![Mainz Dom BW 2012-08-18 16-01-13](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Mainz_Dom_BW_2012-08-18_16-01-13.JPG)
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
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 tha ...
s.
His work is not only highly accurate on a technical level, but is also abnormally charged with emotion, usually due to the expression on faces, hand gestures, poses etc.
Life
Hans Wydyz the Elder is thought to come from the
Upper Rhine
The Upper Rhine (german: Oberrhein ; french: Rhin Supérieur) is the section of the Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany, surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometres 170 to 529 (the ...
region of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, probably born in or near Strasbourg, as his work appears to evolve from the Strasbourg tradition. He was probably the son of the wood engraver Bartholomaus Wydyz or Weiditz from
Meissen.
He was active in the late 15th and early 16th centuries mainly in
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
and (
Freiburg im Breisgau) and later in
Strasbourg.
From 1497 to 1510 he lived with his wife in Augustinergasse (now Grunwalderstrasse) in Freiburg
His sculpture of Adam and Eve in
boxwood
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...
and
linden dates from around 1505 and is one of the first small scale sculptures of these figures. It was possibly made for domestic purposes, as it is carved in the round, and designed to be seen from all sides. The statue was once in the ownership of Margaret of Austria, Regent of the Netherlands.
Hans Sixt succeeded him in Freiburg and was probably trained by him.
In his later years he worked in partnership 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 t ...
, probably with Baldung painting the figues carved by Wydyz.
He died in
Freiburg im Breisgau in 1536.
Family
It is not so much the commonality of the names which demonstrates that the Wydyz/Weiditz artists were all related, but the commonality of the artistic talent, which is clearly linked.
[Hans Wydyz the Elder by Dr Rudolf Burckhardt]
His sons were
Hans Weiditz
Hans Weiditz the Younger, Hans Weiditz der Jüngere, Hans Weiditz II (1495 Freiburg im Breisgau - c1537 Bern), was a German Renaissance artist, also known as The Petrarch Master for his woodcuts illustrating Petrarch's ''De remediis utriusque fort ...
the Younger (c.1495-1537) and
Christoph Weiditz (1498-1560). His sons were less skilled than the father and mainly worked in 2-dimensions, mainly low relief and woodcuts.
Notable Works
![Johannes 0](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Johannes_0.jpg)
*The Virgin Mary,
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
*Adam and Eve, History Museum,
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
*The Three Kings altar in
Freiburg Cathedral
*Marienaltar in
Mainz Cathedral
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*Crucifixion,
Metropolitan Museum of New York
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
*
St. Agnes of Rome Augustiner Museum
The Augustiner Museum is a museum in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany located in the former Augustinian Monastery building. It is undergoing an extensive renovation and expansion, the first phase of which ended in 2010.[St. Catherine of Alexandria
Catherine of Alexandria (also spelled Katherine); grc-gre, ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς ; ar, سانت كاترين; la, Catharina Alexandrina). is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, w ...]
, Town Hall,
Obernai
Obernai ( Alsatian: ''Owernah''; german: Oberehnheim) commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It lies on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains.
Obernai is a rapidly growing city, its number of inhabitants hav ...
*Three
alabaster
Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that include ...
figures on the pulpit of
Strasbourg Cathedral
Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, or ''Cathédrale de Strasbourg'', german: Liebfrauenmünster zu Straßburg or ''Straßburger Münster''), also known as Strasbourg ...
*Kneeling Angel, in the Women's Museum in Strasbourg
*St John the Apostle from St Lawrence Church in
Kenzingen
Kenzingen () is a town in the district of Emmendingen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Elz, 23 km north of Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ...
(now in the Augustinermuseum in Freiburg)
*St Agnes from the Adelhausen monastery in Freiburg (now in the Augustinermuseum in Freiburg)
*Altar to St Anthony in the church of St Joseph in
Obersimonswald
*The Crescent Madonna in the church of St Peter and Paul in Freiburg
*The Crescent Madonna in the Augustiner Museum, Freiburg
*Praying Maria in the Augustiner Museum, Freiburg
*The
Annunciation,
Bode Museum
The Bode-Museum (English: ''Bode Museum''), formerly called the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum (''Emperor Frederick Museum''), is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. It was built from 1898 to 1904 by order of Germ ...
,
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
*Three bosses from the vaulting of Freiburg Cathedral now in the Augustiner Museum
*Holy Family on a Grassy Bank, altarpiece of the
Schnewlin Church
*Six Crescent Marias in the
Art Institute of Chicago
*Two enthroned Madonnas, Baden State Museum
*Anna Selbdritt from St George's Church in
Ehrenstetten, now in the Augustiner Museum
*The Oswald Altar from
St Oswald's in
Höllental
*
St. Sebastian and
St. Christopher
Saint Christopher ( el, Ἅγιος Χριστόφορος, ''Ágios Christóphoros'') is venerated by several Christian denominations as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman emperor Decius (reigned 249–251) or alternatively u ...
, Museum of Art History in
Saverne
Saverne (french: Saverne, ; Alsatian: ; german: Zabern ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a pass over the Vosges Mountains, and 45 km (2 ...
*Madonna and Child flanked by
St. Vitus and
Pope Marcellus I
Pope Marcellus I (6 January 255 – 16 January 309) was the bishop of Rome from May or June 308 to his death. He succeeded Marcellinus after a considerable interval. Under Maxentius, he was banished from Rome in 309, on account of the tumult ca ...
, Strasbourg Museum
*Two Crescent Madonnas in the Humanist Library in
Schlettstadt
*Two saints in the parish church of St Dionysius in
Baden-Oos
*Altarpiece from the Pankratius Church in
Dangolsheim
Dangolsheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
See also
* Communes of the Bas-Rhin department
The following is a list of the 514 communes of the Bas-Rhin department of France.
The communes cooper ...
, now in
Strasbourg Cathedral
Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, or ''Cathédrale de Strasbourg'', german: Liebfrauenmünster zu Straßburg or ''Straßburger Münster''), also known as Strasbourg ...
*Altarpiece in St Michael's Church in
Beiertheim
*Crucifixion in
Bode Museum
The Bode-Museum (English: ''Bode Museum''), formerly called the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum (''Emperor Frederick Museum''), is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. It was built from 1898 to 1904 by order of Germ ...
in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
*The Suffering of Job, Museum in Freiburg
References
![Hl](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Hl._Anna_selbdritt.jpg)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wydyz, Hans
16th-century German sculptors
Artists from Strasbourg
1520s deaths
1470s births