Hans Von Aachen (cologne, 1552 - Prague, 4 March 1615), Nativity

Hans von Aachen (Cologne, 1552 - Prague, 4 March 1615)

Nativity

Oil on canvas, cm 37 x 29

With frame, cm 63 x 50

Born into a noble and prestigious family from the city of Aachen (German: Aachen, hence the name), he is a pupil of the Flemish Georg Jerrigh. He was trained under the influence of the work of Bartolomeus Spranger, before continuing his studies in 1574 in Italy, Florence, where he painted several portraits, in Rome and perhaps also in Venice, since he seems to have assimilated also the lesson of Tintoretto: It is precisely in this supposed formative experience that should reside the roots of his mannerism. Hans von Aachen returns to Germany in 1588 and gains a good reputation as a portrait painter with clients in Cologne, the ducal house of the Wittelsbach in Munich and the family of the Fugger bankers in Augsburg. In 1592 he painted the portrait of Emperor Rudolf II in Prague and became a painter at the imperial court, also holding diplomatic posts. In 1596 he married the daughter of the great Flemish musician Orlando di Lasso, also working at the Rudolfin court, and since 1601 he has resided permanently in Prague, where he died in 1615.

The themes most treated by the artist in his production are religious, mythological and allegorical; His style combines Florentine mannerism with warm Venetian color, along with Flemish naturalism.