16th Century Embroidery and Lace Pattern Modelbuchs Available Online

Back in October 2020, I posted on this blog about how I was browsing through some of Zoppino's patterns from 1529 and realized that I had seen some of these exact patterns before from other books. Nicolo Zoppino was an Italian from Venice. His pattern book from 1529 was called Esemplario di Lavori. It's at the Met.

 

 

 Photo credit - The Met

 

For example, there is a double cross pattern that is in Zoppino's pattern book, but it is also in Giovanni Antonio Tagliente's 1530 (Italian) book and Nicolas Bassee's New Modelbuch (German) from 1568.

An acorn pattern is not only in Zoppino's book, but also in Hans Hofer's Formbuchlein (German) from 1545 and Nicolas Bassee's New Modelbuch (German) from 1568. 

There is a triple cross pattern above the acorn pattern in Zoppino's 1529 book, but it is also in Hans Hofer's Formbuchlein (German) from 1545.

 

 

 

Here are links to various 16th century Modelbuchs online that I have found so far:

 

-  Ein Neu Modelbuch by Johann Schonsberger from 1524

-  Ce est ung tractat de la noble art de leguille ascavoir ouvraiges de spaigne by Willem Vorsterman from 1527

-  Modelbuch aller art Nehewercks un Strickens by Christian Engenulf from 1527

-  Ein new getruckt Model Büchli by Johann Schonsberger from 1529
- Esemplario di Lavori by Nicolo Zoppino from 1529

-  Opera Nova Universali by Giovanni Vavassore from 1530

-  Ein Ney Formbuchlein by Johan Swartzenberger from 1534

- 

Modelbuch aller Art Nehens vn Stickens

 by Christian Egenolff from 1535 (more pages are listed below under Related Artworks)

-  Formbuchlein by Hans Hofer from 1545

- L'Honesto Essemplario by Matthio Pagan from 1550

- 

Modelbuch new, aller Art, Nehens und Stickens

 by Hermann Gülfferich from 1553

-  Patrons pour brodeurs by Iehan Ruelle from 1554

- New Modelbüch allen Nägerin u. Sydenstickern by Hans Hoffman from 1556

- La Vera Perfezione del Disegno Per Punti e Ricami by Giovanni Ostaus from 1561

-  New Kunstliches Modelbuch by Bernhard Jobin from 1589

-  Vorglagen fur Nadelarbeiten by Giovan Battista Ciotti from 1591

-  Corona delle Nobili e Virtuous Donne by Cesere Vecellio from 1592

-  New Modelbuch by Georg Straub from 1593

-  Schön Neues Modelbuch by Johann Siebmacher from 1597

-  Du Debvoir des Filles by Jean Baptiste de Glen from 1597

-  Ghirlanda di sei uaghi fiori scielti da piu famosi giardini d'Italia by Pietro Tozzi from 1598

- Neu künstlich Modelbuch by Bernhard Jobin from 1598

 

 

 

Making 16th Century Detachable Cuffs with Blackwork Embroidery

In 16th century ladies' fashion, women periodically wore foresleeves (aka false sleeves) and sometimes the cuffs of their sleeves would have blackwork embroidery (aka Holbein Stitch or double running stitch). 

 

 

 

Holbein stitch, also referred to as double-running stitch or Spanish stitch, is a reversible counted stitch used in early 16th century blackwork embroidery. 

 

 

 

 

      Picture Credit: 

- "Elizabeth I when a Princess." Royal Collection Trust. https://www.rct.uk/collection/404444/elizabeth-i-when-a-princess 

- Holbein d. J., Hans. “Jane Seymour.” Kunst Historisches Museum Wien. https://www.khm.at/en/objectdb/detail/966/. 

- Longueville, Olivia. "Something About Tudor Costume." https://olivialongueville.com/2015/12/24/something-about-tudor-costume/

 

 

 

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Diamond Embroidery Pattern from 16th Century Blackwork Collar

This diamond blackwork embroidery pattern can be found on the Hans Holbein the Younger miniature portrait of Mrs. Jane Small, formerly Mrs. Pemberton, from 1536. 

 

 

Holbein stitch, also referred to as double-running stitch or Spanish stitch, is a reversible counted stitch used in early 16th century blackwork embroidery.

 

Picture credit: 

- Holbein, Hans. “Mrs Jane Small, formerly Mrs Pemberton.” V&A Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O16583/mrs-jane-small-formerly-mrs-portrait-miniature/. 

 

 

Blackwork Embroidery on Collar and Cuffs of Francisco de los Cobos y Molina

This portrait of Francisco de los Cobos y Molina was painted by Jan Gossaert circa 1530-1532.

"Francesco de los Cobos y Molina, the powerful secretary and chief financial advisor to Emperor Charles V, poses in front of a swath of drapery, looking warily out at the viewer. Previously unidentified, two clues have led to Francesco's identification as the portrait's subject: the red cross emblazoned on his doublet and the gem-encrusted jewel in the shape of a scallop shell. Both are emblems of the chivalric Order of Santiago, Saint James the Greater.

