_Holbein's Bible cuts.--Examination of the claim of Hans Lutzenberger
as to the design or execution of the Lyons engravings of the Dance of
Death.--Other works by him._
At this time the celebrated designs for the illustration of the Old
Testament, usually denominated Holbein's Bible, made their appearance,
with the following title, "Historiarum veteris instrumenti icones ad vivum
expressae. Una cum brevi, sed quoad fieri potuit, dilucida earundem
expositione. Lugduni, sub scuto Coloniensi MDXXXVIII." 4to. They were
several times republished with varied titles, and two additional cuts.
Prefixed are some highly complimentary Latin verses by Holbein's friend
Nicholas Bourbon, better known by his Latinized name of Borbonius, who
again introduces Parrhasius and Zeuxis in Elysium, and in conversation
with Apelles, who laments that they had all been excelled by Holbein.
These lines by Borbonius do not appear, among others addressed by him to
Holbein, in the first edition of his "Nugae" in 1533, or indeed in any of
the subsequent editions; but it is certain that Borbonius was at Lyons in
1538, and might then have been called on by the publishers of the designs,
with whom he was intimately connected, for the commendatory verses.
The booksellers Frellon of Lyons, by some means with which we are not now
acquainted, or indeed ever likely to be, became possessed of the copyright
to these designs for the Old Testament. It is very clear that they had
previously been in possession of those for the Dance of Death, and,
finding the first four of them equally adapted to a Bible, they
accordingly, and for the purpose of saving expense, made use of them in
this Bible, though with different descriptions, having, in all
probability, employed the same engraver on wood as in the Dance of Death,
a task to which he had already demonstrated himself to be fully competent.
Now, if the Frellons had regarded Holbein as the designer of the
"Simulachres et historiees faces de la Mort," would they not rather have
introduced into that work the complimentary lines of Borbonius on _some_
painting by Holbein of a Dance of Death, and which will be hereafter more
particularly adverted to, instead of inserting the very interesting and
decisive dedication that has so emphatically referred to the then deceased
painter of the above admirable composition?
Nor is it by any means a matter of certainty that Holbein was the designer
of _all_ the wood engravings belonging to the Bible in question. Whoever
may take the pains to examine these biblical subjects with a strict and
critical eye, will not only discover a very great difference in the style
and drawing of them, but likewise a striking resemblance, in that respect,
of several of them to those in the Dance of Death, as well as in the
manner of engraving. The rest are in a bolder and broader style, in a
careless but effective manner, corresponding altogether with such designs
as are well ascertained to be Holbein's, and of which it would be
impossible to produce a single one, that in point of delicacy of outline,
or composition, accords with those in the Dance;[105] and the judgment of
those who are best acquainted with the works of Holbein is appealed to on
this occasion. It is, besides, extremely probable that the anonymous
painter or designer of the Dance might have been employed also by the
Frellons to execute a set of subjects for the Bible previously to his
Death, and that Holbein was afterwards engaged to complete the work.
A comparison of the 8th subject in the "Simulachres, &c." with that in the
Bible for Esther I. II. where the canopy ornamented with fleurs-de-lis is
the same in both, will contribute to strengthen the above conjecture, as
will both the cuts to demonstrate their Gallic origin. It is most certain
that the king sitting at table in the Simulachres is intended for Francis
I. which, if any one should doubt, let him look upon the miniature of that
king, copied at p. 214 in Clarke's "Repertorium bibliographicum," from a
drawing in a French MS. belonging to M. Beckford, or at a wood-cut in fo.
xcxix b. of "L'histoire de Primaleon de Grece." Paris, 1550, folio, where
the art in the latter will be found to resemble very much that in the
"Simulachres." The portraits also of Francis by Thomas De Leu, Boissevin,
and particularly that in the portraits of illustrious men edited by Beza
at Geneva, may be mentioned for the like purpose.
