London, the Hansa and Holbein

London, the Hansa and Holbein

Looking at the modern skyline of the City of London, with its great glass towers that seem to have grown overnight, it is difficult to think of this as a Renaissance city. Unlike Bruges, Innsbruck or Dijon there is little that remains from the sixteenth century or earlier. The Great Fire of London, in 1666, destroyed a huge swathe of the city, from the Tower of London to the Temple, making way for a new, brick-built metropolis in place of the old half-timbered town.

That old town, however, with its Roman roots, had been an important trading centre long before the fifteenth century. Despite the Hundred Years War with France and the tumultuous War of the Roses that followed – dividing the country between two royal factions – the strength of the English wool industry had brought wealth to the city, linking it with European trading networks, such as the Hanseatic League. This powerful league included major Baltic ports such as Gdansk, Lubeck, Hamburg, Stockholm, and Visby, linking them with cities such as Bruges, Cologne and London. Timber, furs, and amber from the Baltic would make their way south and east, just as spices, damask and glass from the Levant and beyond, would travel north. As with all trading networks, art and artists travelled along them too, bringing new ideas from the cities of the continent.

It was through the Hanseatic League’s London headquarters, called the Steelyard and built on the banks of the Thames (just where Cannon Street railway station is now), that a young artist from Augsburg began to make a name for himself in London. Hans Holbein had a rare talent for portraits – as well as a remarkable virtuosity in many other branches of art and design. His portraits of the Hansa merchants based in London, seem to have a truly modern sensibility – a clarity of observation that imparts a deep sense of character – unlike that of any other artist of his time. His skills were soon being used to make portraits of members of the royal court and by 1536 he was employed as The King’s Painter, creating some of the most famous images of King Henry VIII – standing four-square and powerful with his feet wide apart.

Henry, and his remarkable daughter, Elizabeth, would have very clear ideas about the power of the image to underpin the legitimacy of the Tudor dynasty. Elizabeth, a highly educated woman who spoke six languages fluently, was deeply interested in the humanistic learning that was sweeping across Europe. Her court would be filled with scholars, scientists, and poets and she would develop a cult of personality that made her the hub of all endeavour. She encouraged courtiers and aristocrats to spend lavishly on the off-chance that they would be able to entertain the Queen and her Court in splendid new ‘prodigy houses’, each built to out-do his neighbour. This has left us a legacy of amazing architecture, as well as stunning images. 

Aims 

• Look at the development of Renaissance ideas in England and see how, gradually, the work of continental artists influenced artistic production 
• Encounter some of the major artists working in England, especially Hans Holbein 
• See how Elizabeth I used humanist ideas to create a highly personal ‘trademark’ style 

Who’s who? 

Henry VII, King of England (1457–1509) 

Descended from the Lancastrian branch of the royal House of Plantagenet, Henry defeated his predecessor, Richard III, at the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, thus ending the divisive civil war known as the Wars of the Roses. He was a highly intelligent, ruthless, political operator who was determined to quash the power of his enemies. As an excellent administrator he was able to improve the judicial system and create a highly efficient tax system to help him to do so. 

Henry VIII, King of England (1491–1547) 

Henry inherited the throne from his father, Henry VII, in 1509. As a tall, strapping seventeenyear-old, well educated, charismatic and with a great love of sport and hunting, he cut a dash right from the start. However, his desperate attempts to ensure the dynastic survival of his family, through a male heir, took him through six wives and devastating religious turmoil which changed the country forever. His rivalry with his two contemporary monarchs, Francis I of France and the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, had tumultuous results for much of Europe, as their constant battles for supremacy wasted both lives and treasure. 

