Holbein’s use of aqueous media

Black aqueous media, be it ink or watercolour, can be a dominant feature of Holbein’s portrait drawings. James Watrous listed the four inks most commonly used by Old Masters: carbon black, iron gall ‘black’, bistre and sepia.¹⁵¹ Whilst all of these may appear black on first application, only carbon black remains ‘black’ whilst the others can turn brown on exposure to air. Holbein’s black aqueous media was carbon-based, to date there is little evidence to suggest that Holbein used iron gall, bistre or sepia for portrait drawing. This is not only borne out of visual evidence but was also indicated by Raman analysis. There is very little to distinguish between a carbon black

watercolour and carbon black ink in the early modern period. Furthermore, although the use of a brush or a pen may guide us in whether media can be classified as

watercolour or ink, since ink can be applied with either pen or brush, the distinction of media is still not clear. Therefore the term aqueous black media has been used

151 James Watrous.1957.67

throughout to encompass both possibilities.¹⁵²The basis of both black ink and black watercolour was a black carbon pigment mixed with an aqueous binding medium.

European black inks and watercolours were made from carbon of varying sources: soot was obtained from burning oils and resins, and from the charcoal of wood, twigs, bones, ivory and peach kernels. The resulting black particles were ground finely, with the addition of water and a binding medium, such as gum arabic or animal glue.

It is common for descriptions of drawings to be very unspecific about black as a colour and its variations of tone. We tend not to differentiate it in the same way we do shades of yellow, green or blue, for instance, making it a rather neglected colour in its use in drawing. Black can provide different nuances depending on what it is made from.

Cennini, for example, acknowledges ‘several kinds of black’.¹⁵³ Depending on the source, black pigments provide different properties and may be selected for a specific use. So-called ‘Frankfurt Black’, originally made from burnt lees of wine (but now bone black), was apparently particularly good for intaglio printing.¹⁵⁴ Soot, vines and peach kernels were preferred for watercolours.¹⁵⁵ Parker refers to Holbein’s use of Indian ink in many of the catalogue entries for the Windsor drawings, whilst Paul Ganz refers to Chinese ink.¹⁵⁶ These are in fact the same, and fall into the category of carbon black.

Both these blacks, prepared from soot as the pigment (lampblack) are mixed with gum and hardened into stick form, ready to be watered down; they were available from the 16^thcentury onwards.¹⁵⁷But whether Holbein used carbon black aqueous media in soluble stick form as suggested by Ganz and Parker can only be speculated. Being carbon-based, Holbein’s black, whether ink or watercolour provided an intense and stable black.

It is not always easy to distinguish the method of application, although Parker and Ganz seemed to be more confident in their assertions. Parker distinguishes the method of application - a brush or pen or often, both – whilst Ganz suggested Holbein ‘made

152Watrous stated that watercolours ‘with their black pigments and gum binders were either analogous or identical to the composition of the old carbon inks’. James Watrous.1957.69

153 Cennini.1960.22

154Ad Stijnman, ‘Frankfurt Black:”Tryginon appelantes, faex vini arefacta et cocta in furnace”’.. Trade in Artists’ Materials: Markets & Commerce in Europe to 1700. Eds. Jo Kirby, Susie Nash and Joanna Cannon. Archetype Publications Ltd: London.2010.415

155 Ad Stijnman. 2010.415

156Paul Ganz, Handzeichnungen Hand Holbein des Jüngeren in Auswahl. 1937.15 , trans. Susan Foister

157For more information on carbon black pigments see John Winter, ‘The Characterization of Pigments Based on Carbon’. Studies in Conservation .1983. 28.49-66

use of the brush and reed pen according to his needs’.¹⁵⁸ Distinguishing brush from pen is not always straightforward. Whilst they have different qualities (a brush mark can vary in thickness along the same line, unlike the more rigid and fixed precise quality of the quill pen) they can appear quite similar: if the brush is loaded with pigment and used precisely, the line variations are not so apparent. Whilst a pen may have been used on occasion, the marks made on many of Holbein’s portrait drawings would seem to indicate a brush. This is suggested by a variation of the thickness of the line, common to linear brushwork, especially in the contouring of costumes. It is also apparent in the flick of the eyelashes, the encircling marks around irises and the characteristic tapering or stuttering of pigment on the ends of strokes in general.

Holbein’s use of aqueous media for his portrait drawings came towards the end of his drawing process. Having laid in all the dry colour, the sequencing would suggest that Holbein then applied aqueous black for the contours of the face, hats and hair, both in blocks and as individual strands or lines. It makes more practical sense to apply an aqueous medium last, thereby fixing lines and features in place that have been depicted in a more friable dry medium. The amount of detail that could be added using this aqueous media varied, being quite prominent on some drawings but not on others. This affects to some extent what we perceive to be the level of finish. Holbein’s use of black aqueous media for the contours of the drawings has somewhat overshadowed his more subtle use of aqueous media to depict other features of his sitters, especially of those executed almost entirely in dry colours on unprepared papers. For example, Holbein applied some fine details using aqueous media of different colours as well as black to facial features on some of the more chalk-dominant drawings. Closer inspection has found that some areas have been picked out in aqueous media, such as the

watercolours used to render the irises of William Warham, Henry and Mary Guildford and Sir Thomas More, all dated 1527 and executed on unprepared papers. It is not always possible to be definitive about what pigments were used, but Raman analysis revealed that azurite was used to render More’s irises. The portrait drawing of the Unknown Gentleman has particularly piercing blue eyes, making this a more obvious use of aqueous media, (Figures 20.3 and 20.4).

