(Not) forgotten: Hans Holbein's missing miniature from the collection of the Stadtmuseum in Gdańsk

One of the most important works in the collection of the Stadtmuseum in Gdańsk was a miniature portrait of a 24-year-old man by Hans Holbein Jr. from 1543.

The portrait was donated to the Museum by the Gdańsk municipality of Kalwiń in 1904. Plundered by the Red Army in 1945, it remains in Russia to this day.

The image of a young man dressed according to English fashion, holding gloves in his hand, is a small object with a diameter of only 5 cm. Despite its modest size, the portrait was made with the extraordinary precision and insight of observation typical of Hans Holbein, from 1536 the court painter Henry VIII.

The work does not contain unambiguous references to the name of the portrayed person. He is considered to be a representative of the Black Forest family of Gdańsk, who before the middle of the 16th century was in London as a Hanseatic merchant.

During the meeting, the miniature will be discussed against the background of Hans Holbein's portrait achievements, its history will be traced to the present day, and proposals for the identification of the man portrayed will be presented.

Conducted by: dr Aleksandra Jaśniewicz- Downes

It was co-financed from the funds of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund — a state special purpose fund, within the framework of the Polish War Losses Research programme.