Michael Wolgemut (formerly spelt Wohlgemuth) (1434 – 1519), German painter and printmaker, was born and died in Nuremberg. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Painting (pān'tīng in Art, is the practice of applying Color to a Surface (support base such as e Printmaking is the Process of making artworks by Printing, normally on Paper.
|
Life
Little is known of Wolgemut's private life. He trained with his father Valentin Wolgemut (who died in 1469 or 1470) and in 1472 he married the widow of his former apprentice-master, the painter Hans Pleydenwurff, whose son Wilhelm worked as an assistant, and from 1491 a partner, to his stepfather. Hans Pleydenwurff (also Pleidenwurff) (* c 1420 probably in Bamberg, † 9 January 1472 in Nürnberg) was a German painter Some consider Wilhelm Pleydenwurff a finer artist than Wolgemut, however he died in January 1494, when he was probably still in his thirties. Wilhelm's oeuvre remains unclear, though works in various media have been attributed to him.
The importance of Wolgemut as an artist rests, not only on his own individual works, but also on the fact that he was the head of a large workshop, in which many different branches of the fine arts were carried on by a great number of pupil-assistants, including Albrecht Dürer, who completed an apprenticeship with him between 1486-9. Albrecht Dürer (ˈalbʀɛçt ˈdyʀɐ ( May 21, 1471 &ndash April 6, 1528) was a German painter, Printmaker In his atelier large altar-pieces and other sacred paintings were executed, and also elaborate carved painted wood retables, consisting of crowded subjects in high relief, richly decorated with gold and colour. A retable is a term of ecclesiastical art and ecclesiastical architecture, applied in modern English usage to an Altar -ledge or shelf raised slightly
Woodcuts
Wolgemut was a leader among the artists reviving the standards of German woodcut at this time, mostly supplying the many publishers in Nuremberg with book illustrations, of which the most attractive were also sold separately. Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS The Nuremberg Chronicle, written in Latin by Hartmann Schedel, with a version in German translation by Georg Alt is one of the best documented early printed books His woodcuts followed the advances in engraving to depict volume and shading to a much greater extent than before. Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it Nonetheless, they were very often hand-coloured before or after sale. His pupil Dürer was to build on and to so surpass his achievement that it is often over-looked.
Woodcut was a large part of the work of the workshop, the blocks being cut from Wolgemut's designs, many of which are remarkable for their vigour and clever adaptation to the special necessities of the technique of woodcut. For the origins of the technique and non-artistic use see Woodblock printing; for the related technique invented in the 18th century see Wood engraving For the origins of the technique and non-artistic use see Woodblock printing; for the related technique invented in the 18th century see Wood engraving Most of the production was for book illustrations; Nuremberg was the main centre of German publishing at the time. Two large and copiously illustrated books have woodcuts supplied by Wolgemut and his step-son Wilhelm Pleydenwurff; both were printed and published by Germany's largest publisher, the Nuremberger Anton Koburger, who was also Dürer's godfather. The first is the Schatzkammer der wahren Reichthumer des Heils (1491); the other is the Historia mundi, by Schedel (1493), usually known as the Nuremberg Chronicle, which is highly valued, not for the text, but for its remarkable collection of 1809 spirited illustrations. Hartmann Schedel ( February 13, 1440 &ndash November 28, 1514) was a German physician humanist and Historian, one The Nuremberg Chronicle, written in Latin by Hartmann Schedel, with a version in German translation by Georg Alt is one of the best documented early printed books
Wolgemut and his stepson Wilhelm Pleydenwurff were first commissioned to provide the illustrations in 1487-1488, and a further contract of December 29, 1491 commissioned manuscript layouts of the text and illustrations. Events 1170 - Thomas Becket: Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterbury is assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II A further contact of 1492 stipulated that Koberger should provide a locked room for the blocks to be kept safely. A drawing by Wolgemut for the elaborate frontispiece, dated 1490, is in the British Museum. The British Museum is a Museum of human history and culture in London. As with other books of the period, many of the woodcuts, showing towns, battles or kings were used more than once in the book, with the text labels merely changed. The book is large, with a double-page woodcut measuring about 342x500mm.
Paintings
His paintings show Flemish influence, and he may have travelled there. Dance of Death, also variously called Danse Macabre (French Danza Macabra (Italian or Totentanz The earliest known work by Wolgemut is a retable consisting of four panels, dated 1465, now in the Munich gallery, a decorative work of much beauty. A retable is a term of ecclesiastical art and ecclesiastical architecture, applied in modern English usage to an Altar -ledge or shelf raised slightly Munich (München; Minga is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. In 1479 he painted the retable of the high altar in the church of St Mary at Zwickau, which still exists, receiving for it the large sum of 1400 gulden. Zwickau (ˈtsvɪkaʊ̯ Cvikov is a city in Germany, in the Bundesland Sachsen (Saxony situated in a valley at the foot of the Erzgebirge One of his finest and largest works is the great retable painted for the church of the Augustinian friars at Nuremberg, now moved into the museum; it consists of a great many panels, with figures of locally venerated saints. The Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo (died AD 430) are several Catholic Monastic orders and congregations
In 1501 Wolgemut was employed to decorate the town hall at Goslar with a large series of paintings; some on the ceiling are on panel, and others on the walls are painted thinly in tempera on canvas. Goslar is a historic Town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern Tempera (also known as egg tempera) is a type of artist's Paint and associated art techniques that were known from the classical world where it appears As a portrait-painter he enjoyed much repute, and some of his works of this class are very admirable for their realistic vigour and minute finish.
Outside Germany Wolgemut's paintings are scarce: the Royal Institution at Liverpool possesses two good examples--Pilate washing his Hands, and The Deposition from the Cross, parts probably of a large altar-piece. Liverpool ( is a City and Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary During the last ten years of his life Wohlgemut appears to have produced little by his own hand. One of his latest paintings is the retable at Schwabach, executed in 1508, the contract for which still exists. Schwabach is a German city of about 40000 inhabitants near Nuremberg, in the center of the region of Franconia in the North of Bavaria. He died at Nuremberg in 1519.
References
- Giulia Bartrum, Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy, British Museum Press, 2002, ISBN 0-7141-2633-0
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic