Baldung, Hans

or Hans Baldung Grien

(born c. 1484, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Württemberg—died 1545, Imperial Free City of Strasbourg) German painter and graphic artist. He was assistant to Albrecht D in Nürnberg and was active in Strasbourg as official painter to the episcopate. He is best known for the high altar of the cathedral at Freiburg, where he lived in 1512–17. His output was varied and extensive, encompassing religious paintings, allegories, mythologies, portraits, designs for stained glass, tapestry, and book illustration. His paintings are equaled in importance by his drawings, engravings, and woodcuts, frequently depicting the themes of the “dance of death” and “death and the maiden.” In his taste for the gruesome, Baldung is close in style and spirit to Matthias Gr.

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