Albrecht Altdorfer was a German painter, born in Amberg, Germany around 1480 He was a German painter, printmaker, draughtsman and architect of the Renaissance era, the leader of the Danube School in southern Germany, and a near-contemporary of Albrecht Dürer. He is best known as a significant pioneer of landscape in art. His early works was influenced by Lucas Cranach. His patrons included Maximillian I and Louis X, the duke of Bavaria, who commissioned today’s painting.
My Daily Art Display today is Altdorfer’s Battle of Issus which he painted in 1529 and now hangs in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich. This is said to be the greatest picture ever created by a German artist with its apocalyptic scene, the whirlpool of action of the two huge armies and dazzling light effects of the sky on the over-elaborate landscape. This picture depicts the battle between Alexandra the Great, who is centre left in the painting riding a chariot hauled by three white horses, and the Persian Emperor Darius. This painting formed part of a large series of famous battle pieces from classical antiquity.
my daily art display 