My Book Review for The Stitching Book, specifically the Blackwork Embroidery Section.

My Book Review for The Stitching Book, specifically the Blackwork Embroidery Section.

 

 If you are a beginner with embroidery, then this book will be informative. 

 

Blackwork embroidery is also known as double-running stitch or Holbein stitch. Historically, it was typically found as silk thread embroidered on white linen in a reversible stitch.For more historical information (plus a step by step on how to begin) on blackwork embroidery, please visit:https://youtu.be/lcZsoB71XZQ 

 

            Picture Credits: 

- "Bess of Hardwick." https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Bess_of_H... 

- "Coif." V&A Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O3... 

- "Panel." V&A Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O3... 

- "Portrait of a Boy with a Marmoset." Kunstmuseum Basel. https://sammlungonline.kunstmuseumbas... 

- "Sampler." V&A Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O4... 

- "Sampler 2." V&A Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O7...

 

          Works Cited: 

- Bage, Patricia and others. The Stitching Book. Search Press Limited. 2012. 

- "How Did the Tudors Stay Clean?" https://www.thehistorycorner.org/arti... 

- Shimeon, Miriam bat. Miriam's Middle Eastern Research Blog. https://awalimofstormhold.wordpress.com/ 

- "Tudor Era Sumptuary Laws." https://elizabethanenglandlife.com/th... 

- Watt, Melinda. "English Embroidery of the Late Tudor Stuart Eras." https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bro... 

- "Who Wears What." http://www.elizabethan.org/sumptuary/... 

 

          Suggested Items for Purchase: 

- The Stitching Book: https://amzn.to/3qzQhqy 

- Silk thread (Needle in a Haystack): http://www.needlestack.com/WebStore/T... or http://www.needlestack.com/WebStore/T... 

- Slate Frame (T.F. Woodcraft): https://www.tfwoodcraft.com/shop/slat... 

- Hoop Frame: https://amzn.to/3sktIBs 

- Beeswax: https://amzn.to/2NHAmTF 

- Scissors: https://amzn.to/2ZO93cP 

- Linen Fabric: https://amzn.to/3m1bsuJ 

- Craft Stand: https://amzn.to/3pYGlR0

 

 

What do you think of this Holbein-inspired pattern for my next pair of cuffs?

Inspired by Holbein's portrait of Jane Seymour with her cuffs, I have changed out the ocean wave pattern to be without tails (like found in Holbein's portrait of the Boy with a Marmoset) and changed out the middle section for a pattern on Holbein's Darmstadt Madonna painting.

 

 

For more reference on the original inspirations for the above pattern:

           Works Cited

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

 

 

• Holbein d. J., Hans. “Portrait of a Noble Boy with a Marmoset.” KunstMuseum Basel. https://sammlungonline.kunstmuseumbasel.ch/eMP/eMuseumPlus?service=direct/1/ResultDetailView/result.inline.list.t1.collection_list.$TspTitleImageLink.link&sp=13&sp=Sartist&sp=SfilterDefinition&sp=0&sp=1&sp=1&sp=SdetailView&sp=142&sp=Sdetail&sp=0&sp=T&sp=0&sp=SdetailList&sp=275&sp=F&sp=Scollection&sp=l19344.

 

 • Holbein the Younger, Hans. “Darmstadt Madonna.” https://useum.org/artwork/Darmstadt-Madonna-Hans-Holbein-1526.

 

 

 

 

Portrait of a Young Woman in a Red Bodice | From Holbein's Circle

While doing research and prep work for my upcoming Blackwork Embroidery in Holbein's Portraits class, I came across a portrait that I had not seen before. It's at the Kunstmuseum in Basel. It's associated to Hans Holbein the Younger, from his circle. This portrait is titled (in German) Portrait of a Young Woman in a Red Bodice, circa 1497/98-1543.

I first saw this portrait in the book: The Drawings of Holbein. 

In Paul Hamlyn's book, he said, "According to Ganz the portrait has been entirely overworked by a coarse hand, but this is denied by Glaser who regards it as an unfinished painting. In any case the work is not generally accepted as by Holbein the Younger and is sometimes attributed to the elder Hans Holbein. The date given by Ganz, 1528-31, that is during Holbein's third Basle period, seems much too late and the date c. 1516, suggested by Schmid, is probably correct."

Either way, I was surprised to find blackwork embroidery on a portrait that I had not seen before!

What do you think? Do you think this portrait is a Holbein the Younger portrait?

Blackwork Embroidery: Is It Counted Reversible Holbein Stitch or Curvilinear Stem Stitch?

When blackwork embroidery is mentioned, did you know that there is more than one type of embroidery that this includes? Also, did you know that blackwork embroidery is also known as double-running stitch or Holbein stitch? Double-running stitch refers to the early 16th century embroidery that was reversible and geometric, as shown in some of Hans Holbein the Younger's portraits, hence the nickname of Holbein stitch. 

However, in the later part of the 16th century in England, a different type of blackwork embroidery became popular. This new blackwork was curvilinear, typically with flowers and leaves, which were embroidered with a stem stitch and sometimes decorated with a seed stitch. 

 

 

 

      Picture Credit: 

- "Pillow Cover." V&A Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O317803/pillow-cover-unknown/

Check out the Blackwork Embroidery on Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk

Thomas Howard, the 4th Duke of Norfolk, was the only duke during Queen Elizabeth I's reign. This portrait of him was painted by Hans Eworth in 1563. 

 

Norfolk had been described as a weak man with Catholic leanings and greatly desired to wed Mary, Queen of Scots. After being implicated in the Ridolfi plot to free Mary and dethrone Elizabeth, Elizabeth had him tried, condemned, and beheaded in 1572. 

This portrait had been part of the Renaissance Marriage Portraits exhibition at the Holburne Museum. 

The thing that I am most fascinated by is the detail work of the blackwork embroidery within his cuffs and ruff! 

Here is my initial interpretation of the pattern on his cuffs is:

Embroidery Patterns for Hans Holbein the Younger's Darmstadt Madonna Painting

Hans Holbein the Younger's Darmstadt Madonna painting is of Jakob Meyer zum Hasen, his first wife (who had died earlier), his current wife, and his daughter, Anna, around the Madonna and infant Jesus. It was commissioned by the mayor (Jakob Meyer zum Hasen) in 1525 and completed in Basel in 1526.

 

 

 If you look closely at Anna's dress, she has embroidery patterns on it (Holbein stitch).

 An enhanced picture of the embroidery

 

Here are my interpretations of the embroidery found on Anna's dress:

At the elbow

On the cuffs

Isabella D'Angelo's pattern: