Holbein in the hague

Magazine Antiques, August, 2003 by Miriam Kramer

Hans Holbein the Younger was born in Augsburg in 1497 or 1498, the second son of the artist Hans Holbein the Elder He became an apprentice in Basel in 1515 and four years later joined the Basel artists' guild Zum Himmel as a master He received his first important commission, a portrait of the burgomaster Jakob Meyer zum Hasen and his wife Dorothea Kannengiesser, when be was only twenty years old.

In search of inspiration and commissions Holbein traveled to France and on to England via the southern Netherlands. For the rest of his life he moved between Switzerland and England, where he became an important fixture at the court of Henry VIII. He painted the king, members of his family courtiers such as Sir Thomas More, and decorations for Whitehall Palace in London. In Basel he continued to decorate the Town Hall as well as paint portraits of local worthies.

A major Holbein exhibition, the first ever to be held in the Netherlands, is on view at the Mauritshuis in The Hague from August 16 until November 16. It comprises some twenty paintings, twenty drawings, and three miniatures from numerous public collections and the British Royal Collection at Windsor Castle. The works include a portrait of the Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus, whom Holbein met in Basel, and a painting of the Madonna with the family of Jakob Meyer, known as the Darmstadt Madonna. The curator is Peter van der Ploeg, and the show is spo nsored by the Rabobank and Unilever. The accompanying catalogue, which contains essays by various scholars, will be distributed in North America by Thames and Hudson in March 2004. It can be ordered by telephoning 800-233-4830.