Design for Organ Shutters, parts 1 & 2, by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1525–26

Design for organ shutters for basel cathedral, parts 1 & 2, left side. Pen and ink and brush over preliminary chalk drawing, brown and grey wash, kunstmuseum basel. Right shutters 1. The empress kunigunde, 26. 1 × 7. 6 cm (top), 7. 8 cm (bottom) 2. The emperor heinrich ii and basel cathedral, 30. 6 (left), 37. 9 (right) × 22. 2 cm} organ shutters protected the organ from dust and dirt. Here, the central panels and side panels would have been connected by a hinge. These left-side shutters depict the founders of basel cathedral, heinrich ii, holy roman emperor, and his wife st kunigunde (müller, 346–47). Holbein deploys perspective and illusion, particularly noticeable in the emperor's elbow, to offset the angles and height of the shutters' positions. Date: c. 1525–26.