HOLBEIN, Hans the Younger
(b. 1497, Augsburg, d. 1543, London)

Drawing for the Façade Paintings in the Eisengasse (copy)

first half of 16th century
Pen and black and brown ink, washed and watercolour, 570 x 338 mm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

This early copy of the mural on the "Zum Tanz" house is though to give an accurate and detailed rendering of the Eisengasse façade. The real architecture had a fantastic, illusionary architecture superimposed upon it. Only the freely drawn vertical lines in the otherwise empty areas, and the pointed arches on the ground floor, indicate the presence of doors and windows in the real building. The bucket on the frieze right at the top indicates that building work is still under way on the fictional building.