Show your face - reveal yourself to us. Help us to connect with you across the centuries. Allow us today to see how you were when you were alive. Give us an indication of your position in society, your thoughts, your pose and poise. What do your faces tell us about our own, our friends, our billions? Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543) and Franz Hals the elder (1582-1666) were from Northern Europe , painted and drew the leaders and locals of their day. Each in their very different styles revealed the lives behind the faces they encountered. Exhibitions by these artists are running concurrently in London (at the Queens Gallery and at the National Gallery) Two faces to ponder There is a story to be written about each. What were they about to say? What will they be doing after the sitting with the artist? Who do they talk to and confide in? Who do they love? Katherine Brandon was a significant patron of reforming clerics and encourage date publication of evangelical texts at a time when theology and religious practice were hotly disputed. The young woman painted by Hals is more of a mystery, yet seems so approachable. Eyes The hardest part to paint and yet the most revealing of character. Both Holbein and Hals were masters, in their different ways. These details show more of the techniques they used but above all show the deep looking by the artist in order to see so accurately. Hands Both artists also took time and care over hands, and over costumes. The black dresses and white ruffs of the Hals portraits give frame to the faces just as the hats and tight headwear of the Holbein’s define and give form. The hands don’t always appear in their portraits but when they do they are expressive and flowing. Women and men For both artists, in these exhibitions at least, women are given prominence and dignity, and there is a sense of power and influence. Holbein drew queens (Ann and Jane) and courtiers Hals chose often to give women poses with attitudes of assurance In the Hals double portrait, her pose with the arm on her hip was a very unusual way for a woman to be shown. She seems more confident and determined than her hesitant looking husband The two remarkable Holbein portraits bring each sitter to life : their thoughtfulness and significance in the court of Henry VIII Free faces, poses, style The vigour and vim of these youths and they way they have been shown - flowing brushstrokes and free pencil marks - shows life and future In the Holbein drawing the very careful rendering of the face and hair is contrasts with the free sketching of hat and gown. Holbein drew the family members of Thomas More in preparation for a large group portrait. The Hals shows an exuberant young man who nevertheless holds a skull as a ‘memento mori’ : all things must pass Each of these portraits are an inspiration. They demonstrate very different ways of drawing and painting, they give hints of the lives of these people and yet above all they show the uniqueness of each person who has ever lived. Each person we see is unique. We and they will not be immortalised by Holbein or Hals but we all facing the world, through our own eyes and hands and pose and have the precious gift of life. Franz Hals at National Gallery London until 21st January 2024 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/the-credit-suisse-exhibition-frans-hals Holbein at the Tudor Court. Queens Gallery London until 14th April 2024 https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/exhibitions/holbein-at-the-tudor-court/the-queens-gallery-buckingham-palace
0 Comments
|
A Collection of art
Archives
January 2024
Categories |