Historium Art. Barthel Beham.

 

Barthel Beham (or Bartel) (1502–1540) was a German engraver, miniaturist, and painter.

Biography

The younger brother of Hans Sebald Beham, he was born into a family of artists in Nuremberg. Learning his art from his elder brother, and Albrecht Dürer, he was particularly active as an engraver during the 1520s, creating tiny works of magnificent detail, positioning him in the German printmaking school known as the "Little Masters". He was also fascinated with antiquity and may have worked with Marcantonio Raimondi in Bologna and Rome at some time in his career.

In 1525, along with his brother and Georg Pencz, the so-called "godless painters", he was banished from Lutheran Nuremberg for asserting his disbelief in baptism, Christ, or transubstantiation. Although later pardoned, he moved to Catholic Munich to work for the Bavarian dukes William IV and Ludwig X. Whilst there, his exceptional talent established him as one of Germany's principal portrait painters, favoured by distinguished patrons such as Emperor Charles V.

According to Joachim von Sandrart, he died in Italy during a trip under the patronage of Duke William.

Gallery

Judith, 1525  ·  Engraving in black on ivory laid paper 

Portrait of the goldsmith Jörg Herz, c. 1525

Vanity, 1540, Hamburger Kunsthalle

Barthel Beham’s paintings give us a window into life in 16th century Germany. As with Holbein, his portraits are direct and grounded in realism, unlike Holbein, his sitters are primarily German merchants and clergy and stylistically act as a bridge between Holbein and Cranach.

German fashions from this time are truly unique. Women sported structured Wulsts and Steuchlein that covered their hair and chin as well as puffed linens banded along the arms. Men wore shaped beards, puff and slash velvets, silks, leathers and furs. Both sexes would sport the elaborately gold embroidered and structured banding along the necklines and oversized gold chains as made famous by Holbein’s portrait of Anne of Cleves.

Born in 1502 in Nuremberg Germany, Barthel was born into an artistic family. His brother Hans was a celebrated engraver and Barthel too began principally as an engraver, working alongside his brother and, likely, Albrecht Dürer.He, Hans and other artists would be referred to as ‘The little Masters’ for their innovative engraved manuscripts and books.

Germany, like much of Northern Europe, was part of the Holy Roman Empire and cities were brimming with artists, philosophers, theologians and merchants who were drawn to the burgeoning Renaissance and the electric energy of the Reformation taking shape there.

By the 1520’s artists had largely aligned themselves with Lutheran and Protestant ideologies, clashing with the crown and the church. Huge number of them fled to England or elsewhere where they could find nobles to paint and be free of persecution. Barthel himself was exiled for his Lutheran beliefs.

Portraits in order of appearance:

Hans Urmiller And son

1525

Margaret Urmiller neé Schwabb

and daughter

1524

Unidentified woman with Parrot

1527

Ruprecht Stüpf

1528

Herzog Wilhelm von Bayern

1533

Ursula Rudolph

1528

Anna Scheit

1528

Magdalena Pittrichin

1528

Chancellor Leonhard von Eck

1527

Jakobäa von Baden

1530

Unidentified woman

1527

‘31 year old Lady’

1535

Magdalena Neudorffer

1527

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