
The ''Solothurn Madonna'' is an oil-on-panel painting created in 1522 by the German-Swiss artist
Hans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; ; – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a German-Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He ...
in
Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
. The painting depicts the Virgin Mary and Christ enthroned, flanked by
Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third French Republic, Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hung ...
, shown as a bishop giving alms to a beggar, and
Ursus of Solothurn, depicted as a soldier in armour. Notably, Holbein used his wife, Elsbeth, as the model for the Madonna, and the baby is believed to have been modelled after Holbein and Elsbeth's infant son Philipp.
The church that originally commissioned the Solothurn Madonna is unknown, but it reappeared in 1864 in a state of disrepair at the Allerheiligenkapelle in the
Grenchen
Grenchen () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Lebern (district), Lebern in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Solothurn (canton), Solothurn in Switzerland.
It is located at the foot of the Jura mountains betwee ...
district of
Solothurn
Solothurn ( ; ; ; ; ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissenstein Jura mountains.
The town is ...
. The town of Solothurn has owned the painting since 1879, and it has been named after the town since the late 19th century. Currently, it is housed at the
Solothurn Art Museum. After the ''
Darmstadt Madonna,'' the Solothurn Madonna is the second largest surviving Madonna by Hans Holbein the Younger.
See also
*
List of paintings by Hans Holbein the Younger
This list of paintings by Hans Holbein the Younger contains a selection of the artist's best-known paintings, as well as a few copies and derivatives of his art, some of which relate to lost works.
Hans Holbein the Younger (''c''. 1497–1543 ...
References
Bibliography (in German)
* Jacob Amiet: ''Hans Holbein's Madonna von Solothurn Und der Stifter Nicolaus Conrad'', Solothurn, 1879. Reprint: Bibliolife, LaVergne, 2011.
* Oskar Bätschmann, Pascal Griener: ''Hans Holbein d.J. – Die Solothurner Madonna. Eine Sacra Conversazione im Norden'', Basel, 1998.
* Jochen Sander: ''Hans Holbein d. J. und die niederländische Kunst, am Beispiel der "Solothurner Madonna"'' in: Zeitschrift für Schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte 55 (1998), S. 123–130.
External links
Museums-Gesellschaft GrenchenDie schönste Grenchnerin wohnt in Solothurn(PDF; 211 kB)
Paintings by Hans Holbein the Younger
1522 paintings
Paintings of the Madonna and Child
Flags in art
Long stubs with short prose
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