Portrait of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
ca. 1550
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
17.5
About this artwork
…; from a dealer, Dordrecht, fl. 200, with SK-A-980, as school of Hans Holbein, to the Nederlandsch Museum voor Geschiedenis en Kunst, The Hague (inv. no. 6015), 1884;{Inventory NMGK.} transferred to the museum, 1885
Art Historical Context
This intimate *Portrait of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor* (ca. 1550), an anonymous oil on panel tondo measuring about 17.5 cm in diameter, captures the powerful ruler in his later years. Charles V (1500–1558) presided over a vast empire spanning and the Americas, navigating wars, the Protestant Reformation, and the rise of the Habsburg dynasty. Such small-scale portraits were prized in Renaissance courts for private devotion or diplomatic gifts, offering a personal glimpse into the life of one of history's most influential monarchs. Painted in the tradition of the Northern Renaissance, the wo...
About the Artist
anonymous
In the vast tapestry of art history, "Anonymous" stands not as a singular individual but as a collective designation for countless unidentified creators whose works have endured across millennia. These artists, spanning prehistoric cave painters to medieval illuminators and folk craftsmen, produced the foundational layers of human visual culture. Prior to the Renaissance, when individual fame emer...