Hans Springinklee (c.1490/c.1495 – c.1540) was a German artist from
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
, best known for his
woodcut
Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking
Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only t ...
s.
[British Museum bio, see refs below.] He was a
pupil
The pupil is a black hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to strike the retina.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. (1990) ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company. It appears black ...
of
Albrecht Dürer.
Life
Little written evidence remains of Springinklee's life, and neither his exact dates of birth or death are known. He was born in Nuremberg between 1490 and 1495, was alive in 1524, and died no later than 1540. In 1547,
Johann Neudörffer the Elder
Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious ...
wrote that Springinklee had lived with, and learned his craft from, Albrecht Dürer. His first woodcuts date from 1512–1513, but there is no evidence of his presence in Nuremberg after 1524, and it is presumed that he had left Nuremberg by that date. The first documentary evidence dates to 1520, when the council of Nuremberg commissioned him to decorate rooms in
Nuremberg Castle
Nuremberg Castle (german: Nürnberger Burg) is a group of medieval fortified buildings on a sandstone ridge dominating the historical center of Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany.
The castle, together with the city walls, is considered to be one ...
before a visit of the
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infant ...
. On 10 September 1527, his two daughters mentioned that he had left them in Nuremberg three years before, and his father, Jörg Springinklee, had been paying for their maintenance. His name is absent from church records, but the astronomer
Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr
Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr (27 September 1677 – 1 December 1750) was a German mathematician, astronomer, and cartographer. (His surname is also spelled Doppelmayer and Doppelmair.)
Professional life and publications
He was born in Nuremberg, ...
said in 1730 that Springinklee had lived in Nuremberg until 1540.
Works
As a pupil of Dürer, Springinklee was involved in creating a number of works commissioned by Emperor
Maximilian I, including the monumental 192-panel woodcut the
Triumphal Arch
A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crow ...
. The first prints with his
monogram
A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series of ...
, HSK, date to 1513: ''Das Wunder der Heilige Wilgeffortis'' (The Miracle of
Saint Wilgefortis), and a sheet from Maximilian's ''
Weißkunig
''Der Weisskunig'' or ''The White King'' is a chivalric novel and thinly disguised biography of the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I, (1486–1519) written in German by Maximilian and his secretary between 1505 and 1516. Although not explicitl ...
'' entitled ''Kaiser Maximilian ehret das Andenken der Vorväter'' (Emperor Maxamilian honouring the memory of his ancestors).
From 1516, Springinklee mainly produced illustrations for the
bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...
s published by
Anton Koberger
Anton Koberger (c. 1440/1445 – 3 October 1513) was the German goldsmith, printer and publisher who printed and published the ''Nuremberg Chronicle'', a landmark of incunabula, and was a successful bookseller of works from other printers. In 147 ...
, mostly of
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
scenes. He also created over 100 woodcuts for several editions of the
prayerbook ''
Hortulus animae
''Hortulus Animae'' ( en, Little Garden of the Soul, german: Seelengärtlein, french: Jardin des Âmes, pl, Raj duszny) was the Latin title of a prayer book also available in German. It was very popular in the early sixteenth century, printed in ...
''.
Springinklee's paintings are less well known. Some church paintings and
altarpiece
An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting ...
s in the vicinity of Nuremberg have been attributed to Springinklee. The Kunstmuseum Basel holds a
chiaroscuro drawing
Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...
of a standing ''
Man of Sorrows
Man of Sorrows, a biblical term, is paramount among the prefigurations of the Messiah identified by the Bible in the passages of Isaiah 53 ('' Servant songs'') in the Hebrew Bible. It is also an iconic devotional image that shows Christ, usuall ...
'' from 1514, in white on a dark brown ground. Nuremberg Castle contains some
frescoes by Springinklee.
Footnotes
References
:''Based on the
equivalent page'' at the
German Wikipedia
The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia.
Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia) ...
''
* Rée, P. J.
Hans Springinklee In: ''
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB). Bd. 35. S. 321f.
German Wikisource''St. Jerome'' woodcut and biographical info from the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Springinklee, Hans
1490s births
16th-century German painters
German male painters
German printmakers
Artists from Nuremberg
1540 deaths