Albrecht Altdorfer

Albrecht Altdorfer was a German painter, printmaker, and draftsman who was one of the founders of landscape painting. He was born around 1480 in Regensburg or Altdorf, Bavaria, where his father was a painter and miniaturist. He became a citizen of Regensburg in 1505 and later served as the official architect and a member of the inner council of the city. He was influenced by the Italian Renaissance artists such as Jacopo de Barbari and Albrecht Dürer, as well as by the local tradition of the Danube School, a group of artists who pioneered landscape as an independent genre. He created many paintings, drawings, woodcuts, engravings, and etchings that depicted biblical and historical scenes against expressive and detailed landscapes. He also experimented with perspective, light, and color to create atmospheric effects. Some of his most famous works include The Battle of Alexander at Issus (1529), The Resurrection of Christ (1518), Saint George in the Forest (c. 1510), and Landscape with a Footbridge (c. 1516). He died on February 12, 1538 in Regensburg and was buried there. He left behind a large and diverse body of work that influenced many later artists such as Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Caspar David Friedrich, and Paul Cézanne.