A Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling
 | |
| Artist | Hans Holbein the Younger |
|---|---|
| Year | 1526–28 |
| Type | Oil on oak |
| Dimensions | 56 cm × 38.8 cm (22 in × 15.3 in) |
| Location | National Gallery, London |
A Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling is an oil on oak painting undertaken between 1526 and 1528 by the German artist Hans Holbein the Younger.[1] Although the sitter was unknown for some time, it is thought to be Anne Lovell, the wife of Francis, a squire to Henry VIII; according to Derek Wilson, Holbein's biographer, "the squirrel was Lovell's heraldic badge and the starling is a pun on 'East Harling'", which was Lovell's ancestral seat.[2] It is unlikely that the sitter posed with the animals, which were likely to have been separate sittings by Holbein.[3]
The painting was probably undertaken during Holbein's first visit to Britain in 1526–28,[3] and it contains azurite, copper resinate, lead white, lamp black, red earth, Cologne earth and vermilion pigments, held in a linseed oil binder.[4]
The painting was acquired in 1992 by the National Gallery in London,[1] which considers it to be "a wonderfully preserved example of Holbein's art at its most evocative".[5]
In 2014 King and McGaw partnered with Art Everywhere, a charitable project putting on the world's largest art exhibition displayed 25 artworks on 30,000 billboards across the UK including A Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling. The profits of the campaign went to the Art Fund.[6]
References
- 1 2 "Key facts". National Gallery. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- ↑ Wilson 2006, p. 140.
- 1 2 "A Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling (Anne Lovell?)". National Gallery. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- ↑ Foister, Wyld & Roy 1994, p. 9.
- ↑ Langmuir 1997, p. 123.
- ↑ Jury, Louise (5 September 2014). "Billboard campaign drives interest in classic paintings". London Evening Standard (London).
Sources
- Foister, Susan; Wyld, Martin; Roy, Ashok (1994). "Han's Holbein's A Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling" (PDF). National Gallery Technical Bulletin (National Gallery Publications) 15. ISBN 978-1-85709-049-9. ISSN 0140-7430.
- Langmuir, Erica (1997). The National Gallery Companion Guide. London: National Gallery Company. ISBN 978-1-85709-218-9.
- Wilson, Derek (2006). Hans Holbein: Portrait of an Unknown Man. London: Pimlico. ISBN 978-1-84413-918-7.