Medieval Art

German, 16th century, male.

Painter.

Achert's name is found on a painting dating from the Renaissance period, which decorates one of the altars in the church of Rottweil.

[Hans von Ulm]

(fl Ulm, 1413–61).

German painter. He belonged to an artist family of which several generations were documented in 15th-century Ulm. According to municipal tax lists, ‘Ackerlin, painter’ was a master by 1413. He received payments from the masons’ lodge of Ulm Cathedral from 1415. In 1441 the cathedral lodge in Berne paid ‘Master Hans of Ulm’ for the production and delivery of stained-glass windows: this Hans is identified with Acker (see also Gothic, §VIII, 5). The Berne Passion window (1441; Berne Cathedral, chancel), his only surviving documented work, demonstrates the capabilities of mid-15th-century German glass painting in dealing with box-shaped hall-church interiors. Its Apostle figures still belong to the tradition of the ‘Soft style’, inspired by Bohemian art, while the style of their robes is reminiscent of those in the chancel windows of Ulm Cathedral. The appearance of a landscape background reveals the influence of the glass paintings (c....

Benedictine abbey on the River Enns in Styria, Austria. It was founded in the mid-11th century by Bishop Gebhard from Salzburg, endowed by St Henna von Gurk, Gräfin von Friessach (d 1045), and settled by Benedictine monks from St Peter’s, Salzburg under Abbot Isingrin. The Romanesque minster (consecrated 1074), which was dedicated to St Blaise, was famous for its marble columns and was rebuilt after a fire in 1152; a Gothic choir was added in 1276–86. The present church incorporates Romanesque side doors as well as other fragments. The abbey became an important cultural centre with a renowned scriptorium. Amongst the many famous scholars there was Abbot Engelbert of Admont (reg 1297–1327). From 1121 to the 16th century a convent was attached to the abbey. Under the abbots Mathias Preininger (reg 1615–28) and Urban Weber (reg 1628–59) the whole establishment was transformed in the Baroque style, and the church was rebuilt (...

Flemish, 16th century, male.

Sculptor.

Flemish School.

Pierre Aerts was one of the representatives of Renaissance art. Around 1540 he produced the monumental door which is located on the east side of the Fortress of Bruges.

Cistercian abbey in Portugal. The abbey, dedicated to S Maria, was founded as part of the policy of repopulation and territorial improvement of the first king of Portugal, Alfonso I (reg 1139–85), who in 1152 granted a large area of land to St Bernard of Clairvaux by a charter known as the Carta dos Coutos (Lisbon, Arquiv. N.). Work on the monastery started in 1158 and adhered to the rigid precepts of the Order. Although the exterior was extended and altered in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially the Baroque façade of the church, the interior essentially preserves its original Early Gothic appearance.

[Aleši, Andrija; Alexii, Andreas; Andrea di Niccolò da Durazzo]

(b Dürres, c. 1425; d Split, 1504).

Dalmatian sculptor and architect of Albanian birth. Although he is recorded in 1435 at Zadar as a pupil of Marco di Pietro da Troia, his most important artistic influence was the Late Gothic style of Giorgio da Sebenico, with whom he worked in 1445 on Šibenik Cathedral and in 1452 at Ancona on the Loggia dei Mercanti. Between 1448 and 1460 Alessi also controlled his own workshop at Split and Rab. In 1466 he began work on his masterpiece, the baptistery at Trogir, which was finished in 1467. The chapel is rectangular in plan, covered with a barrel vault with acute angled coffers; its richly decorated interior is an eclectic blend of Late Gothic and Renaissance elements. The sculpture shares these characteristics: the Baptism of Christ over the entrance, with its elongated figures and complex drapery patterns, derives from Giorgio da Sebenico’s mannered style, while St Jerome in the Desert...

Southern-most region of mainland Portugal. Its name is derived from ‘the West’ in Arabic. This region has relatively few medieval buildings: devastating earthquakes in 1722 and 1755 contributed to these losses, though many buildings were deliberately destroyed during the Middle Ages. For example, in the 12th century the Almoravids likely razed a pilgrimage church, described in Arabic sources, at the tip of the cape of S Vicente. Mosques at Faro, Silves and Tavira, among others, appear to have been levelled to make room for church construction after the Reconquest of the region, completed in 1249. Further excavations could shed much light on this history.

