German 1497-1543 Hans Holbein Galleries Holbein always made highly detailed pencil drawings of his portrait subjects, often supplemented with ink and colored chalk. The drawings emphasize facial detail and usually did not include the hands; clothing was only indicated schematically. The outlines of these drawings were then transferred onto the support for the final painting using tiny holes in the paper through which powdered charcoal was transmitted; in later years Holbein used a kind of carbon paper. The final paintings thus had the same scale as the original drawings. Although the drawings were made as studies for paintings, they stand on their own as independent, finely wrought works of art. How many portraits have been lost can be seen from Holbein's book (nearly all pages in the Royal Collection) containing preparatory drawings for portraits - of eighty-five drawings, only a handful have surviving Holbein paintings, though often copies have survived. David Hockney has speculated in the Hockney-Falco thesis that Holbein used a concave mirror to project an image of the subject onto the drawing surface. The image was then traced. However this thesis has not met with general acceptance from art historians. A subtle ability to render character may be noted in Holbein's work, as can be seen in his portraits of Thomas Cromwell, Desiderius Erasmus, and Henry VIII. The end results are convincing as definitive images of the subjects' appearance and personality.  Related Paintings of Hans Holbein :. | Erasmus of Rotterdam (mk45) | Noli me Tangere | Portrait of Henry VIII | Portrait of Catherine Howard | The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb and a detail |
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Eugene Fichel
(30 August 1826 Paris - 2 February 1895 Paris) was a French painter. He entered the École des Beaux-Arts in 1844 and became a pupil of Hippolyte Delaroche, but painted very much more under the inspiration of Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier, whose exquisite handling is suggested in numerous small canvases of his which by their refined technique and vivid action recall the characteristic intensity and directness of composition which belong to the painter of eFriedland.e Along with great care in finish, Fichel's canvases also exhibit an archæological exactness, and a kind of delicate humor. His first work of importance was exhibited in 1850, eHarvey Demonstrating the Circulation of the Blood to Charles I.e He was a chevalier of the Legion of Honor and, in 1857, received a medal for his painting in the Salon of that year. He exhibited a canvas every year at the Salon, up to a few years before his death.
Kosztka, Tivadar Csontvry
Hungarian Painter, 1853-1919
Robert Whale
Born in Alternun, England in 1805. Died in Brantford, Ontario in 1887