BASEL REVISITED
Holbein’s return to Basel—Fêted by his fellow-citizens—His prosperous
condition—Proposes to repaint his wall-decorations—Offer of a pension
of fifty gulden from the Basel Town Council, with permission to remain
in England two years longer—Death and will of Sigmund Holbein—Holbein
returns to England, probably by way of Paris, in order to apprentice
his son Philip to Jacob David, goldsmith—Back in London before
Christmas 1538—Receives a special reward for his journey to “High
Burgony”—Portraits of Edward, Prince of Wales—Guillim Stretes.
SOME nine days after Hoby and Holbein parted company at Nancy the latter
was home again in Basel after an absence of six years.[327] The journey
across the Vosges mountains would not be a long one. On September 12,
1538, Rudolph Gwalther, then studying in Basel, wrote to the antistes
Heinrich Bullinger in Zürich: “Hans Holbein came recently to Basel from
England, and he gives such a glowing account of the happy condition of
that kingdom, that after a few weeks’ stay he means to go back
again.”[328] He received a very hearty welcome from the citizens, who,
now that his reputation was much more than a local one, were naturally
proud of the fact that he was one of themselves. On September 10 his
fellow-burghers gave a banquet in his honour in the Guild-house in the
St. Johanns-Vorstadt, the quarter of the city in which Holbein’s own
residence was situated. Matthäus Steck, the steward of the Dominican
Monastery, notes in his Book of Accounts that he and the schoolmaster,
Brother Jacob, with their wives, were present on the occasion, and that
they spent eight shillings.
Footnote 327:
Unless, as suggested above (see p. 63), he had paid an earlier visit
to Basel, about 1534-5, of which, however, there is no actual
evidence.
Footnote 328:
“Venit nuper Basileam ex Anglia Johannes Holbein, adeo felicem ejus
regni statum praedicans, qui aliquot septimanis exactis rursum eo
migraturus est.” This letter, which was first quoted by Hegner (_Hans
Holbein der Jüngere_, p. 246), is now among the Zürich State Papers in
the Antistical Archives.
[Sidenote: PROPOSAL TO REPAINT WALL-PAINTINGS]
There is a most interesting reference to this home-coming in Dr. Ludwig
Iselin’s additions to the Faesch manuscript (discovered by Dr.
His-Heusler), in which he says: “When he returned to Basel for a time
from England, he was attired in silk and velvet; before this he was
obliged to buy wine at the tap.”[329] In Basel, a city where wine was
both cheap and plentiful, and all men of means kept a well-stocked
cellar, to be obliged to procure it, from day to day, from the tavern
was a sign of poverty, and Iselin thus contrasts Holbein’s worldly
condition before leaving Switzerland and after his entry into the
service of Henry VIII. Iselin adds, after stating that Holbein died soon
after his return to England, that “his intention was, had God lengthened
his life, to paint many of his pictures again, at his own expense, as
well as the apartment in the Town Hall. The house ‘zum Tanz,’ he said,
was ‘rather good.’” The pictures which he wished to put in order were,
of course, his wall-paintings on the exterior of several of the Basel
houses, done in his youth, some eighteen years earlier, which even then
were beginning to suffer from exposure to the weather, and his frescoes
in the Town Hall, some of which were already damaged by damp. No doubt,
too, he felt that he could improve upon them, though it is interesting
to note that he expressed himself satisfied with the “House of the
Dance” façade, in which he had given the freest play to his imagination.
Footnote 329:
See Woltmann, i. p. 456 and ii. p. 43.
Twice during his absence in England, on November 23, 1533, and January
7, 1537, he had been “laid out for the banneret” by his Guild “zum
Himmel”—that is, appointed as one of those who had to perform the
military service of the Guild, but he had ignored the summons.[330]
Possibly he knew nothing about it. He had even disregarded the letter
from the burgomaster, sent to him in September 1532, shortly after his
return to England, in spite of the offer of a pension which it
contained; for England afforded far better opportunities than
Switzerland for the making of money.
Footnote 330:
See Woltmann, i. p. 457. English translation, p. 430.
The two items, from the Banner Book of the Guild “zum Himmel,” are as
follows:
“Item A^o 1533 Jar vff Sunthag vor kattrinen Sind dise her noch
geschriben von beyden Zünfften vss gelegtt vom Himels vnnd
Sternen.
