Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam

Last updated

Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam, National Gallery, London Holbein-erasmus.jpg
Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam, National Gallery, London
The Louvre, 1523 Desidrius Erasmus by Hans Holbein.jpg
The Louvre, 1523

Hans Holbein the Younger painted the Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam several times, and his paintings were much copied, at the time and later. It is difficult to disentangle Holbein's original work from that of his workshop and other copyists. Possibly five largely original versions survive, as well as a number of drawings made as studies.

Contents

Holbein's portraits played an important part in spreading the painter's reputation across Europe, as they and their copies were widely distributed. When Holbein moved to England he had a letter of recommendation from Erasmus to Thomas More, in whose house he initially lived.

Commission

Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466/69–1536) was a renowned humanist scholar and theologian. He moved in 1521 to Basel, the city where Hans Holbein the Younger lived and had his workshop. Such was the fame of Erasmus, who corresponded with scholars throughout Europe, that he needed many portraits of himself to send abroad to his protectors; although not an admirer of painting, he understood the power of image. [1] Quentin Matsys painted a noticeably younger Erasmus, writing, in 1517, [2] and used another profile portrait for a medal in 1519. [3] Albrecht Dürer made a portrait in engraving in 1526. But it was Holbein's images that were endlessly copied. Of the work, Erasmus wrote in 1524, "Recently I sent again two portraits of Erasmus to France, painted by a very skillful artist. The artist carried along my portrait to France." [1]

Versions

There are three main portrait types: a three-quarters view, probably of 1523, best known from the National Gallery version; a profile view also from 1523, reading, as in the Louvre, and an older three-quarters view, perhaps c. 1530, probably best represented by the portrait miniature, a roundel 10 cm across, in the Kunstmuseum Basel. The French jurist and professor at the University of Bourges François Douaren received a copy of the roundel by Bonifacius Amerbach. [4] The copies painter is not known, but it might have been Jacob Clauser. [4] Douaren was a teacher of Amerbachs son Basilius at Bourges. [4] Douarens portrait is lost to date but it could have been the one, which the Museum of Rotterdam bought in 1862. [4] This portrait fell victim to a fire shortly after the museum bought it. [4]

All of these were produced in many versions, several probably at least partly by Holbein himself, or supervised by him. The pose and face tends to remain the same, but the clothes and backgrounds vary. It seems to have been Holbein's practice to make a very careful drawing of his subjects (though no full drawings for any of these portraits survive) and to then produce the painted portrait without the sitter being present. The Louvre has drawings done as studies for the hands of both its painted version and the London version.

There is also a small emblematic depiction of an idealized Erasmus as the Roman god Terminus (his personal emblem), of 1532, now in the Cleveland Museum of Art.

London

The version also known as Portrait of Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam with Renaissance Pilaster is a 1523 painting in oil and tempera on panel, in the National Gallery, London (on long-term loan from the Earl of Radnor). Historian David Starkey has said "arguably this is the most important portrait in England. It is where portraiture actually begins." [5]

Holbein painted three much-copied portraits of Erasmus in 1523, of which this is the largest and most elaborate. It is likely the one sent to William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury, in England. Holbein later painted Warham after he travelled to England in 1526 in search of work, with a recommendation from Erasmus, who had once lived in England himself. The painting was formerly at Longford Castle in Wiltshire, home of the Earl of Radnor, and may be referred to by this.