Highlights in the Algarve include remains at Milreu of a villa with elaborate mosaics that rank among the most substantial Roman sites in the region. The site further preserves foundations of a basilica, likely constructed in the 5th century, and traces of what may be a baptistery, perhaps added during the period of Byzantine occupation in the 6th and 7th centuries. The period of Islamic rule, from the 8th century through to the 13th, witnessed the construction of many fortifications, including examples at Aljezur, Loulé and Salir, which were mostly levelled by earthquakes. Silves, a city with origins in the Bronze Age, preserves a substantial concentration of relatively well-preserved Islamic monuments. These include a bridge, carved inscriptions, a castle, cistern and fortified walls, along which numerous ceramics have been excavated. Most extant medieval churches in Algarve date to the period after the Reconquest. These tend to be modest in design and small in scale, such as the 13th-century Vera Cruz de Marmelar, built over Visigothic or Mozarabic foundations. The relatively large cathedrals at Silves and at Faro preserve substantial portions dating to the 13th century, as well as fabric from subsequent medieval campaigns. Renaissance and Baroque churches and ecclesiastical furnishings can be found throughout Algarve....

(b c. 1480; d Regensburg, Feb 12, 1538).

German painter. He was one of Germany’s most innovative artists in an era spanning late medieval piety, the Renaissance and the Reformation, and his work reveals many facets of a changing society. It is especially noteworthy for an expressive use of nature and for introducing landscape as a theme of its own in art. In this respect Altdorfer is the central figure of the Danube school.

Altdorfer became a citizen of Regensburg in 1505 and bought a house there in 1513, another in 1518 and a third in 1532; he also owned several vineyards. From 1517 he held seats on the outer and inner councils of Regensburg and represented the city on important official business. In 1526 he was appointed city architect and constructed a municipal slaughterhouse and a building for wine storage. In 1529–30 he was also charged with reinforcing certain city fortifications in response to the Turkish threat. Except for the will he dictated on the day of his death, there are no surviving papers or letters by him; nor are there contemporary writings about him. The closest thing to a portrait of Altdorfer is found in an illumination in the ...

(b ?London, c. 1470; d ?London, 1532).

English goldsmith. He was the son of a London goldsmith and was the most successful goldsmith working at the Tudor court; his work bridged the transition between the Gothic and the Renaissance styles. He was an official at the Mint from 1504 to almost the end of his life, his appointment possibly facilitated by his marriage to Elizabeth, granddaughter of Sir Hugh Bryce (d 1496), Court Goldsmith to Henry VIII. In 1524 Amadas became the first working goldsmith to become Master of the Jewel House to Henry VIII, an office he retained until 1532, supplying spangles, wire and ribbons to the court. In the 1520s his orders included a large amount of plate for gifts to foreign ambassadors; he also supplied a number of New Year’s gifts for the court. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was one of Amadas’ most important clients, and Amadas supplied him with a number of lavish objects. Other clients included ...

(b Antwerp, before 1373; d Antwerp, May 15, 1434).

South Netherlandish architect. He was the son of Jan Appelmans (d Antwerp, between 1 April and 28 Sept 1395), who worked on the St Joriskerk, Antwerp. Peter was one of the most important representatives of Brabantine Gothic. His known career was confined to Antwerp Cathedral (see Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp)): in 1406 he was among its leading masons, and he became Master of the Works before 1419, a post he held until his death. The west façade (1419), which, with its two towers (only the north of which was completed) and portals, follows the French model, must be attributed to him. Its design may be compared with the virtually contemporary west façade of Brussels Cathedral. He designed the nave, the foundations of which were begun in 1431, and also made some additions to the cathedral choir; the present St Jozefskapel on the north side and the sacristy, robing room and library on the south side of the choir entrance were begun in ...

