters in front of him containing his name and his address at the Steelyard. These portraits were most probably painted for presentation by the sitters to the League of which they were leading members, to be hung on the walls of the Council Chamber of their Guildhall, rather than for the purpose of sending them to family relations abroad. This would account for the presence of several of them in England to-day, for when the Guild was finally broken up in 1598 and much of its property scattered far and wide, some of the portraits remained in this country while others found their way abroad.

[Sidenote: PORTRAIT OF GEORG GISZE]

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Chamberlain opens this volume with a meticulous description of the Brandon miniatures, noting that the elder boy, Henry, is shown 'full-face, leaning with his left arm on a table' and that his hair is 'cut straight across his forehead.' The author dwells on the inscription's date, which has been 'variously read by different writers,' and weighs conflicting evidence from Burke and the Dictionary of National Biography to argue that the year cannot be 1535. This forensic attention to a single detail—the possible repainting of a numeral—exemplifies Chamberlain's method throughout: he treats each portrait as a document whose physical evidence must be interrogated.

Reading the Inscriptions

Chamberlain repeatedly pauses to parse the lettering on Holbein's works. In the Brandon miniatures, he observes that the elder boy's inscription reads 'ETATIS SVE 5 6 SEPDEM' and that the younger's reads 'ANN 1541 ETATIS SVÆ 3 10 MARCI.' He notes that the lettering on both miniatures 'lacks the precision of an original,' suggesting later restoration. This scrutiny extends to other portraits: he compares transcriptions by Wornum, Woltmann, and Law, and sometimes offers his own reading from reproductions. The effect is to make the reader aware that a Holbein portrait is not a transparent window but a layered object, its surface carrying traces of later hands.

The Vocabulary of Dress and Pose

Chamberlain's descriptions of costume are precise and functional. He notes the elder Brandon boy's 'black velvet dress with green under-sleeves, and a black hat with a white feather,' and the younger's 'bluish grey braided in red, and with black cuffs.' These details are not decorative; they serve to identify sitters, establish dates, and sometimes to question attributions. He also attends to pose: the elder boy 'leaning with his left arm on a table' and 'his head slightly bent,' the younger 'full-face' with 'blue eyes look straight at the spectator.' Such observations ground Chamberlain's arguments about Holbein's working methods—for instance, his use of a standard background 'bright blue' in miniatures—and about the painter's ability to convey character through posture.

Provenance as Puzzle

Chamberlain traces the Brandon miniatures' pedigree back to Charles I, quoting the royal catalogue entries verbatim: 'Done by Hans Holbein. Given to the King by Sir H. Vane.' He notes that the miniatures appear again in James I's catalogue as 'Two heads in one frame, in limning, being the sons of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk.' This documentary approach is typical: Chamberlain often reproduces early inventories and sale records, treating them as evidence for attribution and dating. He does not simply list owners; he weighs the reliability of each record, noting discrepancies between catalogues and pointing out when a description seems to misidentify the sitter or the artist.

Chamberlain's Cautious Inferences

Despite his detailed analysis, Chamberlain is careful not to overreach. When the date on the elder Brandon miniature proves impossible, he offers several possibilities—'1543 or 1545'—but admits that 'neither of these dates, however, can be correct.' He suggests that the inscription may have been repainted and that 'the restorer has made a mistake.' This restraint is characteristic: Chamberlain frequently presents conflicting evidence without forcing a conclusion. He acknowledges when he has not examined an original, relying instead on reproductions, and he notes when other writers disagree. The result is a scholarly voice that is authoritative yet provisional, inviting the reader to consider the evidence alongside him.

Chamberlain's volume rewards readers who share his appetite for detail. He assumes no prior knowledge of Holbein's English period, but he does assume a willingness to follow arguments about brushwork, inscriptions, and provenance. The book is best read with reproductions at hand, as Chamberlain often refers to plates by number and describes features that are visible only in good photographs. His method—patient, empirical, and self-limiting—offers a model for how to look at Renaissance portraiture without romanticizing it.

There’s something about Chamberlain’s tracing of Holbein’s English years—the quiet accountability in every brushstroke—that makes me want to sit with a book a while longer. I found that same unhurried patience in Chantilly in History and Art — A Closer Reading, where rooms and their paintings seem to hold their breath. Both feel like conversations with an old friend who notices everything.