Margarethe Vöhlin [reverse]1527
Bernhard Strigel painted this in 1527, aged 67. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. More about this work
About this work
The image shows a pattern of vertical and horizontal wooden bars forming a grid-like design. In the center, there is a rectangular panel with a decorative emblem against a red background. The emblem features swirling shapes. The structured wooden grid and ornate emblem suggest a vintage heraldic shield or coat of arms.
Description from the National Gallery of Art.
Bernhard Strigel painted this in 1527, aged 67. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
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
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.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The National Gallery of Art has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 1947.6.5.b
- Credit
- Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
- Type
- Painting
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
