# Design for a Pendant [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [HOLBEIN, Hans the Younger]() - Date: 1501-1550 - Technique: Pen and ink with watercolour, 37,3 x 14,3 cm ## Commentary The mixture of abstract and natural design here \(in the diagonal sprigs of leaves and uncurling fern-like stems\) is an effective compromise between native English taste and that of imported mannerism, with its liking for grotesquerie and distortion. The harmonic regularity of the design is far less flamboyant than its contemporary Italian or French equivalents and symmetry was to maintain its sway over English design throughout the century. Such pendants dangled from necklaces, over the upper chest and did not differ greatly in design from such features as the Garter and other badges of office. Here, Holbein has completed the notation of the jewels; in other designs, such as the \`parade dagger', he was content to leave areas blank for professional colourists to fill in. It is thought the design may have been commissioned as one of many pieces Holbein provided for Anne Boleyn in her hey-day from 1533 to 1536. <P> <TABLE ALIGN=LEFT CELLPADDING=5 BORDER=1 WIDTH=320 BGCOLOR="\#99CCCC"> <TR VALIGN=MIDDLE><TD><IMG SRC="/support/gif/listen.gif" BORDER=0 VALIGN=MIDDLE> Suggested listening \(streaming mp3, 10 minutes\):<BR><A HREF="\#" onClick="w=window.open \('/music1/19\_cent/donizetti\_bolena\_anna.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350'\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return true"><B>Gaetano Donizetti: Anna Bolena, Anna's aria</B></A> </TD></TR></TABLE> ## 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]()