Hans burgkmair biography

Hans Burgkmair, a German painter and woodcut printmaker, was born in Augsburg to a painter, Thomas Burgkmair. Hollstein attributes approximately 800 woodcuts to him, most utilized as book illustrations. As a German artist who was greatly influenced by the Italian Renaissance, he became amongst the first printmakers to utilize the contrast technique of chiaroscuro in his woodcuts.

Burgkmair first began his training in the town of Colmar under German painter and engraver Martin Schongauer (1448-1491). He then traveled to Italy, where he developed a unique compositional style that combined elements of the Italian Renaissance and German styles. His most famous works were done for the large series of woodcuts, The Triumphs of Maximilian, depicting the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (1459).

German painter and woodcut printmaker (1473–1531)

Hans Burgkmair the Elder (1473–1531) was a German painter and woodcutprintmaker.

Background

Hans Burgkmair was born in Augsburg, the son of painter Thomas Burgkmair. His own son, Hans the Younger, later became a painter as well. From 1488, Burgkmair was a pupil of Martin Schongauer in Colmar. Schongauer died in 1491, before Burgkmair was able to complete the normal period of training. He may have visited Italy at this time, and certainly did so in 1507, which greatly influenced his style. From 1491, he worked in Augsburg, where he became a master and eventually opened his own workshop in 1498. Burgkmair was a Lutheran.^[2]

Career

German art historian Friedrich Wilhelm Hollstein ascribes 834 woodcuts to Burgkmair, the majority of which were intended for book illustrations. Slightly more than a hundred are "single-leaf" prints which were not intended for books. His work shows a talent for striking compositions which blend Italian Renaissance forms with the established German style.

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