Lord Denny (Sir Anthony Denny)
Original title: Lord Denny (Sir Anthony Denny)
kurzbeschreibung
Sir Anthony Denny, an English courtier, appears in bust-length portrait in this 1647 etching by Wenceslaus Hollar. The print reproduces a painting by Hans Holbein the Younger and survives in a single state.
Description
Denny wears a dark cap, a long-sleeved jacket and a chain around his neck. The ground behind him stays flat in tone but carries a fine pattern. Along the top edge run the Latin notes 'ANNO 1541' and 'ETATIS SVE 20', giving the year and the sitter's age; below them, in large letters, 'LORD DENNY'. At the bottom Holbein is named as painter of the original and Hollar as its engraver.
Context
The reproductive print was made after a painting by Hans Holbein the Younger, dated around 1541. Hollar etched the likeness in 1647, probably on commission from Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, in whose collection the original hung; the inscription 'ex Collectione Arundeliana' records the connection. Sir Anthony Denny was a powerful courtier in the household of Henry VIII and a personal adviser to the king.
Impact
Clean lines and the sitter's calm, frontal pose set the tone of the etching. Fine hatching animates the surface and lends the portrait a certain elegance. Inscriptions frame the face and reinforce its documentary character.
Technique
Hollar produced an etching that exists in only one state. He worked with aqua fortis (nitric acid), as the signature 'W. Hollar feuit aqua fortis' indicates. The sheet measures 13.7 × 11 cm and shows the fine needlework typical of the artist.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)