Artwork
Hans Holbein (c.1497–1543) (design for a mosaic in the Victoria and Albert Museum)
Hans Holbein (c.1497–1543) (design for a mosaic in the Victoria and Albert Museum) is an oil painting by the Pre-Raphaelite artist William Frederick Yeames. It dates from 1868 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
This 1868 oil painting by William Frederick Yeames was created as a design for a mosaic now housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Executed in a style associated with the Pre‑Raphaelites, the work presents a carefully rendered scene that emphasizes precise detail and a polished finish.
Subject & Meaning
The composition shows a figure dressed in a green robe and a red hat, holding a smaller portrait of another man wearing a brown hat and jacket. The larger figure stands on a decorative plinth bearing the inscription "HOLBEIN," suggesting a reference to the German artist Hans Holbein.
Technique & Style
Yeames employs a smooth, highly finished surface typical of Pre‑Raphaelite practice, with meticulous attention to texture and colour. The warm yellow background and the crisp rendering of fabrics and facial features demonstrate his skill in creating a realistic, yet composed, visual narrative.
History & Provenance
Originally conceived as a model for a mosaic, the painting was produced in the late nineteenth century, a period when Yeames was known for historical genre scenes. It entered the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, where it remains displayed as part of the museum’s decorative arts holdings.
Context
The work reflects Yeames’s broader interest in historic moments, echoing themes seen in his better‑known painting "And When Did You Last See Your Father?" Both pieces capture a charged instant from English history, rendered with the same careful realism and narrative focus.
Artist & collection
Artist
William Frederick Yeames (; 18 December 1835 – 3 May 1918) was a British painter of genre and narrative subjects, often drawn from history.
- Fra Giacomo da Ulma (design for a mosaic in the Victoria and Albert Museum)
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) (design for a mosaic in the Victoria and Albert Museum)
Lancelot Blondeel (1498–1561) (design for a mosaic in the Victoria and Albert Museum)
Raphael (1483–1520) (design for a mosaic in the Victoria and Albert Museum)
Ghiberti (1378–1455) (design for a mosaic in the Victoria and Albert Museum)
Jean Goujon (c.1510–1565) (design for a mosaic in the Victoria and Albert Museum)
Pietro Torrigiano (1472–1522) (design for a mosaic in the Victoria and Albert Museum)
Nicola Pisano (c.1220/1225–c.1284) (design for a mosaic in the Victoria and Albert Museum)
Giotto (c.1267–1337) (design for a mosaic in the Victoria and Albert Museum)
Bernard Palissy (1510–1589) (design for a mosaic in the Victoria and Albert Museum)
Andrea Mantegna (c.1431–1506) (design for a mosaic in the Victoria and Albert Museum)
