Jacob Acker was a

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

in the second half of the 15th century in

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

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 ...

. He painted the impressive

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

in the St. Leonhard cemetery Chapel in Ehingen (Donau)-Risstissen, Germany which bears his inscription ''Jacob acker maler zu ulm hat diese dafel gemacht uf des hailligen Kreutz tag an herst. anno dmi MCCCCLXXXIII jar''. This means: "Jacob Acker, painter in Ulm has completed this painting on the day of the holy cross in the year of 1483". Not much is known about this Jacob Acker "der Jüngere" (the younger). Most probably he belonged to the extended Ulm artist family of the Acker, many of them members of the so-called "Ulmer Schule" (school of Ulm). This dynasty of artists started with Jakob Acker "dem Älteren" (the elder), who lived around 1400. He painted some of the surviving

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows of

Ulm Minster Ulm Minster (german: Ulmer Münster) is a Lutheran church located in Ulm, State of Baden-Württemberg (Germany). It is currently the tallest church in the world. The church is the fifth-tallest structure built before the 20th century, with a ...

. His son

Hans Acker Hans Acker (c. 1380 – 1461, Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban d ...

(about 1380–1461) continued with this profession and his stained glass windows can also still be admired in Ulm Minster. Whether Jacob Acker "der Juengere" is a son or brother of Hans Acker is not known. Jakob Acker the Younger produced painted doors for the main

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

of Ulm Minster. This organ and Jakob Acker's doors are lost. In 1529 Ulm converted to

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

; under the radical influence of the reformer

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 Unive ...

on the so-called "Götzentag", the people of Ulm burned most of the paintings, altars, and organs of Ulm Minster in a huge fire on the square in front of the church in summer 1531. The

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

called this fundamentalist Protestant religious movement "die Bilderstürmer" ( iconoclasts). Because Risstissen, some 12 miles southwest of Ulm, then only partially owned by the city of Ulm remained

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, Jakob Acker's remarkable Risstissen altar survived. It is believed to have been part of the decoration of the then

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

main church of Risstissen, which was removed at the end of the 18th century and replaced with the present church.

References

*''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie''
online version
15th-century German painters German male painters {{Germany-painter-stub