Detail of Benedikt von Hertenstein by Hans Holbein in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 2007

Benedikt von Hertenstein (born about 1495, died 1522)
1517


Object Details

Title: Benedikt von Hertenstein (born about 1495, died 1522)

Artist: Hans Holbein the Younger (German, Augsburg 1497/98–1543 London)

Date: 1517

Medium: Oil and gold on paper, laid down on wood

Dimensions: Overall 20 1/2 x 15 in. (52.4 x 38.1 cm); painted surface 20 3/8 x 14 5/8 in. (51.4 x 37.1 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Rogers Fund, aided by subscribers, 1906

Accession Number: 06.1038


In 1517 Holbein decorated the house of the Lucerne magistrate Jacob von Hertenstein. Concurrently, he made this portrait of the magistrate's eldest son, Benedikt, who engages the viewer both with his direct glance and the inscription, which reads as if he is speaking: "When I looked like this I was twenty-two years old." Following these words is the declaration that "H.H." painted the work. The artist’s use of paper mounted on wood is unusual but not unique. He initiated the portrait as a drawing on paper and then continued working it up in oil colors to its completion.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436657