Astrology is the art of predicting events on earth as well as human character and disposition from the movements of the planets and fixed stars. Medieval astrology encompassed both general concepts of celestial influence, and the technical art of making predictions with horoscopes, symbolic maps of the heavens at particular moments and places constructed from astronomical information. The scientific foundations of the art were developed in ancient Greece, largely lost in early medieval Europe and recovered by the Latin West from Arabic sources in the 12th and 13th centuries. Late medieval astrological images were successfully Christianized and were adapted to particular contexts, acquired local meanings and changed over time.

Astrology developed into a scientific branch of learning in ancient Greece, but because of the opposition of the Church Fathers it was transmitted to early medieval Europe in only fragmentary form in technically unsophisticated textbooks and popular divinatory genres. Literary and scientific texts provided more general ideas about the nature and attributes of the planets which were influential on later iconography. The first significant astrological images appear in 11th-century illustrated astronomical texts (e.g. London, BL, Cotton MS. Tiberius BV), which were acquired and produced by monasteries to aid with time-keeping and the construction of the Christian calendar....

(fl Arras, 1419–64).

Burgundian painter and tapestry designer. He was a wealthy member of the Arras bourgeoisie and seems to have been a very successful artist. His first recorded work was the painting of mainly heraldic devices in memory of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, at the abbey of St Vaast in 1419. The work was undertaken in such a short time and for a sufficiently large payment that he has been considered the head of an important workshop. In 1426 he was again paid for heraldic painting at Arras, and in 1454 he shared with Jacques Daret the supervision of the painting by Robert de Moncheaux (fl 1454–68) of the tomb of the abbot of St Vaast, Jean du Clercq (untraced).

Bauduin is best known for his execution of the designs for a set of tapestries of the History of Gideon (destr. 1794), considered the most outstanding tapestries owned by ...

[Baemler, JohannBemler, Hans]

(fl 1453–1504).

German illuminator and printer. He is listed in the Augsburg tax rolls from 1453 as a scribe and from 1477 as a printer. Bämler belonged to the guild of painters, glassmakers, woodcut-makers and goldbeaters, eventually achieving the rank of Zwollfer (director). Examples of his youthful work are two signed miniatures dated 1457 (New York, Pierpont Morgan Lib., MS. M.45) and a signed historiated initial on a detached Antiphonal leaf (Philadelphia, PA, Free Lib., Lewis M 67:3). Between 1466 and 1468 he rubricated and decorated with calligraphic and painted ornament four books printed in Strasbourg: a Latin Bible (Wolfenbüttel, Herzog August Bib., Bibel-S.2°155), a copy of Thomas Aquinas’s Summa theologica (Munich, Bayer Staatsbib., 2° Inc. s.a.1146a) and two copies of St Augustine’s City of God (Chantilly, Mus. Condé, XXII.D.11, and Manchester, John Rylands U. Lib., no. 3218, Inc. 3A8).

Bämler’s knowledge of printing was probably acquired in Augsburg, in the shop of ...

(fl 1427–57).

Painter, probably of Swiss origin. He worked for the House of Savoy. In July 1427, after a three-month trip through Italy accompanying a Savoyard diplomatic mission, ‘Johannes Batheur de Friburgo’ (probably Swiss Fribourg) settled in Thonon, a principal seat of the House of Savoy. Ducal treasury rolls (Turin, Archv Stato) indicate that as part of his court duties Bapteur painted a statue of St Andrew (carved by ‘Monetus’) and an Apocalypse manuscript, made banners for parades, mummeries, banquets, and funerals, decorated carriages and litters, and designed tapestries, costumes, and masks. In the summer of 1432, assisted by ‘Dominico de Venise’ (?Domenico Veneziano), ‘Perenet lenlumineur’ (Peronet Lamy) and artists from Lausanne, Geneva, and Metz, Bapteur arranged lavish heraldic decoration in the new chapel and hall of the Château de Thonon for Amadeus VIII (reg 1391–1434), the 1st Duke of Savoy. Two years later at Seyssel, Bapteur, with his wife and five other painters, decorated the ships destined to take Amadeus’s daughter Margaret down the River Rhône to meet her prospective husband, Louis III of Anjou. The same year he painted and gilded a picture above a door at Ripaille, Amadeus’s hermitage on the south shore of Lake Geneva. In ...