Hans Holbein (1497/8–1543) 

Hans Holbein was born in Augsburg, the son of a painter. He was a highly versatile artist, working in many different techniques throughout his career. He travelled extensively, working in Basle, in northern Italy and in France before coming to London for the first time in 1526. The scholar Erasmus had recommended him to Sir Thomas More, at that time a key member of the court of Henry VIII, and he also worked for several merchants from the Hanseatic League, based at the Steelyard in London. His painted portraits of merchants, aristocrats and ambassadors offer us a remarkable view of the people around the court in the mid-1500s. However, it is his drawings that are truly revelatory. Delicate pencil, charcoal and chalk images seem to capture so much of the character of his sitters. The drawings – usually just head and shoulders - lightly sketch in the outline of garments but offer extraordinary detail of the facial features. The expression of the eyes, a hint of a smile, a wary glance – looking at Holbein’s figures you begin to feel that you know these people. They are real, and we see them as he saw them.  

Slide list

1. Detail of London from The Sheldon tapestry Map of Oxfordshire, c, 1590s (Bodleian Library, Oxford) 

2. Anon, The Wilton Diptych, c. 1395 - 99 (National Gallery, London) 

3. Anon, The Despenser Retable, 1380-90 (Norwich Cathedral) 

4. Anon, Nottingham Alabaster panels of The Resurrection of Christ, 1450 – 1490 (Ferens Art Gallery Hull and Walters Art Museum, Baltimore) 

5. Map of the Hanseatic Cities 

6. Stefan Lochner, The Madonna of the Rose Garden, 1440 (Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne) 

7. The Master of the St Bartholomew Altar, The Deposition, 1500 – 1505 (National Gallery, London)  

8. Stephan Lochner, Three Saints c. 1450 (National Gallery, London) 

9. Bernt Notke, St George, the Dragon and the Princess, 1487 (The Church of the Storkyrkan, Stockholm) 

10. Bernt Notke, The Dance of Death c. 1493 – 95 (St Nicholas’ Church, Tallinn) 

11. Hans Memling, The Passion Altarpiece, 1491 (Museum für Kunst und Kulturgedichte, Lübeck) 

12. The Hanse House, King’s Lynn 

13. Duke Humphrey’s Library, The Bodleian, Oxford 

14. Hugo van der Goes, Panels of The King and Queen of Scotland from The TrinityAltarpiece, 1478 – 79 (Royal Collection Trust, on loan to The National Galleries of Scotland)  (15?)

16. The vault of the Henry VII Chapel, Westminster Abbey, London (courtesy, David Lambert) 

17. Pietro Torrigiano, Henry VII’s tomb, 1512 – 18 (Westminster Abbey, London)

18. Pietro Torrigiano, Roundel of St George and St Anthony, Henry V II’s tomb 1512 -18 (Westminster Abbey, London) 

19. Guido Mazzoni, Henry Tudor when a young boy, c. 1498 (Royal Collection Trust, London) 

20. Joos van Cleve, Henry VIII, 1530 – 35 (Royal Collection Trust, London) 

21. Hampton Court Palace 

22. Giovanni da Maiano, Roundel with the head of Emperor Tiberius, Hampton Court Palace 

23. The Great Hall, Hampton Court Palace 

24. Pieter Cock van Aelst, A Tapestry from the Story of Abraham Series, 1540 – 43 (Royal Collection Trust, London)

 25. Anon, The Field of the Cloth of Gold, painted c. 1545 (Royal Collection Trust, London) 

26. Georg Hoefnagel, The south frontage of Henry VIII’s palace of Nonsuch, 1568 (Victoria and Albert Museum, London) 

27. The Chateau of Chambord, built between 1519 - 47

28. Hans Holbein the Elder, Drawing of his two sons, 1511 (Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen, Berlin) 

29. Hans Holbein the Younger, Self Portrait, 1542-43 (Uffizi Gallery, Florence) 

30. After Hans Holbein the Younger, Designs for the Haus Zum Tanz, c. 1521 (Kupferstichkabinett, Offentliche Kunstsammlung, Basel) 

31. Hans Holbein the Younger, The Darmstadt Madonna, 1526 – 28 (Schlossmuseum, Darmstadt) 

32. Hans Holbein the Younger, print of Christ as the True Light, c. 1526 

33. Hans Holbein, Images of The Noble Lady and The Ploughman from The Dance of Death, 1524 -26 

34. Hans Holbein the Younger, Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam, 1523 (Musée du Louvre) 

35. Hans Holbein the Younger, Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam, 1523 (Longford Castle, on loan to the National Gallery, London) 