Erstlich zum Fenlin vnd Baner.
. . . . . . . . . . Zum Baner.
. . . . . . . . . . Hanns Holbein der Moller” (his name
being at the head of a number of other guildsmen).
“A^o 1537 Jar vf Sunthag noch dem nuwen Jar Sindt dise Hemach
geschriben zum Fenlin vnd zu dem Baner vss geleytt erstlich Himels
vij Mann (here follow the seven names).
Zum paner xiij man.” Here follow the thirteen names, among them being
“Hanns Holbein der maller.”[331]
Footnote 331:
Woltmann, ii. p. 32, quoting from His, _Die Baseler Archive_, &c.
The first entry is brought forward by Mr. W. F. Dickes as one of the
strongest pieces of evidence in favour of his contention that Holbein
obeyed the request contained in the Burgomaster’s letter, and returned
to Basel in the winter of 1532, and remained there throughout the
following year, so that he could not have painted “The Ambassadors” in
England in 1533. He entirely misreads the entry, however, which he
regards as a record “of monies due to Holbein for festal decorations on
behalf of the two city guilds”[332] (Von Himmel und von Sternen); and he
ignores the second entry, which, to be logical, should prove that
Holbein was also in Basel in January 1537. No “monies” are entered
against these items, as one would gather from his description, so that
it is difficult to see how they record sums due to the painter. They
were merely lists of names, as Woltmann points out,[333] of members of
the Guilds appointed to take their turn of military service on festal
occasions. The second entry shows this even more clearly than the first,
and from it we learn that Holbein was one of thirteen members thus
appointed as banner-bearers.
Footnote 332:
Dickes, _Holbein’s Ambassadors Unriddled_, p. 3.
Footnote 333:
Woltmann, i. p. 457.
[Sidenote: OFFERED PENSION BY BASEL COUNCIL]
It is probable that one of the chief reasons for Holbein’s visit to
Basel, in addition to a natural desire to see his family, was to make
some arrangement with the Town Council for a further leave of absence.
He was now in the actual service of a foreign sovereign, and he ran the
risk of losing his rights of citizenship unless he could come to some
understanding with the civic authorities. He had taken, as we have seen,
no notice of the Council’s urgent request, sent after him to England in
the autumn of 1532, and he had ignored the calls made upon him by the
Painters’ Guild during the six years of his absence, for fulfilling his
share of various official and ceremonial duties. Probably he was quite
unaware that such calls had been made. Now, however, that he was in
Henry VIII’s pay, it was necessary that some definite arrangement should
be made, which would enable him to remain in England at least some years
longer without risk of unpleasant consequences. The Council, seeing that
he had become a painter of high reputation, known far beyond the
confines of Switzerland, were more anxious than ever to keep him in
Basel. Aware, however, that they were not rich enough to find him
employment as remunerative as that enjoyed by him at the English court,
they effected a compromise. A document was drawn up, after consultation
with the painter, in which a much more generous offer was made to him
than the one proposed in 1532. This agreement, which was signed on
behalf of the Council by Jakob Meyer, “zum Hirschen,” after extolling
Holbein’s reputation as a painter, offered him a pension of fifty gulden
a year, with permission to remain in England for two years longer,
during which time they would pay his wife a pension of forty gulden.
After his final return to Basel, he was still to be permitted to receive
service money from foreign kings, princes, nobles, and cities, and, in
order to sell his pictures, was to be allowed to visit France, England,
Milan, or the Netherlands once, twice, or thrice a year for that
purpose.
The document runs as follows:
“Master Hans Holbein the painter’s Pension.”
“We, Jacob Meyger, Burgomaster, and the Council of the city of
Basel, do make known and acknowledge with this letter that:
“From the special and favourable will which we bear to the
honourable Hans Holbein, the painter, our dear citizen, since he
is famous beyond other painters on account of the wealth of his
art; weighing further that in matters belonging to our city
respecting building affairs and other things which he
understands, he can aid us with his counsel, and that in case we
had to execute painting work on any occasion, he should
undertake the same, for suitable reward, we have therefore
consented, arranged, and pledged to give and to present to the
above-named Hans Holbein a free and right pension from our
treasury of fifty gulden, though with the following conditions,
and only during his lifetime, whether he be well or ill, yearly,
in equal parts at the four quarters.
