Two Views of a Lady

Two Views of a Lady wearing an English Hood (1526–8 or about 1532–5), by Hans Holbein the Younger, Vellum on playing card 159 x 110 mm.

"The woman in this careful and beautifully fluid study wears a costume very similar to that worn by Lady Guildford in the painting dated 1527 in the St Louis Art Museum. It may be a second study for the portrait, in which Holbein recorded details of the dress, probably modelled by a servant."

"Whether or not this is the case, the fact that he drew a back view as well as the front shows Holbein was particularly concerned to understand the structure of English costume. Such costume drawings were a useful part of a workshop repertoire."

This color version comes from Tait Britain's Holbein in England exhibit, Two Views of a Lady wearing an English Hood [Art] Retrieved November 16, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/holbein/rooms/room6.htm