Accession No
0791
Brief Description
portrait miniature, purportedly of Nicholas Kratzer, attributed to Lucas Horenbout, formerly attributed to School of Hans Holbein the Younger, English, 1530 (c), or modern fake?
Origin
England
Maker
Horenbout, Lucas [attributed] School of Hans Holbein [former attribution]
Class
astronomy; prints
Earliest Date
1530
Latest Date
1935
Inscription Date
Material
metal (gilt metal); glass; paper; stone (pearl); enamel; vellum
Dimensions
length 130mm; breadth 123mm; thickness 10mm
Special Collection
Robert Whipple collection
Provenance
Purchased by Robert Stewart Whipple from Antique Art Galleries, London, England, on 03/09/1935 Sold at auction by Christie’s on 24/06/1935. From the Pierpoint Morgan Collection.
Inscription
‘SCHOOL OF HANS HOLBEIN the Younger
Portrait of Nicholas Kratzer, born at Munich in 1487,
Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, in 1517, and
astronomer to King Henry VIII, died circa 1550. Holbein
painted a portrait of him, now in the Louvre
Nearly profile to the right, in brown fur cloak over a black
doublet, with white lawn collar, and black felt hat; a gold chain
around his neck. In his left hand he holds a brass armillary
sphere; blue background
Described and illustrated in
Dr. G.C. Williamson’s
Catalogue, Vol. I, No. 1’ (on paper stuck to back)
Description Notes
portrait of Nicholas Kratzer, school of Hans Holbein the Younger [or school of Horenbout?], English, c. 1530.
Ornate gilt metal frame, inset with pearls and red enamel, contains round miniature portrait of Kratzer, in gouache, on vellum. Blue background. Shows Kratzer nearly profile to the right, holding an armillary sphere. Armillary sphere is crudely drawn and shows ecliptic band in incorrect position.
Label pasted onto back of frame is taken from the sale catalogue.
Attributed in 1935 Christie’s catalogue to school of Hans Holbein the younger; more likely actually school of Lucas Horenbout.
Complete.
References
Boris Jardine; 'A miniature portrait of Nicholas Kratzer; the King's astronomer'; Explore Whipple Collections online article; Whipple Museum of the History of Science; University of Cambridge; 2017: https://www.whipplemuseum.cam.ac.uk/explore-whipple-collections/astronomy/kings-astronomer
Events
Description
R.S. Whipple spent his life working with scientific instruments. After starting his career at Kew Observatory and then the instrument maker L.P. Casella, Whipple moved in 1898 to join the Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company. Here, he rose through the ranks to become its Managing Director and Chairman. Along the way he began acquiring historic instruments and books as a hobby.
This portrait miniature was one of the objects collected by Whipple. It was catalogued in the Pierpoint Morgan Collection as "Portrait of Nicholas Kratzner ... school of Hans Holbein the Younger." Since Whipple acquired it, more recent scholarship has called this original attribution into question.
07/10/2025
Created by: Hannah Price on 07/10/2025
FM:39719
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