Hans Holbein the Younger painted a portrait of Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan in 1538. At the time, Henry VIII was considering her as his next bride and sent Holbein to portray her. Christina, born in 1522, was the younger daughter of Christian II of Denmark and married the Duke of Milan in 1533; however, he died in 1535.
Holbein visited Brussels in 1538 and for three hours Christina sat for the portrait wearing mourning clothes. The painting is a Renaissance-style portrait painted with oil on oak and measures 179.1 x 82.6 cm. Today, it is located at The National Gallery in London.
This particular artwork is significant not only because it depicts a key figure from one of history’s most famous monarchies but also because it was painted by one of Europe’s finest artists at a pivotal moment for the Tudor dynasty. Holbein had been appointed court artist to Henry VIII and was commissioned to paint portraits of noblewomen eligible to become the English queen. He produced several iconic images during this time that exemplified his striking use of detail, color contrast, texture transitions resulting from challenging brushwork strokes techniques such as sfumato or glazing that create optical effects on flat surfaces.
Today’s audience can admire not only Christina’s sophisticated dress but also her facial features captured through exquisite detail such as wrinkles around her eyes or strand curls on top underlined by faint hues making them pop with movement while still retaining their realistic appearance hundreds years later after they were created by Hans Holbein Jr.’s masterful brushstrokes technique skills which became hallmarks among Northern Renaissance portrait painters renowned across European courts during this century ?????? ??? ??????????️ #ChristinaOfDenmark #HansHolbeinTheYounger #ArtDescription #RenaissanceArt
