Last Judgement, c. 1435. Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne
Right wing, Martyrdom of the Apostles
Stefan Lochner (the Dombild Master or Master Stefan; c. 1410 – late 1451) was a German painter working in the late International Gothic period. His paintings combine that era's tendency toward long flowing lines and brilliant colours with the realism, virtuoso surface textures and innovative iconography of the early Northern Renaissance. Based in Cologne, a commercial and artistic hub of northern Europe, Lochner was one of the most important German painters before Albrecht Dürer. Extant works include single-panel oil paintings, devotional polyptychs and illuminated manuscripts, which often feature fanciful and blue-winged angels. Today some thirty-seven individual panels are attributed to him with confidence.[1]
Less is known of his life. Art historians associating the Dombild Altarpiece master with the historical Stefan Lochner believe he was born in Meersburg in south-west Germany around 1410, and that he spent some of his apprenticeship in the Low Countries. Records further indicate that his career developed quickly but was cut short by an early death. We know that he was commissioned around 1442 by the Cologne council to provide decorations for the visit of Emperor Frederick III, a major occasion for the city. Records from the following years indicate growing wealth and the purchase of a number of properties around the city. Thereafter he seems to have over-extended his finances and fallen into debt. Plague hit Cologne in 1451 and there, apart from the records of creditors, mention of Stephan Lochner ends; it is presumed he died that year, aged around 40.
Lochner's identity and reputation were lost until a revival of 15th-century art during the early 19th-century romantic period. Despite extensive historical research, attribution remains difficult; for centuries a number of associated works were grouped and loosely attributed to the Dombild Master, a notname taken from the Dombild Altarpiece (in English cathedral picture, also known as the Altarpiece of the City's Patron Saints) still in Cologne Cathedral. One of Dürer's diary entries became key, 400 years later, in the 20th-century establishment of Lochner's identity. Only two attributed works are dated, and none are signed.[3] His influence on successive generations of northern artists was substantial. Apart from the many direct copies made in the later 15th century, echoes of his panels can be seen in works by Rogier van der Weyden and Hans Memling. Lochner's work was praised by Friedrich Schlegel and Goethe for its qualities, especially the "sweetness and grace" of his Madonnas.[4]
StefanLochner (the Dombild Master or Master Stefan; c. 1410 – late 1451) was a German painter working in the late International Gothic period. His paintings...
saints of Cologne with an altarpiece by the International Gothic painter StefanLochner is in the Marienkapelle ("St. Mary's Chapel"). After completion in 1265...
Ceiling of St Ulrich Church in Pillersee, Tyrol, Austria Miniature by StefanLochner showing souls in purgatory Azulejo of souls in purgatory, Seville, Spain...
Prayer book of StefanLochner (German: Gebetbuch des Stephan Lochner) is an illuminated manuscript attributed to the German artist StefanLochner. Dated to...
1432 by Hubert van Eyck and Jan van Eyck. The Last Judgement (Lochner) 1435 by StefanLochner. Polyptych of the Misericordia (1445–1462) by Piero della Francesca...
(Flemish, 1400–1464), Dutch artist and leading religious panel painter StefanLochner (German, c. 1410–1451), German painter of the Cologne School Petrus...
miles) northeast of the upper town-gate "Obertor" (see picture beneath). StefanLochner (c.1410–1451) German painter working in the late "soft style" of the...
Saint Gereon. St. Gereon's Basilica, in Cologne, is dedicated to him. StefanLochner painted a triptych in the 15th century which, in the centre piece, shows...
Bouts Italian miniature, c. 1435 Early woodcut, c. 1460, hand-coloured StefanLochner Bartolomé Bermejo, Virgen de Montserrat altarpiece, 1485 Cologne, ca...
Madonna of the Rose (Raphael) by Raphael Madonna of the Rose Bower by StefanLochner Madonna of the Rose Bower by Martin Schongauer Madonna of the Small...
Last Judgement by StefanLochner. The Palmarians believe that Jesus Christ will return in the Second Coming for the Last Judgement, where all mankind will...
Women Mending Nets (1887–1889) Richard Lindner: The Meeting (1953) StefanLochner: Madonna of the Rose Bower (c. 1448) Lorenzo Lotto: The Sleeping Child...
crucifix in romanesque Rhenish or Mosan style. A collection of rosaries. StefanLochner: Madonna with the Violet (pre-1450). Paul Thek: Shrine (1969). Jannis...
with the damned far outnumbering the saved, especially compared to StefanLochner's Cologne panel, where the saved crowd around the gate to Heaven. The...
Masters worldwide. Among many others, the Pinakothek shows works of StefanLochner (Adoration of the Christ Child by the Virgin (The Nativity)), Michael...
October – Bogdan II of Moldavia, assassinated by Petru Aron date unknown StefanLochner, German painter (b. 1400) John Lydgate, English monk and poet (b. 1370)...
painting now in Verona, Italy Madonna of the Rose Bower (Lochner), a c. 1440 painting by StefanLochner Madonna of the Rose Bower (Schongauer), a 1473 painting...