Michael Wolgemut
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Michael Wolgemut (formerly spelt ''Wohlgemuth''; 143430 November 1519) was a German painter and
printmaker 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 ...
, who ran a workshop in
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 ...
. He is best known as having taught the young
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 ...
. The importance of Wolgemut as an artist rests not only on his own individual works, but also on the fact that he was the head of a large workshop, in which many different branches of the fine arts were carried on by a great number of pupil-assistants, including Albrecht Dürer, who completed an apprenticeship with him between 1486 and 1489. In his ''atelier'' large altar-pieces and other sacred paintings were executed, and also elaborate carved painted wood
retable A retable is a structure or element placed either on or immediately behind and above the altar or communion table of a church. At the minimum it may be a simple shelf for candles behind an altar, but it can also be a large and elaborate structur ...
s, consisting of crowded subjects in high relief, richly decorated with gold and colour. Wolgemut was a leader among the artists reviving the standards of German
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 ...
at this time. The production of woodcuts was a large part of the work of the workshop, the blocks being cut from Wolgemut's designs. They were mostly made to supply the many publishers in Nuremberg with book illustrations, with the most attractive also being sold separately. Wolgemut's woodcuts followed the advances in
engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...
, depicting volume and shading to a much greater extent than before. Many are remarkable for their vigour and clever adaptation to the special necessities of the technique of woodcut. Nonetheless, they were very often hand-coloured before or after sale. His pupil Dürer was to build on and to so surpass his achievement that it is often overlooked. Wolgemut's paintings show Flemish influence, and he may have traveled within
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
(modern Belgium and surrounding areas).


Biography

Wolgemut trained with his father Valentin Wolgemut (who died in 1469 or 1470) and is thought to have been an assistant to Hans Pleydenwurff in Nuremberg. He worked with Gabriel Malesskircher in Munich early in 1471, leaving the city after unsuccessfully suing Malesskircher's daughter for breach of contract, claiming she had broken off their engagement. He then returned to his late father's workshop in Nuremberg, which his mother had maintained since Valentin's death. In 1472 he married Pleydenwurff's widow and took over his workshop; her son Wilhelm Pleydenwurff worked as an assistant, and from 1491 a partner, to Wolgemut. Some consider Wilhelm a finer artist than Wolgemut, however he died in January 1494, when he was probably still in his thirties. Wilhelm's ''oeuvre'' remains unclear, though works in various media have been attributed to him.


Woodcuts

Two large and copiously illustrated books have woodcuts supplied by Wolgemut and his stepson Wilhelm Pleydenwurff; both were printed and published by Germany's largest publisher, the Nuremberger
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 ...
, who was also Dürer's godfather. The first is the ''Schatzbehalter der wahren Reichthumer des Heils'' (1491); the other is the ''Historia mundi'', by Schedel (1493), usually known as the ''
Nuremberg Chronicle The ''Nuremberg Chronicle'' is an illustrated encyclopedia consisting of world historical accounts, as well as accounts told through biblical paraphrase. Subjects include human history in relation to the Bible, illustrated mythological creatures, ...
'', which is highly valued, not for the text, but for its remarkable collection of 1,809 spirited illustrations. Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff were first commissioned to provide the illustrations in 1487 and 1488, and a further contract of 29 December 1491 commissioned manuscript layouts of the text and illustrations. A further contact of 1492 stipulated that Koberger should provide a locked room for the blocks to be kept safely. A drawing by Wolgemut for the elaborate frontispiece, dated 1490, is in 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 docum ...
. As with other books of the period, many of the woodcuts, showing towns, battles or kings were used more than once in the book, with the text labels merely changed. The book is large, with a double-page woodcut measuring about 342x500mm.


Paintings

The earliest known work by Wolgemut is a
retable A retable is a structure or element placed either on or immediately behind and above the altar or communion table of a church. At the minimum it may be a simple shelf for candles behind an altar, but it can also be a large and elaborate structur ...
consisting of four panels, dated 1465, now in the
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
gallery, a decorative work of much beauty. In 1479 he painted the retable of the high altar in the church of St Mary at
Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ' ...
, which still exists, receiving for it the large sum of 1400 gulden. One of his finest and largest works is the great retable painted for the church of the
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...
friars at Nuremberg, now moved into the museum; it consists of a great many panels, with figures of locally venerated saints. In 1501 Wolgemut was employed to decorate the town hall at
Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines ...
with a large series of paintings; some on the ceiling are on panel, and others on the walls are painted thinly in
tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...
on canvas. As a portrait-painter he enjoyed much repute, and some of his works of this class are very admirable for their realistic vigour and minute finish. Outside Germany Wolgemut's paintings are scarce: the Royal Institution at
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
possesses two good examples--''Pilate washing his Hands'', and ''The Deposition from the Cross'', parts probably of a large altar-piece. During the last ten years of his life Wohlgemut appears to have produced little by his own hand. One of his latest paintings is the retable at
Schwabach Schwabach () is a German city of about 40,000 inhabitants near Nuremberg in the centre of the region of Franconia in the north of Bavaria. The city is an autonomous administrative district (''kreisfreie Stadt''). Schwabach is also the name of th ...
, executed in 1508, the contract for which still exists. He died at Nuremberg in 1519. File:Michael Wolgemut - Bildnis des Levinus Memminger (Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza).jpg, Levinus Memminger File:Michael Wolgemut (Schule) Kreuzigung und Beweinung Christi c1490.jpg, Christ crucified File:Michael Wolgemut 002.jpg, Peringsdörffer altar, Annunciation and Betlehem scene File:Michael wolgemut, madonna col bambino e sant'anna in memoria di anna gross, 1510 ca.JPG, The Virgin and child with donors File:Schedel konstantinopel.jpg, Page depicting
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
from
Nuremberg Chronicle The ''Nuremberg Chronicle'' is an illustrated encyclopedia consisting of world historical accounts, as well as accounts told through biblical paraphrase. Subjects include human history in relation to the Bible, illustrated mythological creatures, ...
1491; image is a woodcut from Wolgemut's workshop with added hand-colouring


References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolgemut, Michael 1434 births 1519 deaths Artists from Nuremberg 15th-century German painters German male painters 16th-century German painters German printmakers