BALDUNG, HANS, DETTO GRIEN

BALDUNG, HANS, known as GRIEN. — Painter, woodcut artist, and draftsman, born in Schwäbisch-Gmünd in 1484 (1485?), died in Strasbourg in 1545. He trained in the painting traditions of Sweden, Alsace, and especially Nuremberg, where, in his youth, he collaborated with Dürer. Later moving to Strasbourg, he became a citizen there in 1505 and remained until his death, with only brief absences; the longest took him to Freiburg, where from 1512 to 1516 he executed his masterpiece, the cathedral altarpiece. From this period onward, influences from Grünewald (q.v.), particularly in color, begin to appear in Baldung’s style. In German art of the first half of the 16th century, Baldung stands out both as one of the most expressive and refined colorists and as one of the most accomplished woodcut artists and draftsmen. His portraits exhibit a certain Renaissance grandeur, while a nearly macabre and medieval fantasy animates his depictions of the Triumph of Death, witches, and similar subjects; in his religious works, he conveys both the most tender intimacy and the monumentality suited to large altarpieces. His paintings are found in major European galleries, especially in Germany. — See Plate XLVIII.