Altdorfer

Albrecht Altdorfer (c. 1480 – 3 February 1538), commonly known simply as Altdorfer, was a German painter, draftsman, and printmaker of the Renaissance. He is considered a leading figure of the Danube School, a group of early 16th‑century painters in and around Regensburg who helped develop a distinctive emphasis on landscape and light in German art.

Born in Regensburg around 1480, Altdorfer established himself there as a prolific producer of altarpieces and religious scenes as well as secular works. He is especially noted for large-scale landscapes in which nature takes a central role alongside or within narrative scenes, a hallmark of the Danube School.

Among his best-known works is The Battle of Issus (about 1529), a monumental landscape illustrating Alexander the Great's battlefield and widely cited as one of the earliest true landscape paintings in Western art. His style is characterized by expansive skies, dramatic lighting, precise topography, and a sense of theatricality within natural settings.

Altdorfer's contributions helped establish landscape painting as a major genre in Northern Europe and influenced subsequent German painters and the broader Danube School. He died in Regensburg on 3 February 1538.