Erasmus is show resting his hands on a book, with Greek and Latin words that translate to "The Herculean Labours of Erasmus of Rotterdam". [6] According to art historian Stephanie Buck, this portrait is "an idealized picture of a sensitive, highly cultivated scholar, and this was precisely how Erasmus wanted to be remembered by future generations". [7]

Holbein's portrait of Erasmus includes a Latin couplet presumably by the scholar, inscribed on the edge of the leaning book on the shelf: "I am Johannes Holbein, whom it is easier to denigrate than to emulate." [5] Holbein has also placed an empty wine flask on the shelf.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans Holbein the Elder</span> German painter

Hans Holbein the Elder was a German painter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambrosius Holbein</span> Swiss painter (c.1494–c.1519)

Ambrosius Holbein was a German and later a Swiss artist in painting, drawing, and printmaking. He was the elder brother, by about three years, of Hans Holbein the Younger, but he appears to have died in his mid-twenties, leaving behind only a small body of work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans Holbein the Younger</span> 16th-century German artist and printmaker

Hans Holbein the Younger was a German-Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also produced religious art, satire, and Reformation propaganda, and he made a significant contribution to the history of book design. He is called "the Younger" to distinguish him from his father Hans Holbein the Elder, an accomplished painter of the Late Gothic school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johann Froben</span> Swiss printer, publisher, and humanist (died 1527)

Johann Froben, in Latin: Johannes Frobenius, was a famous printer, publisher and learned Renaissance humanist in Basel. He was a close friend of Erasmus and cooperated closely with Hans Holbein the Younger. He made Basel one of the world's leading centres of the book trade. He passed his printing business on to his son, Hieronymus, and grandson, Ambrosius Frobenius.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kunstmuseum Basel</span> Art museum in Basel, Switzerland

The Kunstmuseum Basel houses the oldest public art collection in the world and is generally considered to be the most important museum of art in Switzerland. It is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

<i>The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb</i> Painting by Hans Holbein the Younger

The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb is an oil and tempera on limewood painting created by the German artist and printmaker Hans Holbein the Younger between 1520 and 1522.

<i>Portrait of Sir Thomas More</i> Painting by Hans Holbein the Younger

Portrait of Sir Thomas More is an oak panel painting created in 1527 by the German artist and printmaker Hans Holbein the Younger, now in the Frick Collection in New York.

<i>Portrait Miniature of Margaret Roper</i> Painting by Hans Holbein the Younger

Portrait Miniature of Margaret Roper is a painting by the German artist and printmaker Hans Holbein the Younger created during 1535–36, and today held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Margaret Roper (1505–44) was the eldest child of Sir Thomas More and wife of the English biographer William Roper. It is the second and less well-known of two portraits of Roper painted by Holbein. The first, Portrait of an English Woman, is generally believed to show Roper but may depict another unknown lady of the English court. The New York work was painted during the artist's second visit to London, likely in the mid-1530s.

<i>Venus and Amor</i> Painting by Hans Holbein the Younger

Venus and Amor is painting by Hans Holbein the Youngers workshop and is the collection of the Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland. It was assumed for a long time to be painting by Hans Holbein the Younger, but research showed that this could not be possible. It was discovered that the painter had used a sort of carbon paper with the contours of the already existing Laïs and used it to transfer those contours in reverse on the new portrait he was to paint of Venus.

<i>Darmstadt Madonna</i> Painting by Hans Holbein the Younger

The Darmstadt Madonna is an oil painting by the German-Swiss artist Hans Holbein the Younger. Completed ca. 1526—1530 in Basel, the work shows the Bürgermeister of Basel Jakob Meyer zum Hasen, his first wife, his current wife, and his daughter grouped around the Madonna and infant Jesus.

<i>Lais of Corinth</i> (Holbein) Painting by Hans Holbein the Younger

Lais of Corinth is an oil-and-tempera painting on wood completed in 1526 by the German-Swiss Northern Renaissance painter Hans Holbein the Younger. It portrays the famous Lais of Corinth, a courtesan of ancient Greece who charged a high price for her favours. It has been suggested that Holbein is also referring to the Lais who was the lover of Apelles, the great painter of antiquity. The model, the same used for the Venus and Amor, has been identified as either Magdalena Offenburg or her daughter Dorothea, as it was noted by Basilius Amerbach in the archives from the Amerbach-Cabinet, that the woman depicted was someone of the Offenburg family. Dorothea would have been eighteen years of age in 1526. It was assumed that either of the two may have been Holbein's mistress. Both paintings, the Venus as the Lais, came into the possession of the Amerbach Cabinet in the late 1500s.

