HOLBEIN THE
YOUNGER
German portrait painter
draftsman, and designer
from Basel. Holbein was
employed toward the end
of his life by King Henry VIII
of England. In addition to his
numerous exquisite portraits
in oil, he designed court
costumes, made a popular
series of woodcut prints
titled The Dance of Death,
and produced numerous
society portraits such as
this one here.Blended colors In this portrait
drawn with colored chalks on
slightly textured paper, Holbein
unified the woman with her
background by gently blending
colors from her clothes and face
into the atmosphere around her.
He outlined her nose but not her
upper lip, which, gently flushed,
presses against the binding
across her face.Cropping This regal composition
fits its paper perfectly. Holbein has
cropped and pinned his subject
within the four outermost lines
of the image—the edges of the
page. The peak of her cap clips
the uppermost edge, and its
downward slope crowns the
diagonal of the composition.
Her folded forearms support
and frame her weight above.Portrait of Dorothea
Kannengiesser
1516
51 / 8 x 121 / 4 in (385 x 310 mm)
HOLBEIN THE YOUNGER