“As however the said Hans Holbein has now sojourned for some
time with the King’s Majesty in England, and according to his
declaration it is to be feared that he can scarcely quit the
Court for the next two years, we have allowed him under these
circumstances to remain in England the two years following this
date, in order to merit a gracious discharge, and to receive
salary, and have consented during these two years to pay his
wife residing among us forty gulden yearly, _i.e._ ten gulden
quarterly, which are to begin from next Christmas, as the end of
the first quarter. With the addition that in case Hans Holbein
should receive his discharge from England within these two years
and should return to us at Basel and remain here, that we should
from that moment give him his pension of fifty gulden, and let
it be paid to him in equal parts at the end of the quarter. And,
as we can well imagine that the said Holbein, with his art and
work being of so far more value than that they should be
expended on old walls and houses, cannot with us alone reap much
advantage, we have therefore allowed the said Holbein, that,
unimpeded by our agreement, for the sake of his art and trade,
and for no other unlawful and crafty matters, as we have also
impressed upon him, he may gain, accept, and receive service
money from foreign kings, princes, nobles, and cities; that
moreover he may convey and sell the works of art which he may
execute here once, twice, or thrice a year, each time with our
special permission, and not without our knowledge, to foreign
gentlemen in France, England, Milan, and the Netherlands. Yet on
such journeys, he may not remain craftily abroad, but on each
occasion he shall do his business in the speediest manner, and
repair home without delay and be serviceable to us, as we have
before said, and as he has promised.
“In conclusion, when the oft-mentioned Holbein has paid the debt
of nature according to the will of God, and has departed from
this valley of tears, then shall this warrant, pension, and
present letter be at an end, and we and our descendants
therefore are not pledged to give aught to anyone. All upright,
honourable, and with integrity. This letter, signed with our
official seal, we have given into the hand of the oft-mentioned
Holbein as a true document. Wednesday the sixteenth day of
October, anno xxxviii.”[334]
Footnote 334:
Woltmann, i. pp. 458-9. English translation, pp. 430-1.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: DEATH AND WILL OF SIGMUND HOLBEIN]
This document shows very clearly that though the civic authorities of
Basel were anxious to retain Holbein in their service, they were
doubtful whether they would be able to find much work for him except in
the direction of an occasional wall-painting or decoration of a
house-front; and his talents, they acknowledged, were too great to be
devoted to nothing but the covering of “old walls and houses” with
designs. They, therefore, made many concessions, which would enable him
to pursue his art with almost the same freedom he had hitherto enjoyed.
In spite of the liberality of the terms, however, the document remained,
as far as Holbein was concerned, a dead letter throughout the five
remaining years of his life; at least, no evidence has so far been
discovered to show that he ever visited Basel again, though, as
suggested in an earlier chapter,[335] he may have done so about the year
1541. Whether his wife received the pension of 40 gulden for the first
two years is not known. There is no mention of it in the Council’s
accounts, but Woltmann suggests that it may have been given, as was
often the case with pensions of this kind, out of the monastery
revenues.
Footnote 335:
See p. 63.
Holbein was bound to return to England for at least another six months,
as he had received nine months’ salary in advance, but there can be
little doubt that he had, at the time, every intention of accepting the
Council’s conditions. He was, however, so popular in England, and had so
much work on hand, that he found it increasingly difficult to leave, so
that in the end his arrangement with the Basel Council fell to the
ground. It has been suggested, too, that the death of his uncle Sigmund
in Berne, in November 1540, at about the time when Holbein was due to
return to Basel, may have had something to do with his determination to
remain in England; for Sigmund bequeathed all his property to his “dear
brother’s son Hans,” and it was handed over to the latter’s wife in his
absence. The will, from which we learn that “Sigmund Holbeyn” was then a
citizen of Berne, and being old, was about to make a journey to Augsburg
to see his relations, continues:
“In the first place, I will and bequeath to my dear brother’s
son Hans Holbeyn, the painter, citizen at Basel, both as my
blood relation and my own race and name, as well as from the
especial love I bear him and from the affinity in which he
stands to me, the free gift of all my goods and property which I
have and leave in the city of Berne, namely, my house, and
courtyard, and the garden behind, standing in the Brunnengasse,
on the sunny side, above by the Trom Wall, near Görg Zimmerman,
the tailor’s, house. The said property is free from taxes, with
the exception of five pounds interest, including the
commutation-capital, which I owe out of it to Herr Bernhard
Tillman, treasurer of the council at Berne, for money lent.
