The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (12 page)

(
c.
1480–1538).
German painter and graphic artist working in Regensburg, of which town he was a citizen from 1505 onwards, the leading artist of the so-called
Danube School
. His training is unknown, but his early work was influenced by
Cranach
and
Dürer's
art too was known to him through the woodcuts and engravings. Mingled with these German impressions was a knowledge of the art of
Mantegna
, perhaps through the mediation of Michael
Pacher
. Yet in spite of these varied influences Altdorfer's style always remained personal. Most of his paintings are religious works, but he was one of the first artists to show an interest in landscape as an independent genre. In works such as the altar for S. Florian near Linz (1518) or the
Christ Taking Leave of His Mother
(NG, London) he achieved a wonderful unity of mood between action and landscape, and two pure landscape paintings (without any figures) by him are known (NG, London, and Alte Pinakothek, Munich). His patrons included the emperor Maximilian and Louis X, Duke of Bavaria, for whom he painted the celebrated
Battle of Issus
(Alte Pinakothek, Munich, 1529), which formed part of a large series of famous battle-pieces from classical antiquity. With its dazzling light effects, teeming figures, and brilliant colours, it is one of the finest examples of Altdorfer's rich imaginative powers. From 1526 until his death Altdorfer was employed as town architect of Regensburg. No architectural work by him is known, but his interest in architecture and his skill in handling intricate problems of
perspective
are demonstrated by his
Birth of the Virgin
(Alte Pinakothek, Munich).

 
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(active 1372–84).
Italian painter. He probably came from Zevio near Verona and is sometimes considered to be the founder of the Veronese School, although the only surviving example of his work in that town is a fresco in Sta Anastasia. Most of his surviving work is in Padua, where he had a hand in fresco cycles in the Basilica of St Anthony (between 1372 and 1379) and in the Oratory of St George (between 1377 and 1384), in the latter of which he collaborated with an artist called Avanzo, who is otherwise unknown and whose contribution to the work is uncertain. Altichiero's gravity and the solidity and voluminousness of his figures clearly reveal his debt to
Giotto's
frescos in the Arena Chapel of Padua. But his pageant-like scenes with their elaborate architectural views express the taste of the late 14th cent. for
Gothic
intricacy, while his naturalism in the study of plants and animals formed the point of departure for a new style which is reflected in
Pisanello
.

 
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(1768–1827).
The leading Spanish sculptor of the
Neoclassical
period, sometimes called ‘the Spanish
Canova
’. After studying at Granada, Madrid, and Paris he settled in Rome (1805–25), where Canova befriended him. He preferred classical themes such as
Nestor and Antilochus
(Modern Art Mus., Madrid, 1818), but was also a good portraitist.

 
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(d. 1561/2).
German painter (mainly of portraits) and designer. He worked in Augsburg, which had many cultural and economic ties with Italy (he met
Titian
when he visited the city in 1548), and his style emulates the grand manner of the Venetian School, paying as much attention to rich effects of dress and jewellery as to psychological subtlety (Charles V, Staatliche Museen, Berlin,
c.
1532). His rare figure compositions (
Virgin and Child between Saints Ulrich and Afra
, Augsburg Cathedral, 1554) are less distinguished. Amberger also designed coins, façade paintings, and statuary.

 
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American Abstract Artists
(AAA).

An association of American abstract painters and sculptors formed in New York in 1936 with the aim of promoting their work and fostering understanding of it. The association held annual exhibitions (the first in 1937) and disseminated the principles of abstract art by lectures, publications etc. The first President was Balcomb Greene (1904–90) and among the early members were: Josef
Albers
, Willem
de Kooning
, Jackson
Pollock
, and David
Smith
. In 1940 members picketed the
Museum of Modern Art
, demanding that it should show American art, but by the mid 1940s abstract art had achieved recognition and the activities of the association dwindled. In the 1950s, however, it became active again with more than 200 members.

 
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