LIFE OF HOLBEIN. 7 Cleves to him ; but the king was not inclined to the match, till her picture, which Holbein had also drawn, was presented to him. There, as Lord Herbert of... Show more
LIFE OF HOLBEIN. 7 Cleves to him ; but the king was not inclined to the match, till her picture, which Holbein had also drawn, was presented to him. There, as Lord Herbert of Cherbury says, she was represented so very charming, that the king immediately resolved to marry her; and thus Holbein was unwittingly the cause of the ruin of his patron Cromwell, whom the king never forgave for introducing him to Anne of Cleves. In England Holbein drew a vast number of admirable portraits ; among others, those of Henry VII. and Henry VIII. on the wall of the palace at Whitehall, which perished when it was burnt, though some endeavours were made to remove that part of the wall on which the pictures were drawn. There happened, however, an affair in England, which might have been fatal to Holbein, if the king had not protected him. On the report of his character, a nobleman of the first quality wanted one day to see him, when he was drawing a figure after the life. Holbein,
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8 LIFE OF HOLBEIN. in answer, begged his lordship to defer the honour of his visit to another day ; which the nobleman taking for an affront, came, broke open the door, and v... Show more
8 LIFE OF HOLBEIN. in answer, begged his lordship to defer the honour of his visit to another day ; which the nobleman taking for an affront, came, broke open the door, and very rudely went up stairs. Holbein, hearing a noise, left his chamber; and meeting the lord at his door, fell into a violent passion, and pushed him backwards from the top of the stairs to the bottom. Considering, however, immediately what he had done, he escaped from the tumult he had raised, and made the best of his way to the king. The nobleman, much hurt, though not so much as he pretended, was there soon after him; and upon opening his grievance, the king ordered Holbein to ask pardon for his offence. But this only irritated the nobleman the more, who would not be satisfied with less than his life; upon which the king sternly replied, " My lord, you have not now to do with Holbein, but with me ; whatever punishment you may contrive by way of revenge against him, shall assuredly be inflicted upon yourself: remember,
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LIFE OF HOLBEIN. 9 pray, my lord, that I can, whenever I please, make seven lords of seven ploughmen, but I cannot make one Holbein even of seven lords/' We cannot undertake ... Show more
LIFE OF HOLBEIN. 9 pray, my lord, that I can, whenever I please, make seven lords of seven ploughmen, but I cannot make one Holbein even of seven lords/' We cannot undertake to give a list of Holbein's works, but this may be seen in Wal-poles Anecdotes. Soon after the accession of the late king, a noble collection of his drawings was found in a bureau at Kensington, amounting to eighty-nine. These, which are of exquisite merit, have been admirably imitated in engraving, in a work published lately by John Chamberlaine, F. S. A. certainly one of the most splendid books, and most interesting collections of portraits ever executed. Holbein painted equally well in oil, water-colours, and distemper, in large and in miniature : but he had never practised the art of painting in miniature, till he resided in England, and learned it from Lucas Cornelii; though he afterwards carried it to its highest perfection. His paintings of that kind have all the force of oil-colours, and are
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10 LIFE OF HOLBEIN. finished with the utmost delicacy. In general, he painted on a green ground, but in his small pictures frequently he painted on a blue. The invention of Holbein was surpri... Show more
10 LIFE OF HOLBEIN. finished with the utmost delicacy. In general, he painted on a green ground, but in his small pictures frequently he painted on a blue. The invention of Holbein was surprisingly fruitful, and often poetical; his execution was remarkably quick, and his application indefatigable. His pencil was exceedingly delicate; his colouring had a wonderful degree of force; he finished his pictures with exquisite neatness ; and his carnations were life itself. His genuine works are always distinguishable by the true, round, lively imitation of flesh, visible in all his portraits, and also by the amazing delicacy of his finishing. It is observed by most authors, that Holbein always painted with his left hand; though Walpole objects against that tradition, (what he considers as a proof), that in a portrait of Holbein painted by himself, which was in the Arundelian collection, he is represented holding the pencil in the right hand. But that evidence cannot be sufficient to set aside so general a testimony of the most authentic
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