Originalveröffentlichung In: Roskill, Mark (Hrsg.): Hans Holbein
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Originalveröffentlichung in: Roskill, Mark (Hrsg.): Hans Holbein : paintings, prints and reception ; [proceedings of the Symposium "Hans Holbein: Paintings, Prints, and Reception" ... held 21 - 22 november 1997 in Washington], New Haven, Conn. [u.a.] 2001, S. 141-153 JURGEN MULLER Universitat Hamburg The Eye of the Artist: Hans Holbein's Theory of Art f we compare the art of Hans Holbein with the Apelles of his time and thus affirmed the that of Albrecht Diirer, it seems that Holbein, value of portrait painting; on the other, he the artist from Basel, hides himself in his passed many polemical judgments on the i 4 work. In contrast to the Nuremberg master, fine arts in general. In no less than four pas Holbein left behind no letters or theoretical sages from The Praise of Folly, Erasmus writings, and the two artists were quite dif pointed to painting as a negative example. ferent also in their approaches to self-repre Again and again he spoke of the dangers sentation. The few miniatures we have from that painting holds for the trusting believer: Holbein can hardly equal the distinction of it is the worship of saints and religious relics Diirer's faithful likenesses of himself. that leads to confusing a representation Prominent among the art-historical ref with an archetype and causes Christians to erences related to Holbein is the Apelles "adhere to a silly, yet pleasant superstition." theme (the subject is integral to the story of Painting, he claimed, is just another example Lais, discussed herein), of which the artist of how the world wants to be deceived, of 1 made repeated use. He did so because to el how appearance is valued more than actual evate painting to the standing of one of the existence.5 liberal arts, it was necessary for artists of his Erasmus' dialogue Ciceronianus of 1528 day to engage in classical, humanist dis makes rhetorical use of the idea of the failed course, especially through reference to Book portrait. In it he compared the poor speaker, 35 of Pliny's Natural History and the anec who limits himself mistakenly in his rhetoric dotes told therein. A painter who wished to to the sole ideal of Cicero, with the portrait be noticed by the humanists was obliged painter, who depicts his subject so inappro to submit to a certain pressure of conformity priately that he renders him ridiculous. In regarding this particular source. It is help this context Erasmus delivered a lengthy ful to keep in mind, however, the conflict discourse on the principal limitations of implied by this subordination of painting to every portrait; even the most successful the classical theory of art. No matter how representation of a person—one that man much friendship and goodwill the name of ages to progress from a mere likeness to Apelles calls forth, we must not forget the the emotional affect and from there even to animosity humanists directed toward the art a physiognomical rendering of character of painting.2 traits—can never be more than a dead image: i. Hans Holbein the Younger, Lais Corinthiaca, 1526, In Erasmus especially we encounter an ex panel tremely ambiguous attitude toward the fine Let us assume that this [ideal speaker] is as KLinstmuseum Basel, 3 Offentliche Kunstsdmmlung arts. On the one hand, he praised Diirer as adept in recreating Cicero as Zeuxis was in 141 representing the female form. Zeuxis was able the world is subject to the law of constant to depict his subject's features, complexion, change and thus cannot be valued as if it age, even a suggestion of the feelings. It is this were the truth. In other words, Erasmus' that demonstrates his supreme artistry—he aversion to painting is the consequence of could show grief, joy, anger, fear, attention, or his basic belief in Plato, who thus becomes boredom. Now the man who could offer all the agent of a Christian spiritual philosophy. this surely realized the full potential of his This is especially clear in The Handbook of art? As far as was possible, he transferred the the Christian Solider, where Erasmus cited form of the living person to the mute image. the allegory of the cave to underline the Nor can we ask anything more of a painter. ambiguities in the sensory information we You recognize the physical characteristics of receive: 'The crowd are those [in Plato's the woman painted, you observe her age and cave] who, chained by their own passions, feelings, possibly her state of health as well; marvel at images of things as if they were some artists, we are told, made it possible for true reality."10 Erasmus used this locus a physiognomist to read off the character, habits, and life-span. But what an enormous classicus repeatedly in his works to depre amount of the real person is missing from the cate the shadowy images of sense perception. portrait! We find represented everything it is What form can Holbein's answer to this ve possible to ascertain from outermost layer, hement criticism take? What possibilities re the skin. Yet man consists of soul as well as main for truth in painting? body, and we have very little even of one con Working in the tradition of early Nether stituent part, and the inferior one at that.6 landish precision, Holbein's painting meets the highest standards of realistic art. In Erasmus opposed the notion of a portrait on deed, he conveyed the impression that it is the grounds that not only are such images a genuine joy for him to demonstrate his incapable of showing the internal organs of technical prowess. There is no one who a person; they have even less capacity to re can portray more convincingly fur, irides veal a human being's "special characteristics: cent velvet, transparent glass, and other mind, intelligence, memory, and under surface textures that are difficult to paint. 7 standing." The muteness of the portrait In this context, we could certainly point to becomes the true indicator of the "dead," the classical anecdote involving the grapes imitative quality brought about by painting. of Zeuxis; however, such an example does Near the end of this section in Ciceronianus not explain the problem of illusionism (that is the story of an artist whose attention to is, creating the illusion of reality), but exact reproduction is so focused that he can rather formulates in very suggestive fash no longer differentiate between essential ion the image of perfect optical illusion, de and nonessential. At each sitting he must scribing the result and not the precondition change the painting because the subject has for this realistic effect. We are therefore a new haircut or is wearing a new dress. If compelled to ask what it was that consti the person's external features are distorted tuted for Holbein seeing and rendering of by illness, Erasmus continued, then the the visible world. To answer this question, artist begins immediately to paint all the vis our attention must be focused on those ible symptoms of the sickness.8 The works of his that have to be understood example of this portrait painter, who must explicitly in an art-theoretical context. We make constant corrections to reflect what is begin with a miniature painting that fea occurring before his eyes, is intended to il tures a self-portrait of the artist11 and then lustrate graphically the unbridgeable gap examine two related images of Lais and between archetype and representation. With Venus. Taking the full range of Holbein's this supposedly original episode of the por works into consideration, the selection of trait that cannot be completed, Erasmus these three examples is compelling, since used the context of the history of philoso they are the only ones devoted explicitly to phy to transfer to painting Plato's realization, the theme of painting. Most of his portraits in his Theaetetus, of the general limits of 9 convey only an implicit theory of art—that sense perception. This Platonic dialogue tells us that what our senses tell us about is to say, they provide a commentary through inscriptions. 142 J. MULLER The Duty of Painting Inasmuch as the entire composition is di rected toward highlighting the painter's eyes, The self-portrait shows Holbein in a three- its circular form has the function of focus quarter frontal view, looking attentively at ing our attention on what is being repre the observer. At the left of his head, which sented. The hands of the artist, which are occupies nearly the entire space of the paint molded into the round format of the paint ing and is covered with a cap, we see an H ing, create an imbalance that directs our as well as the year, is42; the age of the view upward, where it comes to rest finally subject, 45, appears at the right. Accord on the eyes. Playing a major role in this ing to these figures, the miniature was process is the apparently inconspicuous lock painted one year before the artist's death. of hair that curls in at the level of the eyes. The letters and numbers are quite worn It terminates the dynamic circular move down, however, and are not easily recog ment in Holbein's left pupil, which is lo nizable. Furthermore, they do not appear to cated almost precisely on the central verti have been executed with any particular cal axis of the painting. It is difficult to care, and the same is true for the hands imagine a more pronounced accentuation and the clothing. With all power concen of the artist's gaze.