The Merchant Georg Gisze

This picture by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/98-1543) is one of the finest works of German portraiture. It depicts the Danzig merchant Georg Gisze in his office at the London Steelyard, one of the largest trading bases of the Hanseatic League.

“This picture that you see shows Georg’s features and appearance. So are his eyes in life, so are his cheeks formed in the forty-third year of his life in the year of our Lord 1532”, reads the notice on the sheet on the wall above his head.

The young merchant’s clothes and the objects around him reveal his position and social standing…

…such as this richly-decorated sphere which contained string for packing.

In his hands, he opens a letter from his brother at home.

An exquisite sword adorned with a crystal ball hangs from Gisze’s belt. The purity of the crystal represents the merchant’s virtue.

A gilded drum-watch symbolises his reliability, and is simultaneously an admonition not to waste time.

A precious Venetion glass vase, a token for Gisze’s wealth and taste, contains pinks and thyme, traditional symbols for love and afection, may refer to his fiancée in Danzig whom he would marry three years later.

“Nulla sine merore voluptas” (No joy without sorrow) is written on the wall in white calligraphy above the name “Gisze”.

It is the personal device of the sitter and is meant to present him as an experienced man who can bear hardships but knows the way to succeed in the world.