Hans Holbein the Younger: Darmstadt Madonna (1526-1528)

(Johanniterkirche, Schwäbisch Hall. Germany)

A painting by the German artist Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543). This piece, a donor family portrait in the presence of a holy figure, was commissioned by Jakob Meyer zum Hasen (1482-1531). Jacob Meyer had commissioned a double portrait of himself and his second wife Dorothea Kannengießer in 1516 and in 1526 commissioned this painting. Jacob Meyer was a money changer and the first commoner to become the mayor of Basel in 1516 (before him the position was held by people of noble birth). In 1521 he was removed from his position and imprisoned for a short time for accepting French pension payments. Jacob Meyer was also a staunch Catholic who actively opposed the Reformation (Basel however became protestant in 1529). In the center of the painting is a Virgin of Mercy: a Madonna and the Christ child who is providing shelter for a group of people (the donor family in this case). On the right side of the Madonna is Jacob Meyer with 2 young boys. The identity of these young boys is unclear. Usually with donor family portraits these boys would be the male children of the depicted couple but there are no official records of Jacob Meyer having male children. Another proposed possibility is that these 2 boys are saints, perhaps saint James the Greater and/ or John the baptist, two unknown deceased children or perhaps desired grandchildren. On the left side of the Madonna are the female side of the family. Depicted at the back , closest to the Madonna is Jacob's first wife Magdalena Baer who died in 1511. Next to her is Jacob's second wife Dorothea Kannengießer and Jacob's and Dorothea's daughter Anna (who would marry Nikolaus Irmy). The three women are looking in the direction of Jacob Meyer - this confirms his role as the patriarch of the family. Hans Holbein made this painting in 1526 but in 1528 he changed the painting at Jacob's request. The main changes Holbein made were revisions of the depiction of Anna and Dorothea. In the 1526 version Anna had long flowing hair but in 1528 this was changed to a chaplet headdress with her hair secured behind her head in neatly tucked braids. Her headdress is adorned with red and pink carnations and sprigs of rosemary, the traditional symbols of marriage. The change to her hair was probably made to show her as a more as a young woman of marriageable age (she is 14 on this painting) instead of a young girl. The change made to Dorothea was mainly to her face: she got a streamlined bonnet, lowered chinstrap and uncovered face, probably to make her more stand out from Magdalena Baer. Painting from 1526-1528.