Michael Wolgemut
German Renaissance painter, wood carver and engraver
German, (1434–1519)
The painter, wood carver and engraver Michael Wolgemut was born in Nuremberg in 1434. He was the most prominent artist of Nuremberg in the fifteenth century and was selected to paint the great altar-piece for the church of Zwickau. He was the pupil and assistant of Hans Playdenwurff, and, though a very great master, he is usually not regarded as the equal of Pleydenwurff, whose technique he carefully copied and adopted. He was Albrecht Durer's master, working with him between 1486 and 1490, at a time when the workshop of Wolgemut must have been one of the busiest in the city, according to Campbell Dodgson, and frequented by all the best painters, carvers, and wood engravers of the day. He was a successful entrepreneur, handling a broad range of artistic work, such as painting altarpieces and portraits, designing stained glass and producing woodcut prints. Wolgemut also produced hundreds of designs for illustrated books such as the "Nuremberg" World Chronicle of 1493. The vigor of his outlines is in accord with his taste for drama, complex movement, and forceful characterization. He died in Nuremberg on November 30, 1519.