Urs Graf

Urs Graf , c.1485-1528, Swiss wood engraver, etcher, painter, and goldsmith, studied at Basel. He was influenced by the work of Dürer and Hans Baldung. One of the first to employ effectively the technique of white-line engraving, he was known for his lively humor and fantasy, as well as for his more serious religious aspect. A pen drawing of 1523 (Kupferstichkabinett, Basel), thought to be Lucretia, is representative of his vigorous, Düreresque style.

Graf, Urs (c.1485–1529/30). Swiss draughtsman, printmaker, designer, goldsmith, and painter, active mainly in Basle. He is best known for his drawings, which survive in considerable number, often signed and dated. They are done in a bold and energetic style, with virtuoso curling strokes of the pen; favourite subjects are soldiers ( Graf himself spent some time as a mercenary in Italy), peasants, and flamboyantly dressed ladies of easy virtue. Graf also designed stained glass, made woodcuts, and executed the earliest extant dated etching, Girl Washing her Feet (1513).

Graf, Urs (b Solothurn, c.1485; d ?Basle, 1529/30). Swiss draughtsman, printmaker, designer, goldsmith, and painter, active mainly in Basle. He is best known for his drawings, which survive in considerable number, often signed and dated. They are done in a bold and energetic style, with virtuoso curling strokes of the pen; favourite subjects are soldiers ( Graf himself spent some time as a mercenary in Italy), peasants, and flamboyantly dressed ladies of easy virtue. Graf also designed stained glass, made woodcuts, and executed the earliest extant dated etching, Girl Washing her Feet (1513).