The Story
Head of an Old Woman, c. 1500. Hans Holbein (German, c. 1465–1524). Silverpoint; traces of framing lines in graphite; sheet: 6.6 x 5.8 cm (2 5/8 x 2 5/16 in.); secondary support: 6.6 x 5.8 cm (2 5/8 x 2 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1970.14
Created in 1500 during the Renaissance period, this work belongs firmly within the portrait tradition. Hans Holbein worked at a moment when the rivalry between Catholic Baroque drama and Protestant restraint reshaped what a painting could mean. Every gesture, fabric, and gleam of light was decoded by contemporary viewers like a private language.
Executed in silverpoint; traces of framing lines in graphite, measuring Sheet: 6.6 x 5.8 cm (2 5/8 x 2 5/16 in.); Secondary Support: 6.6 x 5.8 cm (2 5/8 x 2 5/16 in.), the surface rewards close looking. Hans Holbein 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.”
