Holbeins
I apologize for my lack of posts lately. Alisa and I have done plenty to keep ourselves busy since moving to Berlin from Marburg. For one, we have taken the opportunity to visit many museums. The Gemäldegalerie, which is a leading European museum containing art ranging from the 13th to 18th centuries, is certainly a favorite for us. It contains a number of works by the artist Hans Holbein the Elder. Holbein is a German artist said to be a pioneer in the transformation from the Gothic to Renaissance styles. Alisa is focusing on his portrait drawings in her research, and she spends much of her time in the study room looking at additional works by Holbein that are not on display in the museum.
One of our favorite works by Holbein is the The Sorrowing Virgin (1495). No doubt a stunning work, the painting is on display in its original frame. In the painting, Mary stares at the viewer, tears in her eyes. Her eyes still are red from her crying, and the amount of detail Holbein executed is simply breathtaking. I only wish we could find a print to have on our wall someday. It doesn’t seem as if Holbein receives as much attention as we would expect. His son, Hans Holbein the Younger, however, is quite well-known.
Holbein the Younger was a German artist who worked mostly in the Northern Renaissance style. On display in the museum are five of his paintings. While his Portrait of the Merchant Georg Gisze (1532) painting, made of oil and tempera on oak, is the most prominently displayed Holbein work in the museum, my personal favorite of his (of the five on display) is Portrait of a member of the von Wedigh Family (1533), which also is made of oil and tempera on oak. Another nice piece there is Portrait of Antony the Good, Duke of Lorraine (1543), but honestly, every single piece is simply beautiful. I would love to someday see Holbein the Younger’s self-portrait (1542–43) or The Ambassadors (1533) in person. Honestly, anything in person would be worth it! Holbein the Younger is certainly known as one of the greatest portrait artists of the 16th century, and by 1535, he was painter to King Henry VII.
What was an unexpected, overwhelming surprise during our very first visit was the room dedicated to portrait drawings. In this room were a number of Holbein the Elder drawings. I had walked ahead of Alisa and caught eye of the room, so I quickly checked it out. As soon as I saw the first drawing, I recognized it as a Holbein Alisa had shared with me. I grinned and soon returned to Alisa’s side, quietly and patiently waiting for her to move into the direction of the portrait drawings room.
When we finally came to the room, Alisa entered into it, turned the corner and came upon the first Holbein drawing. Her jaw dropped and she cupped her hand over her mouth in amazement. I caught the moment on camera, no doubt it being one to keep for all time.
Alisa made many comments that day on the small drawings, and I knew we had a memory to be shared for the rest of our lives. This day was a big day for Alisa, because right in front of her are the works she’s been waiting to see and study. I’m so happy for her, and I’m grateful to be able to witness it all!
This entry was posted in Blog, Family and Friends. Bookmark the permalink.
Alisa’s reaction is priceless, and a good reminder of why it is a blessing she gets to study over there. Glad to see another blog entry, and we look forward to more on your time in Deutschland!
I’ll work on getting some more up soon, because obviously a lot has happened. Soon. SOON!