36. Hans Holbein the Younger, Study of the Hands of Erasmus, 1523 (Musée du Louvre) 

37. Hans Holbein the Younger, Sir Thomas More, 1527 (Frick Collection, New York) 

38. Hans Holbein the Younger, Drawing of Sir Thomas More, 1527-28 (Royal Collection Trust, London) 

39. Hans Holbein the Younger, Drawing of the Family of Sir Thomas More, 1527-28 (Kupferstichkabinett, Offentliche Kunstsammlung, Basel)

 40. Hans Holbein the Younger, Portrait of Georg Gisze, 1532 (Gemaldegalerie, Berlin) 

41. Hans Holbein the Younger, Portrait of Nicolaus Kratzer, 1528 (Musée du Louvre) 

42. Hans Holbein the Younger, Drawing of John Godsalve, 1532 (Royal Collection Trust, London)

43. Hans Holbein the Younger, Portrait of Sir Thomas Godsalve and his son, John, 1532 (Gemaldegalerie, Dresden) 

44. Hans Holbein the Younger, Drawing of Mary Shelton, Lady Heveningham, 1532 – 43 (Royal Collection Trust, London) 

45. Hans Holbein the Younger, Drawing of Elizabeth, Lady Rich c. 1535 (Royal Collection Trust, London)

46. Hans Holbein the Younger, The Ambassadors, 1533 (National Gallery, London) On view in Room 12 

47. Hans Holbein, the Younger, Kings Henry VIII and Henry VII (Whitehall Mural Cartoon), 1536 -37 (National Portrait Gallery).

48. Hans Holbein, the Younger, King Henry VIII, 1536 -37 (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool) 

49. Anon, The Family of Henry VIII, c. 1545 (Royal Collection Trust, Hampton Court Palace) 

50. William Scrots, Princess Elizabeth, c. 1546 (Royal Collection Trust, Windsor Castle) 

51. The Workshop of ‘Master John’, King Edward VI, 1547 (National Portrait Gallery, London) 

52. Rood screen in the Church of St Edmund, Southwold, Suffolk 

53. Girolamo da Trevison, A Protestant Allegory, 1538 – 44 (Royal Collection Trust, Hampton Court Palace) 

54. Anthonis Mor, King Philip II of Spain in Armour, 1557 (Monasterio de San Lorenzo, El Escorial) 

55. Anthonis Mor, Queen Mary of England, 1554 (Museo del Prado, Madrid) 

56. Anthonis Mor, Portrait of Sir Thomas Gresham, 1560 (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam) 

57. Burghley House, Stamford, Lincolnshire, 1555 – 1587 

58. Robert Smythson, Wollaton Hall, Nottingham, 1580 – 88 

59. Robert Smythson, Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, 1590-97 

60. Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, the Long Gallery, 1590s 

61. Rowland Lockey (?), Elizabeth Countess of Shrewsbury (‘Bess of Hardwick’), c. 1590 (The National Trust, Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire) 

62. Nicholas Hilliard (attrib.) The Hardwick Portrait of Queen Eizabeth I, 1590-99 (The National Trust, Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire) 

63. Anon, The Armada Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I (The ‘Drake’ version), after 1588 (Royal Museums, Greenwich, London) 

64. Marcus Gheeraerts, Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I (The ‘Ditchley’ Portrait), c. 1592 (National Portrait Gallery, London) 

65. Marcus Gheeraerts, Portrait of Captain Thomas Lee, 1594 (Tate Gallery, London) 

66. Anon, Monument to William Shakespeare, after 1616 (Holy Trinity Church, Stratford upon Avon) 

67. Anon, Portrait of Edmund Spenser (The Kinnoull Portrait), late 16th c. (private collection) 

68. Memorial tablet to Ben Jonson in the North Aisle, Westminster Abbey, London, 1637 

69. Anon, Portrait of a Young Man, possibly Christopher Marlowe, 1585 (Corpus Christi College, Cambridge) 

70. Marcus Gheeraerts, Portrait of William Camden, 1609 (National Portrait Gallery, London)