Materias primas empleadas

Whilst Holbein’s drawing papers were introduced and discussed in Chapter 3, in this section we take a closer look at the function of those papers, over and above their obvious function of being just a carrier for the media. This section will discuss findings that address the substrates that Holbein used, and how he used them, with special regard to the pink prepared papers. In general there is little in the way of detailed comparisons of Holbein’s portrait drawings in Holbein literature. Evidence collected from examination of the drawings as a group seems to indicate that whether prepared or not, Holbein’s use of papers was dictated by size and purpose. As discussed in Chapter Three, Holbein’s papers were good quality, creamy in tone and more often than not, French. Although there is no evidence to suggest that Holbein was particular about a certain orientation of that paper sheet, there was nothing arbitrary with regards to his use of the paper in terms of exploitation of its properties.

It is the art historical norm to separate the drawings according to Holbein’s periods of working in either Basel or England, with the drawings executed in England further divided into the years of Holbein’s first and second stays. The obvious differences are usually pointed out – that the English 1526-28 first visit drawings are executed on unprepared paper and the second visit drawings on a pink prepared ground. But historical information on Holbein’s use of paper is limited. The materials, techniques and appearance of Holbein’s portrait drawings are not really so easily segregated, as there are anomalies in each of the art historical separations. Holbein used a pink preparation before his first visit to England: in the early 1520s, which would have been

68Jim Murrell, The Way Howe to Lyme, Tudor Miniatures Observed. V&A Publications: London.1983.35.

It should also be noted that there is a painting of Anne of Cleves in the Louvre, which also has the same pose as that of her miniature version, in the V&A Museum. The relationship of drawing to miniature is therefore not clear.

prior to having contact with the miniaturist Lucas Horenbout. This early use of a pink preparation would therefore call in to question Jim Murrell’s theory that Holbein may have adopted the pink preparation method under the influence of his contact with the Horenbout.⁶⁹ The over- simplification of the drawings’ descriptions and this artificial separation of work according to when it was executed omits comparison of his early and later drawings, of which there are similarities. As described in Chapter Three, observing such similarities and differences informs our understanding of Holbein’s technique.

One should not underestimate the impact paper had on drawing as a genre in general during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Less expensive than parchment, its use opened up a wealth of possibilities for artists’ drawing. As a foundation for drawing media, a paper’s size, tone and texture have an impact on the visual appearance of a drawing. Even with the addition of a preparation layer that can obscure the paper’s features, its texture can still play a part. Paper might therefore be selected to suit the function of a drawing: too textured and pen lines are hard to draw smoothly; too smooth and more friable media has nothing to grab on to. Although Holbein’s choice of papers would have been limited to what was available and what he was able to transport with him, there were certain requirements that needed to be met. For example, he must have taken into account the absorbency and opacity of the papers, since they would need to accommodate the use of both dry and aqueous media.

As discussed in Chapter Three, during Holbein’s time, papers were not necessarily manufactured for specific end-uses for artists. Quality was obviously important and papers were made of different grades, implying different qualities were needed for different tasks. Late 14^thcentury documentation relating to Burgundian trade suggests that some papers were bought with certain functions in mind, such as for portraiture and designing.⁷⁰ The multi-disciplinary use of paper is evident when looking at Holbein’s work on paper. For example, the same papers would have been used for

69Jim Murrell.1983.20. 1525 Lucas Horenbout was working in England & in 1531 Horenbout became the King’s Painter and 1534, a denizen.

70Susie Nash, ‘The Supply, Acquisition, Cost and Employment of Painters’ Materials at the Burgundian Court, c.1375-1419’. Trade in Artists’ Materials: Markets and Commerce in Europe to 1700. Table 2. Page 121: ‘pour pourtraire et faire patrons sur ycellui’ - roughly meaning for portraying and making patterns (?) on this. Then also 1399, paper bought called ‘ordinary paper’ ‘pour traissier et getier des ymaiges set autres besoignes de son mestier’ (Table 2 contd. p122) roughly meaning ‘for tracing and making ?) images and other needs of the master’.

drawings that functioned differently, such as large-scale cartoons, where several paper sheets were joined together, or small-scale drawings. This is evidenced by the same type of paper, bearing the Eagle watermark, Type N, appearing within the paper of six single sheet Windsor portraits, and repeatedly on the remaining fragment of the joined papers of The Whitehall Cartoon of Henry VIII.⁷¹ Furthermore, as explained in Chapter Three, the same paper type (watermark type D) is also used for drawings on

unprepared and prepared papers.

4.4.3 Holbein’s pink prepared papers

Holbein’s use of pink preparation has been viewed as generic by previous authors, which has led to an over-simplification in terms of the drawings’ descriptions.⁷²In turn this has excluded the drawings’ finer details, including how Holbein established and individualised the sitters’ flesh tones with the application of chalks over the pink preparation. Furthermore, previous research has not investigated fully how these pink preparations may have functioned and influenced the drawing process, nor has it explored the connection of Holbein’s prepared papers with his other artistic workshop practices. In order to address these omissions, this section will discuss how the pink preparation functioned, and its connections to other artistic preparatory layers, such as panel grounds and carnations of miniatures. Much of the history of prepared papers and their manufacture was discussed in Chapter 3, which illustrated that in their infancy, most prepared papers were borne out of technical necessity: to facilitate the application of metal point. However, coloured preparations perform other functions, sometimes purely decorative or to facilitate chiaroscuro drawings, thereby facilitating the contrast in colour.

