Hans Holbein the Younger’s “Henry VIII”

Hans Holbein the Younger’s “Henry VIII”

Date: 1540

Material: Oil on wood panel

Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, Rome.

Hans Holbein was court painter to Henry VIII from around 1536 to his death in 1543, (www.wga.hu, Holbein, Hans.)

Henry’s figure takes up almost the whole space in the painting. Holbein depicts Henry in the clothes that he wore for his wedding to Anne of Cleves, (Stokstad, page 736.) Henry is wearing a white shirt with tunic over it and he is also wearing a coat. The upper part of his tunic has a red background with cream and gold embroidered pattern on top. The pattern looks like leaves twisting in figure eights from the neckline down to his wrist. In between the figure eights; tuffs of his white shirt are sticking out. Down the middle of his tunic; is a more closely embroidered pattern with four gemstones encrusted on it. Around his waist, he is wearing a belt, tied in the front. The bottom of the tunic has a vertical stripe pattern; solid red next to a yellowish cream leaf pattern. Henry’s coat is gold fabric with a pattern in a darker color, and is trimmed with dark brown fur. Across his chest is a jeweled encrusted ban connecting the sides of his coat. The sleeves of the coat come to rest an inch or two before his elbows. The rest of his arms are covered with his tunic. In his right hand, Henry is holding brown gloves, on his second finger he is wearing a jeweled ring. On his left hand second finger, his is wearing an identical ring. Around his neck, Henry is wearing a pendent with a cross on it; the length of the neckless falls to around his stomach. Hanging on his left side, at the bottom of the painting, is a sword hilt, almost the same color as his tunic. On his head, Henry is wearing a black hat with a feather on the right side. The hat has jewels on the front and a cream rim. The expression on Henry’s face looks angry, put out. He is sporting a brown beard that is shaved down the middle of his chin. He also has a mustache. The background of the picture is navy blue with writing in gold going across the top of the painting. The words are Latin; “ANNO AETATIS SUAE XLIX”: His year of age, 49 (www.wga.hu, "Henry VIII)

I picked Holbein’s “Henry VIII,” because I like the details Holbein put into Henry’s outfit, especially his tunic. Also, I have always been interested in the Tudors.

Sources:

Stokstad, Mary. Art History. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc, 2008

Web Gallery of Art “Holbein, Hans.” <http://www.wga.hu/bio/h/holbein/hans_y/biograph.html>

Web Gallery of Art “Holbein, Hans. Henry VIII” <http://www.wga.hu/html/h/holbein/hans_y/1535h/06henry8.html>

Raphael’s “The Small Cowper Madonna”

Raphael’s “The Small Cowper Madonna”

Date; 1505

Material; Oil on panel

National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

In Raphael’s “The Small Cowper Madonna,” Mary is wearing a red dress with a seam running down the bodice; the seam is worn and has been mended. She is sitting on a wooden bench outside, on top of a blue cloak that is wrap around her legs. Her face is framed with two braids on either side, and in her hair she is wearing a blue ribbon. Mary is holding Jesus with her left hand, his right arm wrapped behind her head, probably touching Mary’s hair. His left hand is resting by her neck. Jesus’s left foot is standing on Mary’s right hand, which is resting on her lap, his right foot is partially standing on her lap. He looks like he is trying to climb. Both Mary and Jesus have blond hair and fair skin and their expressions are tranquil.

Behind the seated figures is a stone wall that comes to the middle of Mary’s upper arm. Beyond the wall is the landscape. To the left, behind Mary, the lawn stretches and there is a path that breaks into two parts. Part of the path is leading straight toward a lake; walking on that path are two figures. One is on horseback, the other figure is standing next to the horse. The lake is surrounded by trees and bushes. Beyond the lake, in the distance, are hills with trees leading to the sky. To the right, behind Jesus, there is a top of a tree. Looking over the tree, the path from Mary’s side continues up a hill to a church. The church is the Church of San Bernardino, near Urbino where Raphael grew up, (Stokstad, page 666.) On the path leading to the church are more figures. In the distance, there are more hills leading to the skyline.

Raphael, whose full name was Raffaello Santi, was born around 1483 in Urbino. His father Giovanni Santi was a painter at the Montefeltro court. Raphael was not only a painter, but he also was an architect and print designer. One of his famous paintings is the School of Athens, part of the decoration he did for Pope Julius II library. Raphael

designed tapestry cartoons for the Sistine Chapel to hang on the lowest stage of the walls and he suppled designs for Marcantonio Raimondi to engrave, he also allowed Raimondi to reproduce some of his designs. In 1514, after Donato Bramante’s death Pope Leo X promoted Raphael as architect of Saint Peter’s, (Oxford Art Online.)

I picked Raphael’s “The Small Cowper Madonna,” because I like the way he painted Mary and Jesus. They look more realistic and like mother and child than in most earlier Madonna and Child paintings. I also like the colors that Raphael used, not only for Mary and Jesus, but also for the landscape.

Sources:

Nicholas Penny. "Raphael." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 6 Apr. 2010 <http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.lrc.cod.edu/subscriber/article/grove/art/T070770>.

National Gallery of Art <http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pinfo?Object=1199+0+none>

Stokstad, Mary. Art History. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc, 2008