Daniel Hopfer
Daniel Hopfer the Elder (* around 1470 in Kaufbeuren ; † 1536 in Augsburg ; also Hopffer or Hopper ) was a German gun etcher , eraser and wood cutter . He gained his art historical importance as the inventor of etching and as one of the pioneers and disseminators of Renaissance art in Germany.
Life
Daniel Hopfer was the son of the painter Bartholomäus Hopfer and Anna Sendler. Born and based in Kaufbeuren, he moved to Augsburg early on, where he acquired citizenship in 1493, as noted in the civil register: “ It, uff Sampsttag vor Galli a.etc. Lxxxxiij had daniel Hopper from Kauffbeuren painter bought the burger right ”.
In 1497 it is mentioned that Daniel Hopfer is married to Justina Grimm. She is the sister of the Augsburg publisher and humanist Sigismund Grimm , who is also a city doctor and pharmacy owner. The marriage has three sons, Jörg, Hieronymus and Lambert.
The Augsburg tax lists, in which Daniel Hopfer appears until his death, provide information about his financial circumstances and reveal a steady social and financial rise. From 1505 he owns his own house.
References to his professional training are very scanty. What is certain is that he was a representative of the blacksmiths' guild on the city council. At that time, however, the painters also belonged to this guild. His proximity to the blacksmith's trade is known for his etching work on weapons and armor. He also lived for a long time in the smithy district of Augsburg. In the specialist literature his profession is given as either a painter , etching painter or plumber .
On January 28, 1524, on behalf of Emperor Charles V, the Emperor's brother, Archduke Ferdinand, issued him a letter of coat of arms, with which he was accepted into the "old honorable coat of arms association". His advocacy of the Reformation is also remarkable . In 1536 “ Thoniel Hopfer Zwelffer und Maler ” is listed among the deceased masters. His widow is kept on the tax lists.
Although Daniel Hopfer's works are not among the most important of his time from an artistic point of view, art historians largely agree that he can be regarded as the creator and inventor of etching . It can be assumed that Daniel Hopfer made his first attempts at the production of etched iron plates as early as 1500 in order to use them as printing plates for the production of graphics.
Artistic legacy
The artistic work of Daniel Hopfer preserved today consists for the most part of etched sheets that were individually intended for sale. There are also a few title woodcuts for books, a few metal works and rare hand drawings . If present, his signature consists of the letters DH, between which a symbol is depicted, which historians interpret as the Augsburger Pyr (pine cone of the city's coat of arms) or hop umbel. Hopfer only rarely dated his works, so that a chronological classification of his works is only possible indirectly.
Weapon etchings
There are only two etching works that are verifiably made by Daniel Hopfer and that were signed by himself. It is a sword that is in the Germanic National Museum in Nuremberg and a tournament shield in the Armeria Real in Madrid . However, the ornaments and figures on a horse armor in the German Historical Museum in Berlin and an armor in the Moscow History Museum show connections to swords and shields. It can be assumed that Daniel Hopfer made weapon etchings for high-ranking personalities, perhaps even the emperor himself. Much of his reputation at the time may be due to it.
First etchings and other printing processes
Before Daniel Hopfer introduced etching as an image reproduction technique, there were two methods developed and tested in the 15th century, the woodcut and the copperplate engraving . While the woodcut was used in the early days as a relief printing technique for the production of single-sheet woodcuts and for book illustration , copper engraving as a gravure printing technique did not initially seem suitable for this. However, this quickly established itself as an independent art form, as known from the work of Albrecht Dürer .
The etching, invented by Daniel Hopfer, is, like copper engraving, also a gravure printing process. The depressions on the plate, which are later to receive the printing ink, are not made mechanically with styluses or other tools, but are etched with acids . Hopfer used forged iron plates for this. On the other hand, the question of whether the etching painting on weapons and the technique of etching developed simultaneously or one after the other is still unresolved.
Works on paper
The content of Hopfer's works, preserved on paper, can be divided into five different areas:
Ornaments, designs and drawings
Hopfer processed Gothic elements with Italian Renaissance models that had become modern through the rediscovery of Roman wall paintings. With his work Hopfer significantly influenced the introduction and spread of the Renaissance in Germany. For Augsburg publishers , he created various title woodcuts with figures and ornamental decorations. His handicraft designs were also used in the manufacture of board games , dagger sheaths , wash cabinets and tabernacles, as well as in the design of monstrances and altars . A few gouaches and pen drawings by Daniel Hopfer have survived. Art historians suspect that these are preliminary drawings for frescoes , as no related etchings are known.
Religious work
Influenced by important Italian artists such as Raffael or Mantegna , Hopfer created a series of scenes from the Old and New Testament as well as depictions of saints . He more or less adopted the content of individual works from his artist role models and rearranged them. Due to the frequent use of such templates, he and his sons were referred to by later art historians as "thieving art rabble". Historically interesting is Hopper's sympathy for the ideas of Martin Luther and his interest in the Swiss reformer Ulrich Zwingli . Woodcuts for title pages of Reformation writings and critical etchings as Bible illustrations attest to his closeness to the Reformation . There are also sheets of social criticism and a depiction of vanitas .