Item, my silver utensils, household furniture, colours,
painter’s gold and silver, implements for painting, and other
things, nothing excepted, that he shall appropriate the same as
my appointed heir, have it in his possession, do with it and
live as with his own possession and property, unmolested by my
sisters and by any one. What I have here bequeathed to him, will
be found noted on a separate roll, so that my cousin can better
inquire after it.”[336]
Footnote 336:
Woltmann, English translation, p. 106. Original text in Woltmann, ii.
p. 33-5.
He left what property he possessed in Augsburg to his three sisters,
Ursula Nepperschmid and Anna Elchinger in Augsburg, and Margreth Herwart
in Esslingen. The will is dated September 6, 1540, and the testator died
very shortly afterwards.
On the 18th of November the Berne Town Council wrote to both Basel and
Augsburg notifying his heirs of his decease, and on the 10th January in
the following year the property was handed over to Holbein’s stepson, as
the authorised agent of his mother. The confirmation of the testament,
in the name of Hans Franz Nägely, burgomaster of Berne, speaks of him as
“the honourable and wise Franz Schmid, citizen of Basel,” and says that
he brought “a procuracy and a letter from Elsbeth, the wife of Master
Hans Holbein, the painter, citizen of Basel, and also a letter from the
burgomaster and council of the town of Basel.”
This legacy would serve to some extent in place of the annuity of 40
gulden paid by the Council to Elsbeth Holbein, which would cease when
her husband failed to carry out his part of the agreement. Woltmann
suggests that she probably settled in Berne in consequence of this
bequest, in the house on the sunny side of the Brunnengasse, although
there is no documentary proof of this. On the other hand, the inventory
of her household goods and property, drawn up after her death in 1549,
and preserved in Basel, indicates that she never permanently severed her
connection with that city.
[Sidenote: PHILIP HOLBEIN AND JACOB DAVID]
Holbein must have set out again for England shortly after the drawing up
of this agreement, and there is some reason to suppose that he travelled
back by way of Paris, taking his elder son, Philip, with him, and
apprenticing him in that city for six years to Jacob David, the
goldsmith, who was a native, and still remained a citizen, of Basel.
This information is obtained from a letter addressed to David from the
Burgomaster Adelberg Meyer and the Council of Basel, dated 19th November
1545,[337] with reference to a dispute between the apprentice and his
master, the latter refusing to give him his discharge on the completion
of his six years’ service. This letter speaks of Holbein as deceased,
and refers to Philip as a “good, pious youth,” still in his minority,
and under the care of his step-brother, Franz Schmid.
Footnote 337:
Discovered, and first published, by Dr. His-Heusler.
David is informed that “it has credibly reached our ears that thou wilt
give no discharge to Philipp Holbein (but that thou hast brought him
moreover in Paris before the Lord-Lieutenant), although he has served
thee honestly and honourably his six years, which were promised by his
father, the deceased Hans Holbein, our citizen, now when he, at
befitting opportunity, desires to depart from thee, and this not alone
on account of his honest and honourable service, as was thy duty before
God and in all honour. Thus thou addest one cause of complaint to
another, and aimest at oppressing the good, pious youth as far as thou
canst and in causing his ruin. This thine unfriendly conduct has caused
us not a little regret; we had in no wise foreseen it, but had rather
hoped that if any one sought to hinder another in his success and
welfare, thou would’st have taken up his cause and protected him....
Besides, this Philipp Holbein is in his minority, and is under the care
of Franz Schmid, his brother, our citizen, and without his help and
authority is qualified for no lawsuit; it is our pleasure, therefore,
and we herewith request thee as our citizen, that thou forthwith and
immediately breakest off the complaint brought by thee against Philipp
Holbein and allowest him, kindly and friendly to depart from thee, and
because he has served thee honestly and truly, that thou givest him a
good sealed letter of discharge, of which he may make use. In all this
we express our earnest will and command; we have also written to the
Lieutenant who is judge between you both, our citizens, not to continue
the proceedings, and to refer you both hither.” The letter concludes by
saying that if David feels he has a just claim against Philip, he is to
cite him before the municipal court of Basel, when full justice shall be
done. A letter to the same effect, and of the same date, was sent to
Philip, ordering him not to enter into any further law proceedings in
Paris, but to take his discharge and return to Basel, where his case
would be decided by the municipal authorities.[338]
Footnote 338:
Woltmann, English translation, pp. 329-30.
