Hans Besser

He was probably born in Aachen, Cologne and left in 1537 because of religious persecution, and found refuge in the Electoral Palatinate.

In 1546 he was appointed official court painter for Frederick II, Elector Palatine.

After the death of Frederick in 1556, Besser continued as court painter to Otto Henry, Elector Palatine.

Besser demonstrated none of the leading visual style of the Renaissance in Germany.

His cool portraits with their motionless poses and rigid facial expressions show a distant contemplation, which seems to follow a sober objectivity of Dutch painting of the period of the Reformation.

Frederick II by Hans Besser, Kunsthistorisches Museum , 1545