Michael Wolgemut

(b Nuremberg, 1434-7; d Nuremberg, 30 Nov 1519). German painter and woodcutter. The head of a large workshop which produced altarpieces, memorial pictures, portraits and designs for glass paintings in late 15th-century Nuremberg, he also provided notable innovations in the art of the woodcut. He is famed as the teacher of ALBRECHT D?RER; after Wolgemut's death in 1519, D?rer added that date to a portrait of his former master done in 1516, but the 82 years mentioned in the inscription could either be Wolgemut's lifespan or his age when painted.

See the Abbreviations for further details.

---

Wolgemut, Michael (Nuremberg, 1434-1519, Nuremberg), a master painter of Nuremberg who taught A. Dürer. He was also notable for his woodcuts (see Schedel, H.).

Wolgemut or Wohlgemuth, Michael (both: mĭkh'äĕl vôl'gəmūt) , 1434–1519, German painter, wood carver, and engraver who worked mainly in Nuremberg. First instructed by his father and in Munich, he traveled and then returned to Hans Pleydenwurff's shop in Nuremberg where he worked on the Hofer Altarpiece. The Descent from the Cross panel in this work is treated in a highly patterned, almost abstract style. Wolgemut was the master of Albrecht Dürer. Besides large painted and sculptured altarpieces at Zwickau and Schwabach, executed in his shop, Wolgemut produced hundreds of designs for illustrated books such as the World Chronicle of 1493. The vigor of his outlines is in accord with his taste for drama, complex movement, and forceful characterization.