Toegift

                      

             The lady with a squirrel and a starling
              about 1526-8, Hans Holbein, the Younger

In England Holbein begins to portrait characters of the rich families. Among them, he portraits Anne Lovell, our Lady with a squirrel and a starling.  The animals chosen seem bizarre, but we have to know that squirrels, in that time, were common pets among the English upper class. If you look closely, you’ll notice the little chain that stops the squirrel from escaping and that Lovell holds in her right hand. Also, it is thought that the squirrel is a reference of the Lovell family name, as this little animal is in their coat of arms. The starling may be a punning reference to the family seat at East Harling. The portrait was perhaps commissioned in celebration of the birth of the Lovells’ son in spring 1526.