Heinrich Aldegrever or Aldegraf (1502–1555, 1558 or 1561) was a German painter and engraver. He was one of the "

Little Masters The Little Masters ("Kleinmeister" in German), were a group of German printmakers who worked in the first half of the 16th century, primarily in engraving. They specialized in very small finely detailed prints, some no larger than a postage stam ...

", the group of German artists making small

old master print An old master print is a work of art produced by a printing process within the Western tradition. The term remains current in the art trade, and there is no easy alternative in English to distinguish the works of "fine art" produced in printmaki ...

s in the generation after

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 ...

Biography

Painter,

printmaker 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 the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniq ...

and

goldsmith A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and servic ...

active in a

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regi ...

milieu. Born in

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for ...

. His real name was Trippenmecker, which in Westphalian dialect means a clog-maker. It is not known where Aldegrever was taught. He probably worked in a workshop of one of the Soest

s. His early works show a strong Westphalian influence. Aldegrever made a journey to the Netherlands, where he became acquainted with works of

Joos van Cleve Joos van Cleve (; also Joos van der Beke; c. 1485–1490 – 1540/1541) was a leading painter active in Antwerp from his arrival there around 1511 until his death in 1540 or 1541. Within Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, he combines the tra ...

, Barendt van Orley,

Lucas van Leyden Lucas van Leyden (1494 – 8 August 1533), also named either Lucas Hugensz or Lucas Jacobsz, was a Dutch painter and printmaker in engraving and woodcut. Lucas van Leyden was among the first Dutch exponents of genre painting and was a very ac ...

and Jacob Cornelisz. Around 1525 he moved to Soest, where a year later he painted the wings and

predella In art a predella (plural predelle) is the lowest part of an altarpiece, sometimes forming a platform or step, and the painting or sculpture along it, at the bottom of an altarpiece, sometimes with a single much larger main scene above, but of ...

of the Mary altar for the church of St. Peter. His signature and symbolic clog show that he was still using his father's name. His first engravings appeared in 1527. They were signed with a monogram "AG", resembling closely that of

. In 1531, influenced by surrounding religious fervour, he became a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

. Because of lack of church commissions he devoted most of his time to portrait painting and

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...

. Aldegrever's some 290

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an i ...

s and

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, chiefly from his own designs, are delicate and minute, though somewhat hard in style, and entitle him to a place in the front rank of the so-called "Little Masters": Barthel Beham, his brother Hans Sebald Beham, and

Georg Pencz Georg Pencz (c. 1500 – 11 October 1550) was a German engraver, painter and printmaker. Pencz was probably born in Westheim near Bad Windsheim/Franconia. He travelled to Nuremberg in 1523 and joined Albrecht Dürer’s atelier. Like Dürer, ...

, with whom he is often compared. Like them, he was also a skilled ornament designer. From the close resemblance of his style to that of

he has also sometimes been called the "Albert of Westphalia". About a third of his prints were ornamental engravings; they were used as models by artists and craftsmen well into the seventeenth century. Aldegrever, who actively supported the Reformation, executed portraits of

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

and

Philip Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon. (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the ...

. Although he chose the Lutheran Church, he had friends among the

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

s. He was commissioned by the

bishop of Münster A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in 1535–36 to engrave portraits of Anabaptist leaders Jan van Leyden and

Bernhard Knipperdolling Bernhard Knipperdolling (c. 1495 – January 22, 1536) was a German leader of the Münster Anabaptists. He was also known as Bernd or Berndt Knipperdollinck or Knypperdollynck or Bertrand Knipperdoling; his birth name was van Stockem. Early life ...

, although they were already imprisoned, and only caricatures of them circulated. In the cycle ''Power of Death'', done under visible influence of Hans Holbein, he criticizes the vices of the Catholic Church. Aldegrever was interested also in folk subjects. In 1538 and 1551 two series of prints depicting marriage dances were made. An important part of his oeuvre are prints on mythological subjects, the ''Deeds of Hercules'' being one of the best examples. Only two paintings are firmly attributed to him: the wings and

of the ''Marienaltar'' (c. 1525-6) in the Wiesenkirche in Soest, and a portrait of Graf Phillip von Waldeck (1837) in Schloss Aroldsen.

References

External links

Works by Heinrich Aldegrever at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaWorks by Heinrich Aldegrever at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
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Articles about "Aldegrever and the Protestant Reformation in Soest" / virtual exhibition "Iconoclastic Controversy and sensual pleasure - Heinrich Aldegrever" with introductory texts and 167 commented engravings - all in German; click "Project" at bottom, then "Aldegrever online" for images
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldegrever, Heinrich 1502 births 16th-century deaths People from Paderborn German Renaissance painters German engravers German printmakers

Biography

Further reading

References

External links