It seems clear from this letter to David that the dispute arose shortly
after the completion of Philip’s six years of apprenticeship, in which
case the boy must have been left in Paris in the autumn of 1539, and not
of 1538. If that was so, then Holbein cannot have personally apprenticed
him on his return to England from Basel, and Philip must have gone there
a year later in charge of someone else. It is possible, however, that
Holbein took his son with him to England, and kept him there for twelve
months or so, sending or taking him to Paris in 1539. It is usually
supposed that the boy in the family group of 1528 represents Philip, the
elder son, born about 1522. In the picture he appears to be five or six
years old. He would thus be about fifteen or sixteen in 1538—rather a
late age upon which to enter his apprenticeship—and twenty-two at the
date of the letter, which, however, speaks of him as still a minor.[339]
Footnote 339:
It is possible that the boy in the picture is not the one who was
taken to Paris, but that the latter was a second son, born during
Holbein’s second residence in Basel (1528-32), whose age would thus be
in better accord with the evidence of the letter.
Holbein was back again in London some time before Christmas, 1538, when
he received the special reward of £10 for his journey into Upper
Burgundy. His first work of importance after his return was a portrait
of the infant Prince Edward, then some fourteen months old. This was
presented to the King on January 1, 1539, being entered in the roll of
New Year’s gifts as: “By Hanse Holbyne a table of the pictour of the
p^ince (Prince’s) grace.” In return he received from his royal master a
silver-gilt covered cup supplied by Cornelis Hayes, one of the King’s
goldsmiths. “To Hans Holbyne, paynter, a gilte cruse w^t a cover
(Cornelis) weing x oz. quarter.”
[Sidenote: PORTRAITS OF PRINCE EDWARD]
Holbein died when Edward was just six years old, so that he cannot have
painted the various portraits of the Prince in which he is represented
at a somewhat later period of life and after he was King, though at one
time they were all attributed to him. There are only three portraits of
him, and a few drawings, which show him as a child of tender years, of
which the authorship can be given to Holbein. The picture in the
Provinzial Museum, Hanover, is generally regarded as the original work
which he painted as a New Year’s gift for the King. An almost identical
picture is in the possession of the Earl of Yarborough, which some
writers regard as an unquestionable work of Holbein, while others
consider it to be merely an excellent old copy.
The Hanover picture[340] is a life-size, half-length figure, facing the
spectator. The child is dressed in a red velvet coat trimmed with gold,
and sleeves of gold brocade. A red hat, with gold tags and a large
ostrich feather, tied under the chin, surmounts the closely-fitting cap,
from beneath which his fair hair falls over his forehead. His right hand
is held out with open palm, and in his left he grasps a gold rattle. In
front of him is a stone or panel on which eight lines of Latin verse
from the pen of Sir Richard Morysin are inscribed, exhorting the Prince
to imitate his wonderful father. “Little one, imitate your father,” the
lines run, “and be the heir of his virtue, the world contains nothing
greater—Heaven and Nature could scarcely give a son whose glory should
surpass that of such a father. You only equal the acts of your parent,
the wishes of men cannot go beyond this. Surpass him, and you have
surpassed all the kings the world ever worshipped, and none will ever
surpass you.”[341] The head stands out well against the sky-blue
background. The round, chubby face, and small fat hands, are most
truthfully and delightfully rendered, while the colour scheme is very
harmonious. It is, indeed, in all ways, a most sympathetic and
delightful study of childhood.
Footnote 340:
Woltmann, 165. Reproduced by Knackfuss, fig. 130; Pollard, _Henry
VIII_, p. 242; Ganz, _Holbein_, p. 122.
Footnote 341:
Wornum, p. 324, note.
The almost equally charming little work in the Earl of Yarborough’s
collection (Pl. 22)[342] is practically a replica of the one in the
Hanover Museum. According to Wornum, it was at one time in the Arundel
Collection, at Stafford House, and was sold in 1720, subsequently
passing into the possession of Sir Richard Worsley, of Appuldurcombe,
Isle of Wight, and afterwards to the present owner. The same writer
notes some few peculiarities in its execution—“some defects in the right
hand, and a certain want of transparency, or a mealyness in the
colouring, that are not entirely consistent with Holbein’s
practice.”[343] It is most probably an old and careful copy after the
original at Hanover. It was in the Tudor Exhibition, 1890 (No. 174), and
the Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1909 (No. 62).
