Holbein, Hans

hol'bin, Hans (1497-1543), a celebrated German painter. He was born in Augsburg and died in London. He is best known by a copy of the Meyer Madonna in the Dresden Gallery. It is an interesting fact that no painter of note ever ventured to paint a madonna as a Hebrew woman or the Christ child as a Hebrew boy. The Italian painters followed Italian types of beauty; the Spaniards, Spanish types; and so on to the end of the list. Holbein is no exception. The madonna of this picture is the golden-haired wife of the wealthy burgomaster of Basle, and the other personages are but the burgomaster's family circle. National pride has insisted that this picture is a rival of the Sistine Madonna, but it is difficult to see merit in the claim. Holbein was educated by his father for whom he was named and who was himself a painter of no mean repute. Hans, the younger, painted many London celebrities, including Lady Jane Seymour and Henry VIII. Much of his work was destroyed in the great London fire of 1666. See Painting