158Paul Ganz, Handzeichnungen Hand Holbein des Jüngeren in Auswahl. 1937.15, trans. Susan Foister

The more aqueous media that is present on the portrait drawing, the closer it seems to be to the act of painting. This is especially true of the portrait of Sir John Godsalve on pink prepared paper, c.1532-3, (Figure 34), (367 x 296mm, Parker 22, The Royal Collection, Winsor, RL 12265) that is fully worked up in watercolours and black aqueous media, including a Raman-confirmed azurite back ground. This drawing is discussed at more length in relation to Holbein’s use of colour in Chapter Four. The portrait drawing of Simon George, c1535, (Figure 22), also on pink prepared paper, displays an extensive amount of black aqueous media in comparison to say, the portrait drawing of Jane Seymour, c.1536/7, (Figure 26), where it is minimal. The deep black aqueous media used on the drawing of Simon George, applied with a brush, depicts individual hairs on the sitter’s head and facial hair. These have been laid over a drawn chalk base. It has been used extensively on the hat and more delicately in following the profile of his face. The contour that follows the sitter’s profile shows how the act of reinforcing the shape is done in stages, stopping and starting as the line is followed, evidenced by the little flick of the brush on the bridge of his nose, (Figure 22.2).

Black aqueous media is just about discernible in a fine line around the left side of the face of Jane Seymour. The nostrils and tip of the nose, as well as the eyelids, lashes, touches of her eyebrow hair, pupils and the salient lip line are also painted in black, (Figures 26.2 and 26.3). Black aqueous media is used to shape the lips of many of the sitters’ mouths. It is this line that defines the shape and character of the mouth. The only other aqueous elements on the portrait of Seymour are the irises, rendered in a soft green watercolour. Holbein clearly had a preference for watercolour rather than dry colour when it came to rendering the sitters’ irises, since the majority of the portraits display this feature. This is an aspect that has not really been illustrated in Holbein literature before, probably because it is not expected on a drawing rendered almost entirely in a dry medium. An examination of a Jean Clouet drawing, catalogued as black and red chalk was therefore assumed to be 100% dry media.¹⁵⁹ However, on examination, this drawing also proved to display watercolour for the depiction of the irises, in this case, blue, (see Figures 75 and 75.1). The fact that both Holbein and one of his contemporaries employed this technique so specifically indicates that it was through

159See britishmuseum.org, online catalogue for: Portrait of Guillaume de Saulx, Sieur de Tavannes, c.1529-40, 245 x 191mm, black and red chalk with watercolour on cream laid paper. British Museum Inv.no: 1910,0212.54,

both necessity and choice: there were no fabricated chalks in eye colours such as blue and green at that time, and it also would have been much easier to apply small areas of watercolour with a fine brush than with thicker, friable chalk.

White opaque watercolour, when present, is used to define features and to indicate light source in the form of highlights. Highlighting is not present on all Holbein’s portrait drawings , although this does not mean it was not added: opaque paint is often applied more thickly and by its very nature is more prone to flaking off a drawing. For example, there is still a tiny remnant of white on the nose of the portrait of Unknown Gentleman, Parker 33, (Figure 20), which is just about visible on close inspection. The portrait of Charles de Solier, (Figure 18), executed on pink prepared paper, still has a more substantial touch of opaque white watercolour on his nose, (Figure 18.1). Some aspects of the sitters’ clothing were depicted in white opaque watercolour: the white shirt worn by the Unknown Gentleman, Parker 33, for example. In this case, the white pigment is not immediately obvious. Any white media applied over a pink preparation would have had to be applied fairly thickly in order to make an impact, such as seen in the depiction of John Godsalve’s white shirt, (Figure 34). The use of white chalk for highlights was not found, although this does not mean that Holbein did not use it:

white chalk, if used sparingly to depict highlights, is also less obvious when applied over a pink preparation and is likely to be more readily eroded over time.

There are a number of portrait drawings where there is a fairly extensive use of white opaque paint for highlighting. Margaret, Lady Elyot, c.1532-34, (Figure 36), (280 x 209mm, Parker 14, RL12204, The Royal Collection, Windsor) executed on pink prepared paper, has white opaque paint applied in small strokes, highlighting her brow and her eyes and nose, (Figure 36.1). The portrait drawing of Elizabeth, Lady Vaux, c.1536 (Parker 25, RL12247, 281 x 215mm, pink prepared paper) is an example of the use of white opaque paint to highlight the eyes but to also depict pearls on the headdress, (Figure 76). The blackening of these would seem to suggest that the white is lead-based. Highlights have been discussed above in relation to how Holbein depicted his sitters’ eyes, but they are also occasionally present on other parts of the sitters’ face.

White opaque watercolour is also used to depict the grey hairs in the portrait of Charles de Solier, seen in his head hair, beard, and eyelashes, (Figures 18.5). In terms of

sequencing, these would have been the last drawing details added. However, if present, the very last layer of a drawing’s sequence is the physical signs of having been traced.