The Story
Hans Holbein the Younger painted the Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam several times, and his paintings were much copied, at the time and later. It is difficult to disentangle Holbein's original work from that of his workshop and other copyists. Possibly five largely original versions survive, as well as a number of drawings made as studies. Holbein's portraits played an important part in spreading the painter's reputation across Europe, as they and their copies were widely distributed.
When Holbein moved to England he had a letter of recommendation from Erasmus to Thomas More, in whose house he initially lived.
Executed in woodcut, measuring Unknown, the surface rewards close looking. Hans Holbein the Younger builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Baroque practice.
“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”
