Hans Asper ( 1499 – 21 March 1571) was a Swiss painter best known for his

portraits A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

Life

Asper was born c. 1499 in Zurich, where he lived his entire life. Nothing is known of him until 1526, when he married the daughter of Ludwig Nöggi, a master carpenter who sat in the city council, and Asper himself was a citizen of some standing, being elected to the Great Council in 1545. He is thought to have studied with

Hans Leu the Younger Hans Leu the Younger (ca. 1490 – 24 October 1531) was a Swiss painter, native to Zürich. He was the son of the painter Hans Leu the Elder, with whom he probably had his first training as an artist.

, in Zurich, and appears to have received early influence in portrait painting from the works of Hans Holbein the Younger. His first artworks date from 1531, with possibly the most well-known portrait of Swiss reformator

Huldrych Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system. He attended the Univ ...

, painted with

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins o ...

. In the same year Asper painted the interiors of some of Zurich's government buildings, being at the time the official painter to the city. He painted in a variety of styles, and is particularly known for his studies of flowers and fruit. Many of his works are lost. Notable works include portraits of

and Zwingli's daughter Regula Gwalter, which came into the ownership of the public library of Zurich. Asper is also believed to have provided the illustrations for

Conrad Gesner Conrad Gessner (; la, Conradus Gesnerus 26 March 1516 – 13 December 1565) was a Swiss physician, naturalist, bibliographer, and philologist. Born into a poor family in Zürich, Switzerland, his father and teachers quickly realised his tale ...

's ''Historia Animalium''. Asper had a medal struck in his honor, but died in poverty in 1571. Two of his eleven children,

Hans Rudolf Asper Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...

and Rudolf Asper, were also painters.

Gallery

Ulrich-Zwingli-1.jpg, Huldrych Zwingli, 1531 Hans Asper 001.jpg, Cleophea Holzhalb, 1538 File:Bild Zwingli Asper.jpg, Huldrych Zwingli, 1549 Wilhelm Froelich.jpg, Wilhelm Frölich, 1549, Asper's only full-length portrait File:Zentralbibliothek Zürich - Porträt von Regula GwaltherZwingli und Anna Gwalther - 500000029.jpg, Regula Gwalther Zwingli and Anna Gwalther, 1549, Huldrych Zwingli's daughter and granddaughter Pietro Vermigli by Hans Asper.jpg,

Pietro Martire Vermigli Peter Martyr Vermigli (8 September 149912 November 1562) was an Italian-born Reformed theologian. His early work as a reformer in Catholic Italy and his decision to flee for Protestant northern Europe influenced many other Italians to convert a ...

, 1560 File:Bildnis des Johannes Oekolampad.jpg,

Johannes Oekolampad Johannes Oecolampadius (also ''Œcolampadius'', in German also Oekolampadius, Oekolampad; 1482 – 24 November 1531) was a German Protestant reformer in the Calvinist tradition from the Electoral Palatinate. He was the leader of the Protestant f ...

References

Attribution: *

External links

* __NOTOC__ 1499 births 1571 deaths Artists from Zürich 16th-century Swiss painters Swiss male painters Renaissance painters Swiss portrait painters {{Switzerland-painter-stub