Hans Holbein the Younger

Holbein combined precise observation with exceptionally controlled drawing. Faces, hands, fabrics, jewelry, books, and other objects can be rendered with extraordinary clarity.

His training in the Northern European tradition remained important, but his art also absorbed Renaissance developments encountered through travel and through the international artistic culture of Basel.

Holbein was especially skilled at allowing small details to carry meaning. An object may identify a profession or communicate intellectual, political, or religious associations.

His religious paintings can possess a striking physical immediacy. Sacred figures are given substantial bodies and occupy convincing spaces rather than appearing detached from the material world.

His work as a print designer required a different approach. Complex stories had to be compressed into relatively small images. Strong outlines and carefully selected gestures allow the narrative to remain understandable even at the scale of a book illustration.

This versatility allowed Holbein to move successfully between monumental painting, intimate portraiture, decorative design, and printed biblical illustration.

Biblical art occupied an important place in Holbein's career before portraiture became dominant during his years in England. His surviving works include individual religious paintings as well as extensive cycles designed for reproduction in books.

His most systematic contribution to biblical illustration is the series commonly known as the Images of the Old Testament. Holbein designed more than ninety small woodcut illustrations covering episodes from Old Testament history.

The series begins with Genesis and proceeds through numerous biblical narratives. Individual images were accompanied by references or texts that connected the picture with Scripture.

Because these illustrations were printed rather than painted as unique objects, they could reach a much wider audience. Holbein's work therefore belongs to the transformation of biblical imagery that accompanied the rapid expansion of printed books during the sixteenth century.

The small scale required careful narrative economy. Holbein could not include every detail described in a biblical chapter. Instead, he selected gestures, figures, and objects that made the principal event recognizable.

His religious paintings sometimes operate very differently. The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb presents Christ's corpse with an uncompromising emphasis upon physical death. The elongated format isolates the body within the tomb and gives the viewer little visual relief from the reality of death.

Holbein also created works that combine several biblical passages into a theological argument. An Allegory of the Old and New Testaments contrasts sin and death with salvation through Christ. John the Baptist directs the viewer toward Christ while episodes associated with the Old and New Covenants are arranged on opposing sides.

Such a composition is not an illustration of a single biblical event. Like Cranach's Law and Gospel, it uses several scriptural images to communicate a theological interpretation.

The religious conflicts of the Reformation provide important context for Holbein's biblical art. Traditional church commissions declined in Basel as attitudes toward sacred images changed. Holbein nevertheless continued to work for patrons with different religious positions.

His personal religious convictions are not sufficiently documented to assign him confidently to one side of these controversies. His works should therefore be interpreted from their subjects and historical settings rather than used to construct a definite theological identity for the artist.

For A Visit With Jesus, Holbein is especially valuable because his work demonstrates the importance of print in the history of biblical art. His Old Testament woodcuts could accompany Scripture and circulate among readers in a way that an altarpiece fixed inside a church could not.

Images of the Old Testament — An extensive series of more than ninety woodcut illustrations presenting episodes from Old Testament history. Published versions appeared during the sixteenth century with accompanying biblical texts or references.

The Creation — The opening portions of Holbein's Old Testament series treat the creation narratives of Genesis in compact woodcut compositions.

The Expulsion from Paradise — Adam and Eve are driven from Eden by an angel. Holbein used the subject both within biblical illustration and in imagery associated with his Dance of Death.

The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb (1521–1522) — A stark representation of the dead Jesus lying within the tomb. Holbein emphasizes the physical reality of death rather than presenting an idealized body.

An Allegory of the Old and New Testaments — A theological composition bringing together several biblical scenes. The work contrasts sin and death with salvation through Christ and includes John the Baptist directing attention toward Jesus.

The Passion — Holbein produced a series of paintings devoted to episodes surrounding Christ's suffering and death. These works demonstrate the importance of New Testament narrative during his Basel period.

Samuel Cursing Saul — One of the Old Testament subjects represented in Holbein's biblical illustration work, demonstrating his interest in episodes beyond the most frequently depicted stories of Genesis and Exodus.

Saint Paul with Book and Sword — A woodcut representation of Paul identified by inscription and traditional attributes. The work demonstrates Holbein's continuing involvement with religious print imagery.

National Gallery, London, Hans Holbein the Younger artist biography and collection research; National Gallery of Art, Washington, Hans Holbein the Younger collection records; British Museum, Hans Holbein the Younger prints and Images of the Old Testament; National Galleries of Scotland, Hans Holbein the Younger and An Allegory of the Old and New Testaments; Städel Museum, Holbein and the Renaissance in the North.