Footnote 342:
Reproduced in the Catalogue of the Tudor Exhibition, 1890, p. 80; and
_Burlington Fine Arts Club Exhibition Catalogue_, 1909, Pl. xxi.
Footnote 343:
Wornum, p. 323.
Charles I had a copy of this portrait made by Peter Oliver, signed “P.
O.,” and inscribed “Edwardus Princeps Filius Henrici Octavi Regis
Angliae.” In the King’s catalogue it is described by Van der Doort as:
“22. Item, the picture of King Edward VI in his infancy, in a red cap
with a white feather, and a red coat laced with gold, and golden cloth
sleeves, holding in his left hand a round golden rattle, and with his
right hand in some action; by a green table, whereupon is written in
white and black letters. Being in a black shutting frame. Painted upon
the wrong light. 4¾ in. × 2 in.” A marginal note describes it as “copied
by Peter Oliver after Hans Holbein, whereof my Lord Arundel has the
principal limning.” Wenceslaus Hollar engraved the picture in 1650,[344]
when it was in the Arundel Collection.[345]
Footnote 344:
Parthey, 1395.
Footnote 345:
There were two portraits of the Prince in the Arundel Collection, both
attributed to Holbein in the 1655 inventory, and entered as “Eduardo
Sesto Re d’Inghilterra.”
The Duke of Northumberland’s version, at Syon House,[346] is larger, and
the Prince is shown at full-length. It resembles the two others in most
particulars, and appears to be based on the same original drawing,
though the sitter looks somewhat younger. He is wearing a jacket of
patterned cloth of gold, and over it a crimson frock or coat embroidered
with golden stripes. His head is covered with a white-edged, striped
skull-cap, beneath which a fringe of fair hair falls on the forehead;
over this is worn a red hat with a dark feather in it. Thick-soled,
broad-toed shoes complete his costume. He is standing on a green velvet
cloth edged with gold, which is thrown over an ornamental stone tablet
containing, as in the other versions, Morysin’s Latin verses. The
background is a dark green curtain. It is painted on panel, 4 ft. 3 in.
high by 2 ft. 5 in. wide.
Footnote 346:
Woltmann, 246.
This picture has suffered considerably from rubbing and cleaning. The
preliminary chalk drawing can be plainly seen through the thin painting.
The position of the hands—which are beautifully painted—is somewhat
altered, and the child is without his rattle. In one corner of the
tablet is inscribed “Edwardus Princeps,” and in the other “Filius
Henrici 8,” now almost obliterated. Mr. Wornum[347] thought it probable
that this was the New Year’s gift picture, as the child appears to be a
little younger than in the Hanover and Yarborough versions, and with a
still brighter expression of face.
Footnote 347:
Wornum, p. 325.
[Illustration:
VOL. II., PLATE 22
EDWARD VI
1538-9
LORD YARBOROUGH’S COLLECTION
]
[Sidenote: DRAWINGS OF PRINCE EDWARD]
All three pictures seem to have been based upon the same drawing in the
Windsor Collection, in which the Prince is shown full-face, as a young
child, with a close skull-cap, and a black cap with a feather above it,
and a single frill round his neck.[348] This drawing has been badly
rubbed. There is a second drawing in the same collection, also
full-face, with hair cut closely across the forehead, and a plain black
hat (Pl. 23).[349] This, too, has suffered considerable damage. The
strong brush-work of the outlines stands out with undue emphasis, owing
to the destruction of the more delicate modelling of the crayons. In
this drawing the Prince appears to be at least a couple of years older
than in the other drawing, or in the Hanover picture and its variants.
He looks quite four or five years old. Mr. Wornum thought it might
represent Henry Brandon, afterwards Duke of Suffolk, from its likeness
to the boy in Holbein’s beautiful miniature, the proportions of the face
not quite agreeing with those of the infant Prince;[350] but it is
undoubtedly a portrait of the latter.
Footnote 348:
Woltmann, 326; Wornum, ii. 1; Holmes, not given.
Footnote 349:
Woltmann, 327; Wornum, ii. 2; Holmes, i. 2. Reproduced by Davies, p.
176; Knackfuss, fig. 146; Ganz, _Hdz. von H. H. dem Jüng._, 39.
