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PART I.
MARTIN SCHONGAUER.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE.
honourable
LL too little is known of the life of Martin Schongauer, the greatest engraver, and one
of the greatest German painters, of the fifteenth century. His ancestors had been
counted among the patrician families of Augsburg for at least two hundred years.
Their arms, on a field azure a crescent gules, are given by P. H. Mair in his
“Augsburger Geschlechterbuch,” 1550, p. 25, among those of “the most ancient,
families.” Caspar Schongauer, goldsmith, emigrated, not later than 1440, to Colmar in
Alsace, where he became a citizen and a member of the council in 1445. He was still living in 1481.
He had five sons, Caspar, Georg, Ludwig, Martin, Paul, who are named in alphabetical order since the
order of seniority is uncertain. Ludwig and Paul appear to have been born before 1445, the other sons
after that date, since they were apparently citizens of Colmar by right of birth, and did not obtain the
privilege specially, as did the two first named. Little is known of Caspar, a goldsmith like his father.
Ludwig, apparently the eldest son, was a citizen both of Ulm, where he married, and of Augsburg.
He was a painter and engraver of modest attainments, and came to Colmar after the death of his more
famous brother, to conduct the workshop; he became a citizen of Colmar in 1493 and died there in
1494. Paul, a goldsmith and dealer in precious metals, was at Basel in the years 1489-1491 ; he
became a citizen of Colmar in 1494 and died in 1516 or the following year. More is known of the
other goldsmith, Georg. He was living at Basel as early as 1482, and was a citizen of that town in
1487. In 1494 he removed to Strassburg, and sold his two houses at Basel; one of these was the “Haus
zum Tanz,” afterwards famous for its facade, painted by Holbein. All the brothers are mentioned by
Scheurl in his well-known account of Diirer’s Wanderjahre, where he says that Diirer, finding Martin
Schongauer already dead on arriving at Colmar in 1492, was kindly received by his brothers Caspar,
Ludwig and Paul, and soon after by the goldsmith Georg Schongauer at Basel.
Martin was born at Colmar about 1445-50. There is a rather surprising entry in the
matriculation book of Leipzig University: “1465. Martinus Schongawer de Colmar,” which must
refer to our artist, unless he had a namesake in the same town. In 1469 he was already a householder.
Two drawings by him in the British Museum belong to that year, one being dated by the artist’s own
hand, the other by Diirer, who evidently owned the drawing and wrote on it, “ Das hat hubsch
martin gemacht Im 1469 iord “Hubsch Martin” is one of many varieties of a nickname
of Schongauer’s which occurs in several languages, e,gty “Il bel Martino,” “Beau Martin,” “Martin
Schon.” It has nothing to do with his surname, and we do not know whether the beauty of his
person or the excellence of his art gave rise to the epithet. It seems clear that Martin Schongauer, in
addition to learning something of the hereditary craft of the goldsmith, as the foundation of his skill
as an engraver, received his special training as a painter in the Netherlands. His principal work, the
great Madonna at Colmar, betrays especially the influence of Rogier van der Weyden. We have no
exact information about any of his pictures, and the remaining biographical facts are deplorably scanty.
Schongauer bought a new house in 1477. In 1488 he founded an anniversary mass for his parents
and himself at St. Martin’s Church. In 1489 we hear of him as a citizen of Breisach, on the Rhine,
east of Colmar, and there he died, apparently unmarried, on February 2nd, 1491. His brothers
succeeded to his inheritance. The flourishing Colmar school which he had founded fell rapidly into
decay. Schongauer seems to have painted his own portrait in 1483. A copy of this, by Burgkmair,
painted many years later, is at Munich; there is another old copy at Siena.
3
MARTIN SCHONGAUER.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE.
honourable
LL too little is known of the life of Martin Schongauer, the greatest engraver, and one
of the greatest German painters, of the fifteenth century. His ancestors had been
counted among the patrician families of Augsburg for at least two hundred years.
Their arms, on a field azure a crescent gules, are given by P. H. Mair in his
“Augsburger Geschlechterbuch,” 1550, p. 25, among those of “the most ancient,
families.” Caspar Schongauer, goldsmith, emigrated, not later than 1440, to Colmar in
Alsace, where he became a citizen and a member of the council in 1445. He was still living in 1481.
He had five sons, Caspar, Georg, Ludwig, Martin, Paul, who are named in alphabetical order since the
order of seniority is uncertain. Ludwig and Paul appear to have been born before 1445, the other sons
after that date, since they were apparently citizens of Colmar by right of birth, and did not obtain the
privilege specially, as did the two first named. Little is known of Caspar, a goldsmith like his father.
Ludwig, apparently the eldest son, was a citizen both of Ulm, where he married, and of Augsburg.
He was a painter and engraver of modest attainments, and came to Colmar after the death of his more
famous brother, to conduct the workshop; he became a citizen of Colmar in 1493 and died there in
1494. Paul, a goldsmith and dealer in precious metals, was at Basel in the years 1489-1491 ; he
became a citizen of Colmar in 1494 and died in 1516 or the following year. More is known of the
other goldsmith, Georg. He was living at Basel as early as 1482, and was a citizen of that town in
1487. In 1494 he removed to Strassburg, and sold his two houses at Basel; one of these was the “Haus
zum Tanz,” afterwards famous for its facade, painted by Holbein. All the brothers are mentioned by
Scheurl in his well-known account of Diirer’s Wanderjahre, where he says that Diirer, finding Martin
Schongauer already dead on arriving at Colmar in 1492, was kindly received by his brothers Caspar,
Ludwig and Paul, and soon after by the goldsmith Georg Schongauer at Basel.
Martin was born at Colmar about 1445-50. There is a rather surprising entry in the
matriculation book of Leipzig University: “1465. Martinus Schongawer de Colmar,” which must
refer to our artist, unless he had a namesake in the same town. In 1469 he was already a householder.
Two drawings by him in the British Museum belong to that year, one being dated by the artist’s own
hand, the other by Diirer, who evidently owned the drawing and wrote on it, “ Das hat hubsch
martin gemacht Im 1469 iord “Hubsch Martin” is one of many varieties of a nickname
of Schongauer’s which occurs in several languages, e,gty “Il bel Martino,” “Beau Martin,” “Martin
Schon.” It has nothing to do with his surname, and we do not know whether the beauty of his
person or the excellence of his art gave rise to the epithet. It seems clear that Martin Schongauer, in
addition to learning something of the hereditary craft of the goldsmith, as the foundation of his skill
as an engraver, received his special training as a painter in the Netherlands. His principal work, the
great Madonna at Colmar, betrays especially the influence of Rogier van der Weyden. We have no
exact information about any of his pictures, and the remaining biographical facts are deplorably scanty.
Schongauer bought a new house in 1477. In 1488 he founded an anniversary mass for his parents
and himself at St. Martin’s Church. In 1489 we hear of him as a citizen of Breisach, on the Rhine,
east of Colmar, and there he died, apparently unmarried, on February 2nd, 1491. His brothers
succeeded to his inheritance. The flourishing Colmar school which he had founded fell rapidly into
decay. Schongauer seems to have painted his own portrait in 1483. A copy of this, by Burgkmair,
painted many years later, is at Munich; there is another old copy at Siena.
3