Hans Brosamer, an old German engraver

Engraving

Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...

, was born at Fulda

Fulda

Fulda is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district .- Early Middle Ages :...

 about the year 1506. On account of the small size of his prints he is ranked among
what are called the Little Masters

Little Masters

The Little Masters , were a group of German printmakers who worked in the first half of the 16th century, primarily in engraving. They specialized in very small finely detailed prints, some no larger than a postage stamp...

. He designed both on wood and copper, although he was properly a wood-engraver

Wood engraving

Wood engraving is a technique in printmaking where the "matrix" worked by the artist is a block of wood. It is a variety of woodcut and so a relief printing technique, where ink is applied to the face of the block and printed by using relatively low pressure. A normal engraving, like an etching,...

, signing himself on his por-
trait of the Landgrave of Hesse, 'Formschneider zu Erfurt

Erfurt

Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...

,' where he resided during the latter part of his life. In his copper engravings his style is somewhat modern, and resembles rather the engravers who copied the designs of others than those of the earlier period, who invented their own subjects. He sometimes marked his plates with his name, and sometimes with a cipher. The following are his principal works:

Copper plates

• The Portrait of George Wicelaus. 1542.
• The Portrait of John II, Abbot of Fulda.
• Samson and Delilah; Johannes Brosamer Fulda degens faciebat, 15 H. B. 45.
• David and Bathsheba.
• Solomon and his Wives worshipping the Idol. 1543.
• Xantippe riding on Socrates.
• Laocoon and his Children. 1538.
• Marcus Curtius leaping into the Gulf; circular. 1540.
• The Judgment of Paris.
• The Crucifixion; Joh. Brosamer Fulda degens faciebat, 1542; fine.

Woodcuts

• Creation of Eve.
• Eve giving Adam the apple.
• Bathsheba in the Bath.
• Queen of Sheba before Solomon.
• The Last Supper.
• SS. Jerome, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James the Great.
• John the Baptist in Prison.
• Twenty-one pieces from the Revelation.
• Martin Luther. 1530.

Portraits

• Eoben Hess, the poet.
• George Sturtz, physician.
• Philip, Landgrave of Hesse
  Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse
  Philip I of Hesse, , nicknamed der Großmütige was a leading champion of the Protestant Reformation and one of the most important of the early Protestant rulers in Germany....
  
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