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

Portrait of the Merchant Georg Gisze (detail)

1532
Oil on wood
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

On the rear wooden wall Holbein paints cartellino, supposedly attached to the wall with sealing wax, with a Latin couplet written on it saying: "Couplet on the portrait of Georg Gisze. What you see here is Georg's portrait showing his features; this is how lively his eye is, this is how his cheeks are shaped. In his 34th year, anno Domini 1532."