Portrait Miniature of Hans Schwarzwaldt

Portrait Miniature of Hans Schwarzwaldt
ArtistHans Holbein the Younger
Yearc.1540
Mediumwatercolour on vellum
Dimensions3.8 cm (1.5 in)
LocationRoyal Collections, The Hague
AccessionMI-492
Websitewww.koninklijkeverzamelingen.nl

Portrait Miniature of Hans Schwarzwaldt is a watercolour on vellum portrait completed in around 1535–1540 by German artist and printmaker, Hans Holbein the Younger. The painting shows a young man against a clear blue background. Only the head and shoulders are shown, turned three-quarters to the viewer's right, the eyes cast down. The light brown hair is close cropped, and the sitter is wearing a brown doublet, trimmed with black, with a small, open falling collar with white strings attached. There is no inscription. The subject of this portrait was identified as a Danzig merchant, Hans Schwarzwaldt (1513-1575), based on a very strong resemblance to another portrait made by Holbein in 1543, but his age does not match the inscription. It has been suggested that the young man might be Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell, the son of Henry VIII's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex.