(b Zurich, bapt 13 June 1539; d Nuremberg, 17 March 1591). Swiss draughtsman, woodcutter, engraver, etcher and painter. He was the youngest son of the noted scholar and Chorherr in Zurich, Johann Jakob Amman, a friend of Ulrich Zwingli and Konrad Gessner. Although a successful pupil at the renowned Collegium Carolinum where his father was a professor, Jost, like his brother Josua (1531-64), who became a goldsmith, did not take up a scholarly career. As early as 1556-7 his copies of prints by other artists, for example D?rer (B. 94) and Virgil Solis (B. 249), show an independent and original approach. For his apprenticeship Amman may have been in Basle or Zurich, but he probably spent some time in Paris or Lyon, since his early works show a close similarity to French book illustrations.
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