Schongauer, Martin

Schongauer, Martin
born 1445/50, Colmar, Alsace
died Feb. 2, 1491, Breisach, Baden

German painter and printmaker.

Though a prolific painter whose panels were sought in many countries, it was as an engraver that he was unrivaled in northern Europe. His engravings, consisting of about 115 plates, represent a highly refined manifestation of the late Gothic spirit. He brought engraving to maturity by expanding its range of contrasts and textures, bringing an artist's sensibility to an art hitherto the domain of goldsmiths. The grace of his work became proverbial in his lifetime, giving rise to such nicknames as Hübsch ("Charming") Martin and Schön ("Beautiful") Martin.

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▪ German engraver
byname  Schön Martin , or  Hipsch (Hübsch) Martin (German: “Beautiful Martin”) 
born 1445/50, Colmar, Alsace [now in France]
died Feb. 2, 1491, Breisach, Baden [now in Germany]

      painter and printmaker who was the finest German engraver before Albrecht Dürer.

      Schongauer was the son of Caspar Schongauer, a goldsmith of Augsburg. In 1465 he registered at the University of Leipzig but apparently remained there only for a short time. It is not clear whether he was there as a student or as a visiting artist enjoying the university's protection from interference by the local painters' guild. No work of his has ever been discovered that could with certainty be dated earlier than 1469, and the wide distribution of his work did not get under way until the late 1470s. In 1469 his name is mentioned for the first time in the Colmar register of property. The same date appears also on three of his early drawings, but these dates and signatures were added by Albrecht Dürer, who may have received them from Schongauer's brothers. In 1488 Schongauer left Colmar and moved to Breisach, in Baden, where he died.

      According to contemporary sources, Schongauer was a prolific painter whose panels were sought in many countries. Few paintings by his hand survive. Among these, the “Madonna in a Rose Garden” (1473), altarpiece of the Church of Saint-Martin in Colmar, ranks first in importance. This work combines monumentality with tenderness, approaching the manner of the great Flemish painter Rogier van der Weyden, by whom Schongauer was profoundly influenced. Other paintings by Schongauer include two wings of the Orliac altar (Colmar Museum); six small panels among which the “Nativity” (Berlin) and the “Holy Family” (Vienna) are the most mature; and finally the murals of the “Last Judgment” in the cathedral of Breisach, probably his last work (uncovered in 1932).

      It is as an engraver that Schongauer stands without rival in northern Europe in his time. He was influenced by and may have studied with the master engraver who signed his work simply “E.S.” (see Master E.S.). Schongauer's engraved work, consisting of about 115 plates, all signed with his monogram, is a final, highly refined and sensitive manifestation of the late Gothic spirit. Technically he brought the art of engraving to maturity by expanding its range of contrasts and textures, thus introducing a painter's viewpoint into an art that had been primarily the domain of the goldsmith. The larger and more elaborate engravings, such as the “Temptation of St. Anthony” or the “Death of the Virgin,” belong to his earlier period. In his later years he preferred smaller plates, even for such subjects as the “Passion of Christ,” a set of 12 engravings. Some of his most eloquent plates are single figures, such as the “Madonna in a Courtyard” and “St. Sebastian.” Within the diversity of trends in German art in this period, Schongauer represents the most idealistic and aristocratic element, devoting his art mainly to Christian subjects and shunning the crude and often humorous realism of some of his fellow engravers. The grace of his work became proverbial even in his lifetime and gave rise to such names as “Hübsch [“charming”] Martin” and “Schön Martin” (“Bel Martino” in Italian), whereby the German adjective schön (“beautiful”) often became confused with the artist's family name.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Schongauer, Martin — • German painter and engraver, b. at Colmar between 1445 and 1450; d. probably in 1491, it is believed at Breisach Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

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  • Schongauer, Martin — (born between 1435 and 1450; died 1491)    Alsatian painter and engraver, trained by his father, a goldsmith of Colmar. He is one of the most important German painters of the late Gothic period. As an apprentice he may have traveled in Spain and… …   Historical Dictionary of Renaissance

  • Schongauer, Martin — (1445/50, Colmar, Alsacia–2 feb. 1491, Breisach, Baden). Pintor y grabador alemán. Aunque fue un pintor prolífico, cuyos paneles eran requeridos en muchos países, su trabajo como grabador logró un reconocimiento incomparable en el norte de Europa …   Enciclopedia Universal

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  • Schongauer — Martin Schongauer Martin Schongauer (statue par Bartholdi (1860), à Colmar) …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Martin Schongauer —     Martin Schongauer     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Martin Schongauer     (Also known as SCHON).     German painter and engraver, b. at Colmar between 1445 and 1450; d. probably in 1491, it is believed at Breisach. He was the son of Caspar… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Schongauer — Schongauer,   Martin, genannt M. Schön, Bel Martino, Beau Martin [bomar tɛ̃], Maler und Kupferstecher, * Colmar um 1450, ✝ Breisach 2. 2. 1491; Sohn des aus einer Augsburger Familie stammenden Goldschmieds Caspar Schongauer (in Colmar nachweisbar …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Schongauer — Schongauer, Martin, Maler und Kupferstecher, wegen der Anmut seiner Schöpfungen Hipsch Martin oder Schön genannt, geboren vor 1450 in Kolmar, bildete sich nach Roger van der Weyden und starb 2. Febr. 1491 in Breisach. Sein Hauptwerk in der… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • SCHONGAUER (M.) — SCHONGAUER MARTIN (1435 env. 1491) Peintre et graveur allemand de la seconde moitié du XVe siècle. La date de naissance de Schongauer est inconnue et a donné lieu à de longues discussions; on s’accorde aujourd’hui assez généralement à penser… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

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