Albrecht Altdorfer

Albrecht Altdorfer was born around 1480 and spent his career in Regensburg, working as painter, engraver, and architect. He became a central figure of the Danube School alongside Lucas Cranach the Elder and Wolf Huber, a movement that set biblical and historical scenes against landscapes rendered in expressive, almost feverish color. His engravings, small and intricate, earned him a place among the Nuremberg Little Masters. But his lasting distinction was his willingness to let landscape carry the weight: he made it a subject in its own right, not just a stage. He died on 12 February 1538, having cracked open a door that others would walk through for centuries.