The Amerbach Cabinet was a collection of artifacts, paintings, libraries, assembled by members of the Amerbach family, most notably by the two law professors of the University of Basel, Bonifacius Amerbach and his son Basilius Amerbach the Younger.

<i>Sir Thomas More and Family</i> Lost painting by Hans Holbein the Younger

Sir Thomas More and Family is a lost painting by Hans Holbein the Younger, painted circa 1527 and known from a number of surviving copies.

<i>Portrait of Erasmus</i> (Dürer) 1526 copper engraving by Albrecht Dürer

Portrait of Erasmus is a late period 1526 copper engraving by the German artist Albrecht Dürer. The portrait was commissioned by the Dutch Renaissance humanist Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam when the two men met in the Netherlands between 1520 and 1521. Erasmus was then at the height of his fame and required representations of himself to accompany his writings. It was not completed until some six years later, but proceeds a number of preparatory sketches.

<i>Double Portrait of Jakob Meyer zum Hasen and Dorothea Kannengießer</i> Painting by Hans Holbein the Younger

The Double Portrait of Jakob Meyer zum Hasen and Dorothea Kannengießer is a 1516 oil-on-limewood panel painting by the German-Swiss Northern Renaissance master Hans Holbein the Younger. The two panels were commissioned by Jakob Meyer zum Hasen, mayor of Basel, and show him and his second wife Dorothea Kannengießer. The occasion for the portrait could be Meyer zum Hasen's election as the mayor the same year. Holbein was eighteen years old at the time and had arrived in Basel together with his brother Ambrosius only in 1515. He signed with the letters HH. He received the right to sign with his full name in 1519, when he was accepted as a member of the painters' guild of Basel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonifacius Amerbach</span> Swiss jurist and humanist

Bonifacius Amerbach was a jurist, scholar, an influential humanist and the rector of the University of Basel for several terms.

<i>Portrait of Bonifacius Amerbach</i> Portrait of Bonifacius Amerbach by Hans Holbein the Younger

The Portrait of Bonifacius Amerbach is a painting by the German master of the Renaissance Hans Holbein the Younger. It is deposited in the Basler Kunstmuseum as part of the Amerbach Cabinet. It is painted in mixed technique on pine panel and measures 29.9 cm x 28.3 cm.

<i>Portrait of the Artists Family</i> (Holbein) Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger

Portrait of the Artist's Family is a portrait of the family of the painter Hans Holbein the Younger by the artist himself. It depicts Holbein's wife Elsbeth Binzenstock, their son Philipp and their daughter Katharina. Holbein painted it during his stay in Basel after his return from England. It was painted, between 1528 and 1529, on paper and glued on wood.

References

  1. 1 2 Bätschmann; Griener, 155
  2. ↑ "Quinten Massys (1465/6-1530) - Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536)". www.rct.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  3. ↑ Stein, Wilhelm (1929). Holbein der Jüngere. Berlin: Julius Bard Verlag. p. 78.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Jenny, Beat R. (1995). Jacob-Friesen, Holger; Jenny, Beat R. (eds.). Bonifacius Amerbach (in German). Basel: Schwabe Verlag. p. 69. ISBN   9783796510083.
  5. 1 2 "Hans Holbein the Younger | Erasmus | L658". www.nationalgallery.org.uk. National Gallery, London. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  6. ↑ Bacchi, Elisa (2019). "Hercules, silenus and the fly : Lucian's rhetorical paradoxes in Erasmus' ethics". Philosophical Readings. 11 (2): 120–130. doi:10.5281/zenodo.2554134. ISSN   2036-4989.
  7. ↑ Buck, Stephanie. Hans Holbein. Cologne: Könemann, 1999, ISBN   3829025831, p. 50

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.