Wolf Huber
1485–1553 · Austrian Renaissance painter, draughtsman and architect of Passau
Wolf Huber (c. 1485 – 1553) was an Austrian Renaissance painter, draughtsman, printmaker and architect who spent most of his working life in Passau, in Bavaria, where he became a leading figure of the Danube school. He matters for combining the legacy of Dürer with landscapes of his own character, and for working both as court painter and as architect.
He is documented from 1515, by which time he was living in Passau, but nothing certain is known of his training. He probably travelled through northern Italy and knew the work of Dürer and Lucas Cranach. In 1517 Duke Ernst of Bavaria, who administered the diocese, made him court painter, a post confirmed in 1542 by the prince-bishop Wolfgang von Salm. For Count Niklas II von Salm he rebuilt the family palace on the Inn River, adding Renaissance wings of which only fragments survive.
His oil paintings, mainly altarpieces and religious subjects, stay close to Dürer, especially in early works such as the Lamentation over the Dead Christ in the Louvre, set against a characteristic landscape. After 1525 he painted the Erection of the Cross and the Allegory of the Cross, both in Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum. His few portraits include the 1540 image of Jacob Ziegler, notable for showing the scholar frontally. He also left many drawings, some landscapes linked to Altdorfer.
His legacy lies mainly in drawing and landscape. His drawings were copied from an early date, and he influenced the draughtsman Augustin Hirschvogel. Very little of his architecture survives.
Works (2)
This oil-on-panel work from 1524 shows Christ crowned with thorns, accompanied by John the Apostle and Mary Magdalene. The composition seems to focus on grief and compassion in the face of suffering. Beyond the basic facts, little is known about its commission or specific context.
The painting presents mourning over the dead body of Christ, a common theme of the Lamentation, alongside the Holy Face, the image of Christ's face imprinted on a cloth. No details of date or commission are known, so further claims about its origin would be speculative. It is held in the Cathedral of St Nicholas.
Where to see the work
- Louvre Museum Paris · 1
Curiosities
An unusual portrait
The portrait of Jacob Ziegler, dated around 1540, stands out because it shows the scholar facing the viewer, before a panorama of the cosmos. Portraits of the period more often showed sitters in profile or three-quarter view, so this choice departs from custom. It is held in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
Outside the guild
When Bishop Wolfgang von Salm confirmed him as court painter in 1542, he also recorded that Huber was not subject to the rules of the painters' guild. This was a privileged position, since artists of the period usually depended on the guild regulations of their city. The exemption shows how much the episcopal court valued his work.
A manor house as payment
For his work on the Salm palace, Huber was granted a pension and a manor house called Neufels. He died there in Passau in 1553. Receiving an estate of this kind was unusual for a painter and reflects the rank he reached at the local court. The house is thus tied both to his professional career and to the final years of his life.