Artists
Hans Multscher
- Country:
- Germany
- Birth year:
- 1400
- Death year:
- 1467
Hans Multscher (c. 1400 Reichenhofen, near Memmingen-1467 Ulm) is considered one of the most important sculptors and wood carvers of the 15th century in Swavia; in all probability he was also active as a pane painter. In 1427 Multscher became a citizen of the city of Ulm, and in documents he is mentioned as a relief carver and a "sworn workman," a position corresonding to that of an officially recognized expert. Presumably Multscher was trained in the Netherlands, and he eventually came to head a large workshop. In 1433 he completed the stone altar of the family of Konarad Karg in the cathedral at Ulm, of which only fragments remain. Four years later, according to an inscription, he created the so-called Wurzach Altarpiece, one of the major works of Gothic art created in southern Germany. Evidence indicates that Multscher worked on an altarpiece for the Frauenkirche ("Lady Church") in Sterzing between 1456 and 1458. Unlike his sculpture, his painting for the side panels of the Wurzach and Sterzing altarpieces has been documented. Other carved panels were executed by assistants from his workshop or by independent painters. The pictures attributed to him mark the beginning of a so-called realistic phase that characterizes the first half of the 15th century of the Swavian late Gothic style. Other works by the artist include the side panels of an altarpiece of the Virgin from 1456-1458 in the Multscher Museum in Sterzing.