The admission in the course of the preceding remarks that Holbein might
have been employed in some of the additional cuts that appeared in the
editions of the Lyons Dance of Death which followed that of 1538, may seem
at variance with what has been advanced with respect to the Bible cuts
ascribed to him. It is, however, by no means a matter of necessity that an
artist with Holbein's talents should have been resorted to for the purpose
of designing the additional cuts to the Lyons work. There were, during the
middle of the 16th century, several artists equally competent to the
undertaking, both as to invention and execution, as is demonstrable, among
numerous other instances, from the spurious, but beautiful, Italian copy
of the original cuts; from the scarcely distinguishable copies of the
Lyons Bible cuts in an edition put forth by John Stelsius at Antwerp,
1561, and from the works of several artists, both designers and
wood-engravers, in the books published by the French, Flemish, and Italian
booksellers at that period. An interesting catalogue raisonne might be
constructed, though with some difficulty, of such articles as were
decorated with most exquisite and interesting embellishments. The above
century was much richer in this respect than any one that succeeded it,
displaying specimens of art that have only been rivalled, perhaps never
outdone, by the very skilful engravers on wood of modern times.
Our attention will, in the next place, be required to the excellent
_engraver_ of the Dance of Death, the thirty-sixth cut of which represents
the Duchess sitting up in bed, and accompanied with two figures of Death,
one of which plays on a violin, whilst the other drags away the
bed-clothes. On the base of one of the bed-posts is the mark or monogram
[monogram: HL] which has, among other artists, been inconsiderately
ascribed to Holbein. That it was intended to express the name of the
designer cannot be supported by evidence of any kind. We must then seek
for its meaning as belonging to the engraver, and whose name was, in all
probability, Hans Leuczellberger or Lutzenberger, sometimes called Franck.
M. de Mechel, the celebrated printseller and engraver at Basle, addressed
a letter to M. de Murr, in which he states that on a proof sheet of an
alphabet in the library in that city, containing several small figures of
a Dance of Death, he had found the above name. M. Brulliot remarks that he
had seen some of the letters of this alphabet, but had not perceived on
them either the name of Lutzenberger, or the mark [monogram: HL];[106] but
M. de Mechel has not said that the _mark_ was on the proof sheet, or on
the letters themselves, but only the name of Lutzenberger, adding that the
[monogram: HL] on the cut of the Duchess will throw some light on the
matter, and that Holbein, although this monogram has been usually ascribed
to him, never expressed his name by it, but used for that purpose an
[monogram: H] joined to a [monogram: B]; in which latter assertion M. de
Mechel was by no means correct.
On another alphabet of a Dance of Peasants, in the possession of the
writer of these pages, and undoubtedly by the same artists, M. de Mechel,
to whom it was shown when in England, has written in pencil, the following
memorandum: "[monogram: HL] grave par Hans (John) Lutzenberger, graveur en
patrons a Basle, vivant la au commencement du 16me siecle;" but he has
inadvertently transferred the remark to the wrong alphabet, though both
were undoubtedly the work of the same artist, as well as a third alphabet,
equally beautiful, of groups of children.
The late Pietro Zani, whose intimate experience in whatever relates to
the art of engraving, together with the vast number of prints that had
passed under his observation, must entitle his opinions to the highest
consideration, has stated, in more places than one in his "Enciclopedia
Metodica," that Holbein had no concern with the cuts of the Lyons Dance of
Death, the engraving of which he decidedly ascribes to Hans Lutzenberger;
and, without any reference to the inscription on the proof of one of the
alphabets in the library at Basle before-mentioned, which he had probably
neither seen nor heard of, mentions the copy of one of the alphabets which
he had seen at Dresden, and at once consigns it to Lutzenberger. He
promises to resume the subject at large in some future part of his immense
work, which, if existing, has not yet made its appearance.
As the prints by this fine engraver are very few in number, and extremely
rare, the following list of them may not be unacceptable.
1. An oblong wood engraving, in length 11 inches by 3-1/2. It represents,
on one side, Christ requiring the attention of a group of eight persons,
consisting of a monk, a peasant with a flail, a female, &c. to a lighted
taper on a candelabrum placed in the middle of the print; on the other
side, a group of thirteen or fourteen persons, preceded by one who is
looking into a pit in which is the word PLATO. Over his head is inscribed
ARISTOTELES; he is followed by a pope, a bishop, monks, &c. &c.
2. Another oblong wood engraving, 6-1/2 inches by 2-1/2, in two
compartments, divided by a pillar. In one, the Judgment of Solomon; in the
other, Christ and the woman taken in adultery; he writes something on the
ground with his finger. It has the date 1539.
3. Another, size as No. 2. An emperor is sitting in a court of justice
with several spectators attending some trial. This is doubtful.
