HOLBEIN, HANS THE ELDER. - German painter and engraver, b. probably between 1460 and 1470 at Augsburg, d. in 1524 at Isenheim.

There is little information about his life and nothing is known of his artistic training; his first works, however, reveal a clear Flemish influence, as in the altarpiece for the Dominicans of Frankfurt am Main (1501). Toward the end he, substantially archaic in his compositions in dark colors, changed his manner, accepting the experiences of the new art influenced by Italian art. Mentioned are The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian, one of his masterpieces (ca. 1515), and The Fountain of Life (1519). He was also a renowned portraitist. His sons Ambrosius and the more famous Hans (the Younger) were also painters.

Bibliography3 works

BIBL.: Glaser, s. v. in Thieme-Becker, XVII, pp. 333-35; O. Benesch, Beiträge zur oberschwöbischen Bildnismälern, in Jahrbuch der Preussischen Kunstsammlungen, 1933, pp. 338-54; A. A. Schmidt, Holbeinstudien, in Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, 1941-42, pp. 1-39.

Gilberto Ronci

@incollection{ec6_holbein_hans_il_vecchio, author = {Ronci, Gilberto}, title = {Holbein, hans, il vecchio}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {VI}, pages = {1464}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1951}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/holbein-hans-il-vecchio} }

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Holbein, Hans the Elder

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