# The initial E in the manuscript of Canones horoptri by Nikolaus Kratzer [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [HOLBEIN, Hans the Younger]() - Date: 1501-1550 - Technique: Tempera on parchment, 238 x 168 mm ## Commentary The initial E in the manuscript of Canones horoptri by Nikolaus Kratzer c. 1528 Tempera on parchment, 238 x 168 mm Bodleian Library, Oxford The text provides an introduction for the use of the "horoptrum," an instrument invented by Kratzer that could be used, among other things, to calculate the times of sunrise and sunset. The manuscript, written by the Fleming Peter Meghen, was illuminated with initials by Holbein. The shaft of the letter E is to be taken as a sculptured candelabra crowned by the head of a cherub. The bars terminate in foliate masks or bright red pistils. The subtlety of the pattern, its delicate modeling, and the exquisite colorings prove that Holbein had already completely mastered the techniques of miniature painting by 1528. ## Related artworks - [Adam and Eve]() - [Apollo and the Muses on Parnassus]() - [Charitas]() - [Charles Brandon]() - [Christ as the True Light]() - [Christina of Denmark, Ducchess of Milan \(detail\)]() - [Christina of Denmark, Ducchess of Milan]() - [Courtier of Henry VIII and his Wife]() - [Darmstadt Madonna \(detail\)]() - [Darmstadt Madonna \(detail\)]() - [Darmstadt Madonna \(detail\)]() - [Darmstadt Madonna \(detail\)]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()