Everyday representations
Hopfer's images of Maximilian mercenaries in their picturesque costumes are well known . The detailed representations document the living conditions of these soldiers, promoted by Emperor Maximilian I. Also of cultural historical importance is a representation of a farmers' festival preserved on two plates, which can be seen in the Kaufbeuren city museum . The work was probably based on a woodcut by Hans Sebald Beham .
Portraits of famous people
Medals, coins or the pictures of other artists served as templates for Hopfer for a large number of portraits of historical and contemporary celebrities. These include, for example, Popes Leo X , Hadrian VI. and Clemens VII , but also Martin Luther , Emperor Maximilian I , the French King Franz I and Sultan Suleyman I were depicted by him. The most famous portrait from his hand shows Kunz von der Rosen from Kaufbeuren, whose portrait was often seen as the portrait of the pirate Klaus Störtebeker due to confusion . This etching may have been based on a painting by Hans Burgkmair , but it has not survived.
Ancient myths and medieval legends
In Hopper's work there are also themes from ancient legends . On closer inspection, however, one finds that much of the content relates to the Middle Ages .
Art historical significance and the influence of Daniel Hopper on the art of his time
Augsburg, as an up-and-coming trading town with the Fugger and Welser families , attracted many scholars, artists and craftsmen in the 15th century. The frequent presence of Emperor Maximilian I and his entourage gave them work and opportunities to earn a living. The intensive trade relationship with Italy also brought new impetus to art. Daniel Hopfer was also interested in the formal language of the Renaissance , which came from the south, and uses it in many of his works.
After Daniel Hopfer, a number of contemporary artists try their hand at the technique of etching such as Lucas Cranach the Elder. Ä. or Hans Burgkmair . However, the brittleness of the iron used often leads to unsatisfactory results. That is why almost everyone is turning away from this technique at first. Only when it was possible to etch copper plates did etching become more widespread.
The artistic descendants of Daniel Hopper
Two of Daniel Hopfer's three sons, Hieronymus and Lambert, followed in their father's artistic footsteps. However, her work does not come close to that of her father in artistic or innovative terms. They use the motifs of other artists to design their etchings even more often than he does. The two sons of Jörg, Daniel Hopfer's third son, are of greater importance in terms of art history. The two brothers Georg and Daniel Hopfer (the younger) work as etching painters. In 1566 they were paid by Emperor Maximilian II to decorate 110 helmets, some of which have been preserved in the art history collections of Vienna. In 1590 Georg Hopfer was raised to hereditary nobility by Emperor Rudolf . In this certificate of appointment Daniel Hopfer d. Ä. mentioned as the inventor of etching.
Reprints of Hopper's graphics in later times
The Nuremberg publisher David Funck , a distant relative of the Hopfers, bought 230 plates from the Hopfer family in the 17th century, gave each one roughly a number and put prints of these numbered plates into circulation. In the reference works and collections, these prints are, in contrast to the first prints (condition I), referred to as condition II.
92 of the plates can be found at the beginning of the 19th century by the Frankfurt publisher CW Silberberg. In 1802 he brought out a series of new prints under the title “Opera Hopferiana”. The majority of the plates that are still preserved are now in the Berlin Kupferstichkabinett, one of which is owned by the Heimatmuseum in Kaufbeuren.
literature
- Eduard Eyssen: Daniel Hopfer von Kaufbeuren, master of Augsburg 1493–1536. Dissertation. Heidelberg 1904, OCLC 717679183 , (Dissertation University of Heidelberg 1904, 73 pages).
- Tobias Güthner: Craft and art on the threshold of modern times. The Kaufbeurer eraser Daniel Hopfer. In: The Riddle of St. Martin. Bauer, Thalhofen 2002, ISBN 3-934509-07-X .
- The Illustrated Bartsch. Volume 10/15, New York 1978/1980.
- Walter Koschatzky : The art of graphics. Residence, Salzburg 1972, ISBN 3-7017-0039-7 .
- Christof Metzger: Daniel Hopfer. An Augsburg master of the Renaissance. Exhibition catalog. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-422-06931-2 .
- Ernst Rebel : Printmaking. Reclam, Ditzingen 2003.
- Cleo Schöps: Daniel Hopfer, master of Augsburg. Graphics between art and business. Master thesis. University of Lausanne.
- Eduard Eyssen: Daniel Hopfer von Kaufbeuren: Meister zu Augsburg 1493 to 1536 , Rössler, Heidelberg 1904, OCLC 602127024 (dissertation University of Heidelberg 1901, 72 pages).
- Wolfgang Wegner: Hopfer, Daniel. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 9, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1972, ISBN 3-428-00190-7 , p. 611 f. ( Digitized version ).
- Joseph Eduard Wessely : Hopfer, Daniel (Harnischätzer) . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 13, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1881, p. 104 f.
Web links
- Literature by and about Daniel Hopfer in the catalog of the German National Library
- Daniel Hopfer at Artcyclopedia
- The technique of etching ( Memento from December 5, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hopfer, Daniel |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hopffer, Daniel; Hopper, Daniel |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German gun etchers, erasers and wood cutters |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1470 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kaufbeuren |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1536 |
| Place of death | augsburg |