Footnote 350:
Wornum, p. 407.
There is a third drawing of Edward VI at Windsor, in which he seems to
be quite six, if not older. It is one of the least pleasing of the
series, and if by Holbein, must be almost the last drawing he made, as
the Prince was but six when the painter died. He is shown in profile to
the left, with hat and feather, and almost yellow hair.[351] Several
portraits exist which are based on this drawing, though they are not by
Holbein, among the best of them being the versions in the National
Portrait Gallery,[352] the Victoria and Albert Museum,[353] and the
collection of Lord Sackville. The last-named was at the Burlington Fine
Arts Club in 1909 (No. 60). In this the Prince has golden hair, a black
cap with a white plume, and a purple gown lined with white fur over a
pale pink doublet. His right hand, raised, holds a rose, and his gloves
are in his left. The background is a greenish blue.
Footnote 351:
Woltmann, 328; Wornum, ii. 3; Holmes, ii. 1. Reproduced in _Drawings
of Hans Holbein_ (Newnes), Pl. ii.
Footnote 352:
Reproduced in the illustrated catalogue, National Portrait Gallery,
vol. i. p. 27.
Footnote 353:
Jones Bequest.
There is a very interesting drawing in coloured crayons by Holbein in
the Basel Gallery,[354] which is described as a portrait of Edward VI,
and bears considerable likeness to the various paintings and drawings in
England. The face, however, is decidedly longer and more oval in shape
than in the Windsor drawings; but much of the delicate modelling of the
flesh has vanished during the passage of time, so that it is difficult
to speak with absolute certainty as to the likeness. Most probably the
attribution is the correct one. The boy, who appears to be about five
years old, is dressed in a princely costume, and is holding a meerkat in
the bend of his right arm, and stroking its back with his left hand.
There is no portrait known which follows this drawing.
Footnote 354:
Woltmann, 30. Reproduced by Ganz, _Hdz. Schwz. Mstr._, ii. 37.
Upon one of the leaves of Holbein’s sketch-book, preserved in the Basel
Gallery, there is a delightful little circular drawing of Edward when a
small child,[355] evidently of about the same date as the Hanover
portrait. His costume is much the same as in the pictures described, and
he is seated on a cushion on the grass, fondling a small dog with his
left hand. The background on either side of him is filled in with
branches of oak with acorns. It may have been the first study for a
miniature, or possibly a design for a medallion or hat-badge to be
carried out in gold-and-enamel by one of Holbein’s goldsmith friends. In
spite of its small size the likeness is evident.
Footnote 355:
Woltmann, 110 (82). Reproduced by Ganz, _Hdz. von H. H. dem Jüng._,
Pl. 46, and woodcut in Woltmann, i. p. 449.
The scope of this book does not permit any attempt to give a detailed
list of the numerous portraits of the young prince painted after the
death of Holbein, in which he is represented at an age varying from
about ten to sixteen, some of them being works of very considerable
merit. In the days when it was believed that Holbein lived until 1554,
all these portraits were attributed to him, whereas now some other
authorship must be sought. It is known that Guillim Stretes, the Dutch
painter, was responsible for at least two of these portraits of the
young King. According to Strype,[356] in 1551 Stretes was paid by the
Privy Council “fifty marks for recompence of three great tables, made by
the said Guillim, whereof two were the pictures of his Highness sent to
Sir Thomas Hoby and Sir John Mason (ambassadors abroad); the third a
picture of the late Earl of Surrey, attainted, and by the council’s
commandant fetched from the said Guillim’s house.” In 1553 “Gillam
Strettes, Dutchman,” was the King’s painter, in receipt of the high
salary of £62, 10_s._ a year, and he continued in favour during the
reign of Queen Mary.
Footnote 356:
_Memorials_, &c., Vol. ii. p. 494. Quoted by Walpole, _Anecdotes_, ed.
Wornum, i. p. 138.
[Illustration:
VOL. II., PLATE 23
EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES
_Drawing in black and coloured chalks_
WINDSOR CASTLE
]
[Sidenote: LATER PORTRAITS OF EDWARD VI]
The excellent little bust portrait of Edward, formerly in the possession
of the Cokayne family at Rushton Hall, Northamptonshire, which was lent
by Lord Aldenham to the Burlington Fine Arts Club in 1909 (No. 63), has
been attributed to this painter. It is dated 1550. Mr. Roger E.
