Hans Holbein the Younger and Cutwork

Hans Holbein the Younger: Anne of Cleves. 1539. Hans Holbein the Younger: Anne of Cleves. 1539. Copyright Musée du Louvre, Paris, acc. no. 1348.

The German artist Hans Holbein the Younger (c. 1497-1543) is known for his fine drawings and paintings, especially those of a religious nature, and for his portraits of North European royalty and notables. Holbein is particularly famous for paintings with highly detailed elements, especially the clothing of his sitters and the embroidery used to decorate the various garments. The embroidery techniques include cutwork.

An example of a painting with what appears to be cutwork is a portrait of Anne of Cleves (c. 1539), now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris: the sitter is wearing an embroidered cap with applied pearls and jewels; and what appears to be cutwork on her partlet, as well as gold work, with applied jewels along the wide neck opening (Buck and Sander 2003, p. 30; Musée du Louvre, Paris).

Source: BUCK, Stephanie and Jochen SANDER (eds.; 2003): Hans Holbein: Portraitist of the Renaissance, Zwolle: Uitgerij Waanders b.v.

Musée du Louvre online catalogue (retrieved 29 April 2017).

 

GVE

Last modified on Saturday, 29 April 2017 19:25
Published in 16th century
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