Georg Giese

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Georg Giese , also Gisze , (born April 2, 1497 in Danzig ; † February 3, 1562 in Danzig) was a merchant who worked for the Cologne Hanseatic branch in the London Hanse office, the so-called Stalhof , from 1522 .

His family Giese , to which also the Kulmer and later Warmian bishop Tiedemann Giese , a friend of Nicolaus Copernicus , and Albrecht Giese belonged, originally came from Unna and lived with him in the fourth generation in Danzig.

Painting by Hans Holbein the Younger

Portrait of the Danzig Hanseatic merchant Georg Gisze in London (Hans Holbein the Younger)
Portrait of the Danzig Hanseatic merchant Georg Gisze in London
Hans Holbein the Younger , 1532
Oil paints on oak wood
96.3 x 85.7 cm
Picture gallery of the State Museums in Berlin , Berlin

The painter Hans Holbein the Younger portrayed Gisze in 1532 in the painting Portrait of the Danzig Hanseatic merchant Georg Gisze in London , which he presumably had commissioned himself and shows him in elaborate clothing and surrounded by allegorical objects in his office ; the artist was working in London at the time. The attributes (letters, account book, scales, seals, etc.) allow the viewer to recognize a businessman in the subject. The picture also shows the oldest representation of a pocket watch (can watch ) that can be worn on the body .

The portrait shows Gisze, who came from a successful family of Danzig merchants, at the age of 34. A little later Gisze returned to Danzig, where he was supposed to marry the respected bourgeois daughter Christine Krüger in 1535. This assumption is supported by the carnation , which is considered a symbol of engagement in early modern painting, in the flower vase in the foreground of the picture in front of Giese's right arm. In addition, there are also rosemary and gold lacquer, which are said to have healing and invigorating effects.

Gisze's identification is secured by a Latin inscription on the upper edge of the picture above his head: “What you see here points to the portrait of George's features and image; so vivid is his eye, so his cheeks are formed. In his thirty-fourth year of the Lord, 1532 ”. The letter in Middle Low German that Georg Gisze holds in his hands is also easy to read: "Dem Erszamen / Jorgen gisze to lundene engelant mynem / broder to handen".

With this portrait, Holbein created the most important merchant portrait in German painting, which enjoyed enormous reception well into the 20th century. The portrait impressively demonstrates Holbein's extensive painting skills and represents a high point within portrait painting. The painter, who at this time was already working for King Henry VIII of England, succeeded in depicting different materials (glass vase, plants, clothing, carpet, etc.) , in the easiest way. This makes the portrait one of the main works of Holbein the Younger as well as an important main work of the north Alpine renaissance .

In terms of typology, Holbein probably ties in with two traditions: On the one hand, Italian depictions of St. Jerome in his study, furnished with books and other attributes. On the other hand, he continues the traditions of Flemish painting from 1500, whereby one must think in particular of Quentin Massys and his depictions of money changers and gold weighers. But also one of the master engravings by Albrecht Dürer: St. Jerome in the case .

The painting was painted on wood with oil paints and measures 96.3 × 85.7 cm. It is part of the permanent exhibition of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin .

In addition to this painting, Holbein also portrayed a few other Hanseatic merchants who also worked at the London Stalhof. Although they are also very good portraits, these cannot compete with Giszes, as they are much smaller in size and much less richly worked. B. show hardly any attributes. In this respect, the " Portrait of Georg Gisze " has a special position and the thesis often expressed in academia that this is a series of so-called Stalhof portraits must at least be met with strong reservations due to the inhomogeneity of the portraits.

reception

The Leipzig Graduate School has been using - with interruptions - a signet since 1923, which is a slightly stylized reproduction of the portrait of the merchant Georg Gisze by Hans Holbein the Younger from 1532.

literature

  • T. Andratschke: Deme Ersamen syriacuss Kallen te Lunde up Staelueff sy desse breff , in: Praxis Geschichte 1/2001
  • Hermann Freytag: The portrait of a Danziger, painted by Hans Holbein , in: Journal of the West Prussian History Association 40/1899, pages 107–115
  • Gemäldegalerie Berlin / Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Prussian cultural heritage: 200 masterpieces. Berlin 1998, pp. 108-111. [1]
  • Kurt Lochs: Der Londoner Stahlhof and Hans Holbein , In: Cord Meckseper (Hrsg.), Stadt im Wandel. Art and culture of the bourgeoisie in Northern Germany 1150–1650, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt 1985, Volume 3, page 667f.
  • Katrin Petter-Wahnschaffe, Hans Holbein and the Stalhof in London , Berlin and Munich 2010, pp. 29–48

Web links

Commons : Der Kaufmann Georg Gisze (Holbein the Younger)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. This name was borne by both the older brother and one of Georg Giese's son who had a doctorate.
  2. Tablica Genealogiczna Rodziny Giesow do polowy XVI Wieku . Annex to: Teresa Borawska : Tiedemann Giese. (1480-1550). W zyciu wewnøetrznym Warmii i Prus Królewskich . Wydawn Pojezierze, Olsztyn (Allenstein in East Prussia), 1984. (In the genealogical table, Polish names are sometimes used; Georg is recorded here as Jerzy.)
  3. ^ The signets of the Leipzig Graduate School of Management. Retrieved March 11, 2013