Artist
Artwork
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Where can I find this in Berlin?
Giese himself probably commissioned this portrait, “The Merchant Georg Gisze”. Holbein painted it in1532. It impressively and allegorically shows in detail the workplace of a businessman of the 16th Century. An account book for accounting, a scale, a seal, writing utilities, coins and letters with readable writing unambiguously show that Giese is a merchant. The carnation in the front suggests, according to the symbolisation of that time, an engagement. Along with gold paint (I’m longing for you) and rosemary, the plant of those who love, but also the plant of death. The precision of the use of materials such as glass, wood, parchment, linen, hair, silk etc. shows Hans Holbein the Younger’s masterly skills.