4. Another oblong print, 10-1/2 inches by 3, and in two compartments. 1.
David prostrate before the Deity in the clouds, accompanied by Manasses
and a youth, over whom is inscribed OFFEN SVNDER. 2. A pope on a throne
delivering some book, perhaps letters of indulgence, to a kneeling monk.
This very beautiful print has been called "The Traffic of Indulgences,"
and is minutely and correctly described by Jansen.[107]
5. A print, 12 inches by 6, representing a combat in a wood between
several naked persons and a troop of peasants armed with instruments of
husbandry. Below on the left, the letters [monogram: H =N=]. Annexed are
two tablets, one of which is inscribed HANS LEVCZELLBVRGER FVRMSCHNIDER;
on the other is an alphabet. Jansen has also mentioned this print.[108]
Brulliot describes a copy of it in the cabinet of prints belonging to the
King of Bavaria, in which, besides the name, is the date MDXXII.[109]
6. A print of a dagger or knife case, in length 9 inches. At top, a figure
inscribed VENVS has a lighted torch in one hand and a horn in the other;
she is accompanied by Cupid. In the middle two boys are playing, and at
bottom three others standing, one with a helmet.
7. A copy of Albert Durer's decollation of John the Baptist, with the mark
[monogram: H L] reversed, is mentioned by Zani as certainly belonging to
this artist.[110] In the index of names, he says, he finds his name thus
written HANNS LVTZELBVRGER FORMSCHNIDER GENANT (chiamato) FRANCK, and
calls him the true prince of engravers on wood.
8. An alphabet with a Dance of Death, the subjects of which, with a few
exceptions, are the same as those in the other Dance; the designs,
however, occasionally vary. In delicacy of drawing, in strength of
character and in skill as to engraving they may be justly pronounced
superior to every thing of the kind, and their excellence will probably
remain a long time unrivalled. The figures are so small as almost to
require the aid of lenses, the size of each letter being only an inch
square. Zani had seen and admired this alphabet at Dresden.[111]
9. Another alphabet by the same artists. It is a Dance of Peasants,
intermixed with other subjects, some of which are not of the most delicate
nature. They are smaller than the letters in the preceding article, and
are probably connected in point of design with the Dance of Peasants that
Holbein is said to have painted at Basle.
10. Another alphabet, also by the same artists. This is in all respects
equal in beauty and merit to the others, and exhibits groups of boys in
the most amusing and playful attitudes and employments. The size of the
letters is little more than half an inch square. These children much
resemble those which Holbein probably added to the later editions of the
Lyons engravings.[112]
The proofs of the above alphabets, may have been deposited by Lutzenberger
in the public library of his native city. Whether they were cut on wood or
on metal may admit of a doubt; but there is reason to believe that the old
printers and type-cutters occasionally used blocks of metal instead of
wood for their figured initial letters, and the term _formschneider_
equally applies to those who engraved in relief on either of those
materials. Nothing can exceed the beauty and spirit of the design in these
alphabets, nor the extreme delicacy and accurate minuteness of the
engraving.
The letters in these respective alphabets were intended for the use of
printers, and especially those of Basle, as Cratander, Bebelius, and
Isingrin. Copies and imitations of them are to be found in many books
printed at Zurich, Strasburg, Vienna, Augsburg, Frankfort, &c. and a few
even in books printed at London by Waley, Purslowe, Marsh, and Nicholson,
particularly in a quarto edition of Coverdale's Bible, if printed in the
latter city; and one of them, a capital A, is in an edition of Stowe's
Survey of London, 1618, 4to.
There is an unfortunate ambiguity connected with the marks that are found
on ancient engravings in wood, and it has been a very great error on the
part of all the writers who treat on such engravings, in referring the
marks that accompany them to the block-cutters, or as the Germans properly
denominate them the _formschneiders_, whilst, perhaps, the greatest part
of them really belong to the designers, as is undoubtedly the case with
respect to Albert Durer, Hans Schaufelin, Jost Amman, Tobias Stimmer, &c.
It may be laid down as a rule that there is no certainty as to the marks
of engravers, except where they are accompanied with some implement of
their art, especially a graving tool. Where the designer of the subject
put his mark on the drawing which he made on, or for, the block, the
engraver would, of course, copy it. Sometimes the marks of both designer
and engraver are found on prints, and in these cases the ambiguity is
consequently removed.