A prepared paper is a sheet of paper that has an applied ground or a layer of coloured wash. Notably, the introduction of colour into the mix tends to change the aesthetic effect of the sheet. The composition of the preparations in colour is not the focus in this

71See watermark Table 3a (by watermark type) and Table 3b (by drawing date). See also Registered Papers in the National Portrait Gallery archive, which contain photography and research related information regarding the Whitehall Cartoon.

72Paul Ganz, ‘Holbein’, The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, 47.272.240 Nov.1925 and Karl Parker.1945.28.

section, it is rather what they look like and why they were applied.⁷³During the 15^th century a wider range of pigmented grounds were introduced. A fine example of this is the green preparation that forms the basis of Hans Baldung Grien’s chiaroscuro Self-Portrait, c1502 (Basel Kunstmuseum, Kupferstichkabinett, inv.U.VI.36, 220 x 160mm, Figure 49). This is a mesmerising drawing for many reasons, not least because of the vibrant green preparation and the juxtaposition of the pink and white opaque

highlights, utilised to striking effect. However, unlike Holbein’s portrait drawings, this portrait does not function as a likeness that is ‘descriptive’ in the naturalistic sense and, moreover, it would not classify as a preparatory drawing nor function as a face pattern.

In his doctoral thesis on the use and significance of colour in Italian Renaissance drawings, Thomas McGrath makes the distinction between ‘decorative’ colour and

‘descriptive’ colour.⁷⁴ Unlike decorative colour, descriptive colour aims to reproduce the appearance of colours in nature. This important distinction is useful when

considering and assigning a function to a drawing. As was described in the previous chapter, Holbein was familiar with the use of prepared papers, both plain and coloured, and utilised them for different types of drawings.Unlike Baldung’s use of colour for his self-portrait, Holbein used a pink preparation as a descriptive foundation for the flesh tones on which to build the sitter’s complexion. The use of this flesh tone pink implies how this preparation may have functioned. Holbein’s choice of pink was not just about modelling for a mid-tone, but also about a sense of vivacity, an illusion of flesh.

Complexion, it was believed, revealed profound truths about character.⁷⁵ So it would not have been an overlooked aspect.

As demonstrated in Chapter Three, Holbein’s early use of prepared papers illustrates a very standard workshop practice, developed out of the technical necessity for the use of metalpoint. However, Holbein did not necessarily prepare the later pink papers to facilitate this specific technical requirement. Although a prepared surface would have given him the option to use a metalpoint, this was not the reasoning behind his choice:

metalpoint was used very infrequently as a drawing tool for these portraits. From this

73 Thomas H McGrath Disegno, Colore and the Disegno colorito: the use and significance of color in Italian Renaissance Drawings 22. 1994 PhD dissertation, Harvard University. With thanks to Thea Burns for the loan of this thesis.

74McGrath.1994.16

75McGrath.1994.60

we can infer that the function of the pink prepared paper was primarily to provide a tone on which to build up the complexion of the sitter. Having this particular mid-tone as a foundation for drawing would speed up the drawing process, removing the time consuming activity of shading and working up a flesh colour from scratch. In a time when Holbein’s commissions were amassing during his second stay in England, any methods of speeding up the process would have been welcomed. Holbein’s methodology would help to cut processes and therefore reduce the amount of labour involved.

Comparing Holbein’s drawing process of creating a flesh tone on an unprepared paper with that of a drawing on pink prepared paper perhaps best explains how much time-consuming work was involved in building up the complexion from scratch. Despite the poor condition of some of the portrait drawings, it is clear that Holbein would have individualised the complexion of each sitter, with or without the pink as a foundation, for beginning the drawing. This is evidenced by the amount of detail given to this area of the face in a number of drawings in good condition, both prepared and unprepared.

There is no denying that the flesh tone would have been a significant factor in depicting the likeness of a sitter, and further confirms that these drawings were not just face patterns where only the shape was of significance. After all, why go to all that trouble of modelling the flesh tone if not to prove to the commissioner your skill at capturing their likeness as well as make further use of the drawing for reference whilst painting? Some evidence for this is found in Jane Seymour’s portrait drawing of 1536/37, which is depicted on a very pale pink prepared paper, and her painted portrait is similarly pale, (Figures 26 & 27). According to the Imperial Ambassador to the English Court, Eustace Chapuys, 1536, she was ‘of middle stature and no great beauty, so fair that one would rather call her pale than otherwise’.⁷⁶ There is therefore some indication from this drawing that a particular tone of pink was selected that was appropriate for the sitter, before adding more details particular to the complexion.

General wear and tear on some of the corpus of drawings studied here has meant they no longer hold their original hues. For example, there is hardly any coloured chalk left on the facial area of the drawing of Edward, Prince of Wales, c1538, (Parker 46, The

76A B Chamberlain, Hans Holbein the Younger. George Allen & Co: London. 1913.Vol.II. 111-112.