Miscellaneous works
by Hans HOLBEIN the Younger

Holbein's work for the English court did not stop at portraits; he also produced designs for court dress, necklaces, jewellery, hat-badges and brooches. More than two hundred and fifty designs for craftsmen, particularly goldsmiths, are attributed to him, and he was responsible for much of the plate and weapons in use at Henry's court. His decorative style shows a delight in flowing Renaissance forms of exuberant and sophisticated complexity that contrasts sharply with the direct realism of his portraits.

The most lavish and ornate design for goldsmith's work now surviving is Jane Seymour's Cup, which was ordered by Henry when he married Jane Seymour in 1536. The design has all the grace and stylish refinement that we associate with European mannerism; few other examples of such calibre were to find their way to England.

Preview Picture Data File Info Comment
Design for a Pendant
1533-36
Pen and ink with watercolour, 37,3 x 14,3 cm
British Museum, London

628*973
True Color
101 Kb



Jane Seymour's Cup
c. 1536
Pen, indian ink, and watercolour, 376 x 155 mm
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

521*1132
True Color
101 Kb



The initial E in the manuscript of Canones horoptri by Nikolaus Kratzer
c. 1528
Tempera on parchment, 238 x 168 mm
Bodleian Library, Oxford

650*1005
True Color
78 Kb



Model of the `Zum Tanz" house (reconstruction)
-
Drawing
Kupferstichkabinett, Öffentliche Kunstsammlung, Basel

706*917
Grayscale
81 Kb



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

655*1114
True Color
132 Kb




Summary of paintings by Hans Holbein the Younger
1515-19 | 1519-25 | altarpieces | 1526-28 | 1529-31
1532-35 | Ambassadors | Henry VIII and his family | 1536-43
drawings and woodcuts | miniatures | Miscellaneous works