Fry,[357] on account of the delicate and personal scheme of blonde and
cool colouring which it displays, considers this portrait to be by the
same hand as the portraits of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, lent to the
same exhibition (Nos. 21 and 46) by Lord Sackville, which have been
mentioned in an earlier chapter.[358] Others exist of the same type to
which Stretes’ name has been provisionally given. The Duke of Portland
has a fine small full-length, undated,[359] probably from the same hand
as Lord Aldenham’s panel; another whole-length belongs to Mr. Vernon J.
Watney, while a third is at Southam Delabere, near Cheltenham. A very
interesting portrait of a different type is at Petworth, an
elaborately-painted likeness of the young King at full-length, seated on
his throne, with a canopy over his head, which is dated 1547, when he
was in his tenth year. This is attributed by Mr. Wornum to Stretes.[360]
There is another in Christ’s Hospital which closely resembles it, and in
the same building there is a second portrait of the Prince at the age of
nine. There is also a fine example in the Royal Collection at Windsor
Castle,[361] in which the head is of the same type as that in Lord
Aldenham’s picture. It is apparently by the same hand as that of the
Princess Elizabeth, also at Windsor, and whether by Stretes or not,
seems to be of Franco-Flemish origin. The large picture at Bridewell
Hospital, representing Edward VI transferring Bridewell Palace to the
City of London, was regarded in Walpole’s day as an excellent example of
Holbein’s brush, and both he and Vertue, who engraved it in 1750,
asserted that one of the figures in the background represented Holbein
himself.[362] The occurrence which the picture commemorates, however,
took place in 1553, ten years after Holbein’s death. This picture, too,
has been tentatively given to Stretes, but it is a work of no great
mastery, though of undoubted historical interest. Descriptions of other
portraits of Edward VI will be found in a paper contributed by Mr. J.
Gough Nichols, F.S.A., to _Archæologia_.[363] No less than sixteen, of
varying degrees of merit, were lent to the Tudor Exhibition in 1890. In
the inventory of King Henry VIII’s pictures made shortly after his
death, dated September 8, 1547, three of the earlier portraits of the
young Prince of Wales were included. Two of these were full-lengths:
“The Kynge’s Majestie, the whole stature, in a gowne like crymsen satten
furred with lusernes,” which was protected by a curtain of white
sarcenet; and “The Kynge’s Majesty, the whole stature, stayned upon
clothe” (_i.e._ canvas), with a curtain of green sarcenet. The first
named was not included in the earlier list of King Henry’s pictures
drawn up in 1542, but the latter is in that inventory, and so must have
been painted before 1542, and thus represented Edward as a little child.
The third portrait is merely described as “The Kynge’s Majestie.” This
may have been the curious “perspective” portrait of the young Prince,
now in the National Portrait Gallery (No. 1300),[364] a head within a
circle surrounded by a well-painted landscape, done in 1546, which has
been attributed to Stretes. According to Walpole,[365] who considered it
to be the work of Marc Willems, “Gulielmus pinxit” was written on the
frame. It formed part of the Royal collections from the time it was
painted, but was sold by the Commonwealth in 1650 for £2. It was seen in
Whitehall and described by the German traveller, Paul Hentzner, in 1598.
Two miniatures of Edward were lent to the Burlington Fine Arts Club
Exhibition (Case C, 13 and 19) by the Duke of Buccleuch, but these are
not by Holbein.
Footnote 357:
_Burlington Magazine_, vol. xv., May 1909, p. 75. Reproduced by Miss
Hervey, “Notes on some Portraits of Tudor Times,” _Burlington
Magazine_, vol. xv., June 1909, p. 155.
Footnote 358:
See pp. 104 and 112.
Footnote 359:
Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1909, No. 68.
Footnote 360:
Wornum, p. 326.
Footnote 361:
Reproduced by Cust, _Royal Collection of Paintings, Windsor Castle_,
Pl. 50; and Ganz, _Holbein_, p. 223.
Footnote 362:
Walpole, _Anecdotes_, ed. Wornum, i. p. 88.
Footnote 363:
Vol. xxxix. p. 20.
Footnote 364:
Reproduced in the Illustrated Catalogue, National Portrait Gallery,
vol. i. p. 27.
Footnote 365:
Walpole, _Anecdotes_, &c., ed. Wornum, i. p. 135.
------------------------------------------------------------------------