Title: Allegory of Passion

Artist: Hans Holbein

Title: An Allegory of Passion Date: About 1532–36 Artist: Hans Holbein the Younger Artist Details: German, 1497/98–1543 Medium: Oil on panel Description A lozenge-shaped panel, usually devoted to representing coats of arms, is here adopted for a personal emblem. Symbolic of unrestrained passion, the unbridled horse bears a rider whose individualized features suggest a portrait. The inscription, "And so desire carries me along," is taken from the Italian poet Petrarch’s Canzoniere. This panel once belonged to Henry, Prince of Wales (1594–1612), older brother of Charles I and one of the first collectors of paintings in England.