Double Portrait of Jakob Meyer zum Hasen and Dorothea Kannengießer

Holbein's double portrait of Basel mayor Jakob Meyer zum Hasen and his wife Dorothea Kannengießer, painted in 1516, is one of his earliest portrait commissions. The pendant format of husband and wife portraits was standard in Northern Europe for recording marital alliances among the burgher class. The 1510s were a decade of extraordinary artistic achievement across Europe, shaped by the mature works of Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and the Venetian masters.

The early work already displays Holbein's gift for precise characterization and meticulous costume detail, with the paired portraits creating a visual balance between the commanding husband and composed wife.