Portrait of a Lady with a Squirrel by Hans Holbein

The portrait of “The Lady with the Squirrel” was written by the artist on his first visit to London. This small picture shows a young, but apparently serious and quite well-behaved woman.

This is indicated by the attributes attributed to her by the portraitist. For example, the squirrel clearly symbolizes that this lady is a fine hostess, making reserves, caring about the welfare and peace of the family, the thrush says about the readiness to protect their family nest. The woman in this portrait evokes a feeling of obvious sympathy.

Contemporaries of the artist perfectly understood these symbols, which were widely used in the Renaissance. Later they began to be considered simply as decorative elements.