Hans Weiditz the Younger, Hans Weiditz der Jüngere, Hans Weiditz II (1495

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...

- c1537

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

), was a German

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

artist, also known as The Petrarch Master for his woodcuts illustrating

Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited w ...

's ''

De remediis utriusque fortunae ''De remediis utriusque fortunae'' ("Remedies for Fortunes") is a collection of 254 Latin dialogues written by the humanist Francesco Petrarca (1304–1374), commonly known as Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374) ...

'', or ''Remedies for Both Good and Bad Fortune'', or ''Phisicke Against Fortune''. He is best known today for his very lively scenes and caricatures of working life and people, many created to illustrate the abstract philosophical maxims of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

and Petrarch. Like most artists in woodcut he only designed the

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

s, leaving the block-cutting to a specialist "''Formschneider''" (sometimes

Jost de Negker Jost de Negker (c. 1485–1544) was a cutter of woodcuts and also a printer and publisher of prints during the early 16th century, mostly in Augsburg, Germany. He was a leading "formschneider" or blockcutter of his day, but always to the design ...

in his Augsburg period) who pasted the design to the wood and chiselled the white areas away. The quality of the final woodcuts, which varies considerably, depended on the skill of the cutter as well as the artist. Weiditz was unfortunate in that his publishers went bankrupt part way through the production of his two longest series of woodcuts, and the cutting was later completed by cutters of lower skill.

Life

His father,

Hans Wydyz Hans Wydyz or Weiditz the Elder (c.1470–1520) was a sculptor and artist operating in Germany in the early 16th century. His work is usually signed H. W. near the base. He sculpted mainly in wood and also created woodcuts. His work is not o ...

or Weiditz the Elder, Hans Weiditz dem Älteren, Hans Weiditz I (ca 1475

Straßburg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

- ca 1516 Straßburg), worked in

between 1497 and 1514, and was described as a 'bildhower' or sculptor in the Painters' Guild records. In 1505 he worked on the ''Dreikönigsaltar'' in Freiburg Cathedral. Parish records show a 1510 payment to him for carved wooden rosettes on the keystones in the chancel, working with

Hans Baldung Hans Baldung (1484 or 1485 – September 1545), called Hans Baldung Grien, (being an early nickname, because of his predilection for the colour green), was a painter, printer, engraver, draftsman, and stained glass artist, who was considered th ...

, the gifted student of Albrecht Dürer. He is not to be confused with the slightly older Strasbourg woodcut artist

Hans Wechtlin Johann, Johannes or Hans Wechtlin was a German Renaissance artist, active between at least 1502 and 1526, whose woodcuts are his only certainly surviving work. He was the most prolific producer of German chiaroscuro woodcuts, printed in two or mo ...

. Weiditz the Younger, a brother of Christoph Weiditz (1500-1559), was a prominent member of an elite group of woodcut artists including such figures as

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...

, Hans Holbein, and

Hans Burgkmair Hans Burgkmair the Elder (1473–1531) was a German Painting, painter and woodcut printmaker. 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 ...

, his teacher. He was active in

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

between 1512 and 1522, and from 1522 to 1536 in Straßburg, producing woodcuts for book illustrations in the style of Burgkmair. He also produced notable work for an edition of

's popular ''

De Officiis ''De Officiis'' (''On Duties'' or ''On Obligations'') is a political and ethical treatise by the Roman orator, philosopher, and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero written in 44 BC. The treatise is divided into three books, in which Cicero expounds h ...

'' in 1531, for

Apuleius Apuleius (; also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis; c. 124 – after 170) was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He lived in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, modern-day ...

' ''

The Golden Ass The ''Metamorphoses'' of Apuleius, which Augustine of Hippo referred to as ''The Golden Ass'' (''Asinus aureus''), is the only ancient Roman novel in Latin to survive in its entirety. The protagonist of the novel is Lucius. At the end of the no ...

'' (1538), and the ''Comedies'' of

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the gen ...

. He produced the German

chiaroscuro woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

with the most different colour blocks, a seven-block coat of arms of a cardinal, for a

book frontispiece A frontispiece in books is a decorative or informative illustration facing a book's title page—on the left-hand, or verso, page opposite the right-hand, or recto, page. In some ancient editions or in modern luxury editions the frontispiece featu ...

of 1520, probably cut by

Illustrations for the ''Herbarum vivae eicones''

The ''Herbarum vivae eicones'' (Living plant images), published in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

in three parts between 1530 and 1536, was a landmark publication in the development of botanical illustration. The text was compiled by

Otto Brunfels Otto Brunfels (also known as Brunsfels or Braunfels) (believed to be born in 1488 – 23 November 1534) was a German theologian and botanist. Carl von Linné listed him among the "Fathers of Botany". Life After studying theology and philosophy ...

from earlier writings, but the illustrations by Weiditz represented a novel approach and set a high standard of realism in the portrayal of plants. Weiditz took his plants from nature, often showing the changing appearance with the seasons. His technique was admired and inevitably copied, leading to a copyright infringement lawsuit against the publisher

Christian Egenolff Christian Egenolff or Egenolph (26 July 1502 – 9 February 1555), also known as Christian Egenolff, the Elder, was the first important printer and publisher operating from Frankfurt-am-Main, and best known for his ''Kräuterbuch'' and re-iss ...

Selected books illustrated by Hans Weiditz

*''Der Altenn Fechter anfengliche Kunst'',

, (

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

1529) *

'', or ''Remedies for Both Good and Bad Fortune'', or ''Phisicke Against Fortune as well prosperous as adverse'' *The Herbarum vivae eicones (Living plant images), published Strasbourg in three parts between 1530 and 1536—a landmark publication in botanical illustration, by

References

External links

Prints & People: A Social History of Printed Pictures
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Hans Weiditz (see index) *https://archive.today/20130206145143/http://www.infobitte.de/free/lex/artsLex0/w/weiditzHansDae.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Weiditz, Hans 1495 births 1537 deaths German artists German printmakers Petrarch Botanical illustrators

Life

Illustrations for the ''Herbarum vivae eicones''

Selected books illustrated by Hans Weiditz

See also

References

External links