As an artist to several courts, Jan Gossaert traveled widely throughout Europe and became one of the first painters to disseminate the Italian Renaissance style in the Netherlands. In this painting, Gossaert combines psychological insight, keen observation of form, and a facility for imitating surface textures to create a portrait that is both imposing and believable." (Getty Museum Collection) 

But check out the blackwork embroidery on his collar and cuffs!

Step by Step Pattern on Margaret Roper's Collar of 1535

Margaret Roper (her maiden name was Margaret More) had a miniature of herself painted circa 1535 by Hans Holbein the Younger. In this portrait, Holbein has included significant detail of the embroidery pattern found on her collar. This is a recreation of part of that pattern.

 

 

Holbein stitch, also referred to as double-running stitch or Spanish stitch, is a reversible stitch used in early 16th century blackwork embroidery.

 

            Picture credit: 

- Holbein the Younger, Hans. “Margaret Roper (Margaret More).” The Met Museum. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436662. 

 

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Other Holbein Portraits Mentioned in My Latest Blackwork Embroidery Class

On Saturday, November 18, 2023, I taught a class (A Critical Look at Blackwork Embroidery in Holbein's Paintings) in Chicago, IL. 

During this in-person class, I mentioned some of Holbein's other works and the intricate details that he included. Some details were extremely fine and ornately detailed, while others are almost like hidden Easter eggs that feels like playing a game of Where's Waldo until you find the eggs.

One portrait mentioned in my class (but not included in the class because she did not have any blackwork embroidery visible in the portrait - which was the specific focus of the class that I taught) was Christina of Denmark (picture credit: The National Gallery in London). Per the National Gallery, "In 1538, King Henry VIII of England was looking for a fourth wife, after the death of Jane Seymour the previous year. As Henry’s official court artist, Holbein was sent to Brussels to capture the 16-year-old Christina’s likeness. It’s recorded that Holbein’s sitting with Christina only lasted from 1 to 4 p.m. on 12 March 1538. This is when he made a series of sketches to use as the basis for the painted portrait. The image apparently pleased Henry so much that he was reported to be ‘in better humour than he ever was, making musicians play on their instruments all day long'. Although their marriage negotiations failed, Henry kept Christina’s portrait until his death in 1547."

Christina was born in 1521. When Holbein painted this portrait, Christina was already a widow (widowed when she was 13 years old in 1535, 1 month shy of her 14th birthday). "On 10 March 1538, Holbein arrived in Brussels with the diplomat Philip Hoby to meet Christina. Hoby arranged with Benedict, the Master of Christina's household, for a sitting the next day. Christina sat for the portrait for three hours wearing mourning dress. Her rooms in Brussels were hung with black velvet, black damask and a black cloth-of-estate." (Wikipedia)

In my in-person Critical Look at Blackwork Embroidery in Holbein's Paintings class, I mentioned this portrait because of Holbein's detail work with the fabric that Christina is wearing. We can clearly see the velvet, the fur, and linen. "Holbein suggests the different textures of linen, velvet, fur, leather, gold and gemstone to set off the delicate beauty of the flesh. Christina's faint smile seems at once demure and intimate." (Web Gallery of Art)

When talking of Easter eggs in a Holbein painting during my class, I specifically made reference to The Ambassadors. Picture credit: The National Gallery

Per the National Gallery, "Jean de Dinteville, the man on the left, is shown on his second diplomatic mission to England on behalf of Francis I, King of France. To the right is his close friend, Georges de Selve, Bishop of Lavaur. This portrait was painted at a time of religious upheaval in Europe. Although the pope had refused to annul Henry VIII, King of England’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon which resulted in a break with the Roman Catholic Church, in 1533 he married Anne Boleyn. The array of objects on the table seem to allude to discord; the arithmetic book, for example, is open at the page concerning mathematical division." 

 

Holbein demonstrated much skill in creating different textures within this portrait. Other Easter eggs within this painting include the broken string on the lute ("evokes ecclesiastical disharmony during the Reformation"), the skull (an example of a vanitas painting - the skull is only fully visible when looking at the portrait from the side - in other words, hidden in plain sight), and the almost hidden crucifix in the upper left corner "that hints at the hope of redemption in the resurrected Christ" (The National Gallery). A vanitas painting "are artworks that remind the viewer of the shortness and fragility of life (memento mori is a Latin phrase meaning ‘remember you must die’) and include symbols such as skulls and extinguished candles. However vanitas still-lifes also include other symbols such as musical instruments, wine and books to remind us explicitly of the vanity (in the sense of worthlessness) of worldly pleasures and goods." (Tate) Some non-political details are also included in this painting, such as "the ages of the sitters being written in Latin on the dagger’s sheath (Dinteville) and on the book on the top shelf (de Selve)". (JSTOR)