Kleinmeister

engravers

Also known as: Nürnberg Kleinmeister

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Also called:: Nürnberg Kleinmeister

Kleinmeister, group of engravers, working mostly in Nürnberg in the second quarter of the 16th century, whose forms and subjects were influenced by the works of Albrecht Dürer. Their engravings were small and thus easily portable. Usually flawless in technique, they stressed topical, didactic, intimate, and often familiar and popular subjects meant for mass appeal.

The artists used classical forms derived from Dürer and from the works of contemporary Italian artists, which gradually introduced the influence of Italian Mannerist forms. The most important member of the group was Hans Sebald Beham; others were his brother Barthel, Georg Pencz, Hendrich Aldegrever, and Jakob Binck.