# Hans Roth \[reverse\]

**Bernhard Strigel** (German, 1460/1461–1528)  
1527  
oil on panel  
overall (visible surface): 42.6 x 3 cm (16 3/4 x 1 3/16 in.) framed: 49.6 x 37 cm (19 1/2 x 14 9/16 in.)

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1947.6.4.b. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.33754.html).

## About this work

The back of Bernhard Strigel’s 1527 portrait of Hans Roth carries his coat of arms: a black and gold shield beneath a crest from which a unicorn-like creature emerges, all set on a deep red ground. Painted reverses like this turned a portrait into an object to be held and turned over, and they declared the sitter’s family and standing. Its companion, the portrait of Margarethe Vöhlin, has a matching heraldic reverse.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Bernhard Strigel painted this in 1527, aged 67. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

### What you’re looking at

This is a painting depicting a heraldic coat of arms. The image features a detailed coat of arms with a central shield, adorned with black and gold sections, and additional decorative elements above it. There is a figure resembling a unicorn emerging from the crest. The background is a deep red hue. The artwork is displayed within a wooden frame with crossbars. This style is associated with displaying family crests and lineage.

_Description from the National Gallery of Art._

### How it was made

- **Oil on panel.** Oil paint on prepared wooden boards, usually oak in the north and poplar in Italy. The rigid, smooth surface suits fine detail and thin, glowing glazes.
- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Bernhard Strigel](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/bernhard-strigel)

German, 1460/1461–1528

Strigel came from a family of painters in Memmingen in Swabia, where he worked for most of his life. He became a favoured portraitist of Emperor Maximilian I, painting the emperor and his family, including a well-known group portrait of Maximilian with his wife, son and grandsons. He also painted altarpieces in a late Gothic manner with lively colour. His late portraits of the couple Hans Roth and Margarethe Vöhlin show his attention to individual character.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- The artist was 67
- Real size: about 17 × 1 in (43 × 3 cm). The 12 × 16 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 16th century
- Subjects: symbol, Heraldry
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1485.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1485/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/hans-roth-reverse-nga-33754).