Italian, 15th century, male.

Active in Milan.

Architect, sculptor.

Battagio designed the Renaissance gateway of Palazzo Landi in Piacenza, now the city's courthouse. He was also involved in the construction and sculptural decoration of the church of S Maria Incoronata in Lodi. Some biographers believe him to be the same person as a Giovanni da Lodi mentioned in ...

(b ?Antwerp, c. 1475; d Antwerp, before Nov 10, 1528).

South Netherlandish painter and draughtsman. He is first mentioned in 1490 in the register of the Antwerp Guild of St Luke, apprenticed to the painter Gillis van Everen (fl 1477–1513). In 1504 de Beer became a master. He subsequently served as alderman of the guild in 1509 and dean in 1515, although he found himself temperamentally unsuited to the position of dean, as is known from a lawsuit he filed in 1519 regarding guild administration. This document also reveals that de Beer participated in the preparations for Charles V’s ‘Joyous Entry’ into Antwerp in 1515 and for the Antwerp Society of Rhetoricians’ entry that year in the Malines landjuweel (regional competition of the rhetoricians). In 1510 and 1513 de Beer enrolled apprentices; his son Aert de Beer (c. 1509–before 6 Aug 1540) became an Antwerp master in 1529. The artist is undocumented between 1519 and 1528...

[Beirlin; Beuerlein; Beurlin; Päuerlin; Peierlin; Peuerlin; Peurlin]

German family of sculptors. Liedke (1987) has established that there were three Augsburg sculptors of the same name, of whom Hans Beierlein the elder (c. 1460–1508) was the most important. He probably took over the workshop of his father, Hanns Peurlin (b c. 1436; d 1482), who made the monument (1467) for Cardinal Petrus of Schaumberg in Augsburg Cathedral. Hans Beierlein the younger (d 1523–4) became a master craftsman in 1511 and made several tomb slabs in Augsburg.

Like such Late Gothic sculptors as Conrat Sifer, Veit Stoss and Adam Kraft, towards the end of the 15th century Hans Beierlein the elder showed renewed interest in the monumentality of stone, as opposed to the freedom for carving provided by wood. The durability of stone represented an association with the eternity of death, commemorated by tomb slabs. Beierlein in particular favoured the precious surface of polished red marble. His mark appears on several tomb slabs: those of ...

(fl 1415; d before Jan 28, 1445).

South Netherlandish painter. He was one of the artists who came from the South Netherlands to work for the French royal family. On 23 May 1415 he succeeded Jean Malouel as court painter and Valet de Chambre to John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy (see Burgundy, House of family, §2), in Dijon, and he may already have been connected with Malouel’s workshop. On 5 November 1415 Bellechose was paid for painting four small wooden pillars with angels, which were placed around the high altar of Notre-Dame, Dijon. On 19 May 1416 the duke authorized the purchase of materials for Bellechose to complete two panels, one of the Martyrdom of St Denis and another showing the Death of the Virgin, for the Charterhouse of Champmol. Bellechose also carried out decorative work, including painting banners for the Duke’s castle of Talant near Dijon in 1416 and coats of arms for the funeral of John the Fearless in ...

Italian, 15th century, male.

Active in Venice,c. 1443–1490.

Painter, manuscript illuminator.

Leonardo Bellini was the nephew of Jacopo Bellini and cousin of his sons Giovanni and Gentile, all three of whom were painters. A contract dated 1443 documents Leonardo as an apprentice to Jacopo, with whom he lived. Although a few panel paintings have been attributed to him, Leonardo was primarily active as an illuminator. He seems to have specialised in adding miniatures to ...

Italian, 16th century, male.

Born 1496; died 1553.

Engraver. Figures. Medals.

Giovanni Bernardi was initially an engraver of medals in the service of Alfonso d'Este and became one of the most celebrated freestone engravers of the Italian Renaissance, noted particularly for his intaglio work on lead crystal. His style was influenced by Michelangelo....