Portrait Of Bonifacius Amerbach
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The Portrait of Bonifacius Amerbach is a painting by the German master of the Renaissance
Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Jüngere;  – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered o ...
. It is deposited in the Basler Kunstmuseum as part of the
Amerbach Cabinet The Amerbach Cabinet was a collection of artifacts, paintings, libraries, assembled by members of the Amerbach family, most notably by the two law professors of the University of Basel, Bonifacius Amerbach and his son Basilius Amerbach the Younger. ...
. It is painted in tempera on pinewood and measures 29 cm x 27 cm.


Description

The painting was commissioned in 1519 by
Bonifacius Amerbach Bonifacius Amerbach (1495, Basel – April 1562, Basel) was a jurist, scholar, an influential humanist and the rector of the University of Basel for several terms. Early life and education Born on the 11 October 1495, he was the youngest son ...
, in order to leave a memory to his family in case he died during his stay in
Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
. Holbein portrayed him shortly after his return to
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
from
Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
. Amerbach worked closely with Holbein during work on the portrait and also composed the scripture in
Latin letters The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern Italy ...
hanging from a tree in the left of the painting. Several of Amerbach's annotations concerning the text are to be found in the University Library of Basel. He carefully composed the text on the painting, the first words ''Picta licet'' are annoted twenty times on a sheet.''Bonifacius Amerbach'' (in German). Basel: Schwabe Verlag. p.45 There was also a version of a six-line verse but eventually he opted for a verse of three phrases. It is assumed he drafted the text in one day, as the ink on the sheet is of the same color. It was the first time Holbein included a
panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of grc, ...
text in a portrait. As with some of the later examples, the text is presented in combination with an image of a fig tree. Modern research with
infrared reflectography Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
resulted in the assumption that Bonifacius had encouraged Holbein to adapt the text, as Amerbach had prepared the original script for the painting which included ''COLORIBVS'' for ''colors'', but in the painting ''LINEOLIS'' for ''lines'' is to be seen. Through the analysis with infrared reflectography, the adaptions could be detected. On the right beside Amerbach there is a
fig tree ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending int ...
, while in the background there are snowy mountains. The 14 October 1519 refers to the birthday of Bonifacius Amerbach. The portrait is one of the earliest paintings by Holbein as a member of the painters guild of Basel. As a member of the guild he was allowed to sign the painting with his full name. A text drafted for a second portrait without a beard was also found, but it is not known whether such a painting was ever realized.


Provenance

The painting became a part of the Amerbach cabinet, which was bought in its entirety by the city of
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
and the
University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...
in 1666. The portrait was later exhibited in two different locations near the Münster of Basel. In 1936 the Kunstmuseum Basel inaugurated a new building at the St. Alban Graben in which the portrait is exhibited.


References

{{Hans Holbein the Younger 1519 paintings Portraits by Hans Holbein the Younger