Holbein, Allegory of Painting, Dürer

The companion to Raffael, Rembrandt, Rubens, this 1881 allegory places Holbein and Dürer — the great German masters — on either side of a central Allegory of Painting figure. Makart's decision to celebrate the Northern European tradition alongside the Venetian one reflects his synthesis of multiple inheritances. Holbein was above all a portraitist of supreme psychological precision; Dürer combined German exactitude with Italian spatial ambition. By placing Allegory of Painting at the centre, Makart makes painting itself — as a concept and aspiration — the true subject. These late allegorical canvases carry a valedictory quality: a painter in his final years constructing a genealogy for the practice to which he devoted his life. The Belvedere's holding alongside Raffael, Rembrandt, Rubens completes what functions as a diptych of artistic tribute.

Makart handles the allegorical figure with the warmth and sensory quality of his figure painting, while the flanking masters are given individuating attributes. The palette is consistent with the companion work — warm golds and ambers — creating a unified tonal world. Academic figure draughtsmanship underpins the composition despite the late, somewhat looser handling.