Basilica San Paolo fuori le mura

Hans Holbein the Elder was the leading painter of Augsburg in the late fifteenth century, whose increasingly naturalistic style paved the way for his famous son's achievements. This Basilica San Paolo fuori le mura was created around 1504 and is now held at the Bavarian State Painting Collections. The oil medium allowed for rich tonal transitions and glazed layers of color that created luminous depth impossible with the older tempera technique. Such devotional panels served both liturgical contexts in churches and chapels and private devotional use in the homes of wealthy families who maintained personal altars and oratories.

Oil on panel with Holbein's characteristic naturalism and sensitive emotional rendering. The work demonstrates the artistic qualities characteristic of Hans Holbein the Elder's mature period.