The Story
The following is a list of portrait drawings by Hans Holbein the Younger that are generally accepted as by his own hand.
Created in 1625 during the 1600-1650 period, this work belongs firmly within the portrait tradition. Follower of Peter Paul Rubens worked at a moment when the rivalry between Catholic Baroque drama and Protestant restraint reshaped what a painting could mean. Every gesture, fabric, and gleam of light was decoded by contemporary viewers like a private language.
Executed in Oil on panel, measuring 62.5 × 47.6 cm (24 5/8 × 18 3/4 in.), the surface rewards close looking. Follower of Peter Paul Rubens builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Baroque practice.
“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”
