Master of Meßkirch

The so-called Master of Meßkirch is named after the eleven altarpieces (one main altarpiece and ten auxiliary ones) he painted for the St. Martin church in Meßkirch between 1536 and 1540.

His birthplace and apprenticeship are unknown, but he may have studied under an artist from the circle of Albrecht Dürer, such as Hans von Kulmbach or Hans Leonhard Schäufelein.

[1] From the 1530s onwards his works seem to display familiarity with contemporary northern Italian painting.

[1] Early on he worked for Count Eitel Friedrich III of Hohenzollern in Veringenstadt.

Later he was called to Meßkirch to work for Count Gottfried Werner von Zimmern.

The Epiphany (c. 1538)
Donor portrait of Count Gottfried Werner von Zimmern (c. 1536), by the Master of Meßkirch. Oil on wood, left wing of the Wildsteiner Altarpiece