Life of ERHARD SCHÖN

 
  German woodcut designer and painter. He was the son of Marx Schn III, a minor Nuremberg painter, with whom he probably began his training. Then he studied Albrecht Drer s prints while living in the artist s house for several years. Scholars have attributed some 1,200 illustrations for 116 books and about 200 separate woodcuts to Erhard Schn, making him one of the era s most prolific woodblock designers. His works enjoyed tremendous popularity.
  Between 1513 and c. 1524 the majority of his woodcuts illustrated religious books. In 1515 he and Hans Springinklee, a collaborator of Drer, made high quality woodcuts for the Hortulus animae, the most popular pre-reformation anthology of prayers. When Schn adopted Lutheranism in the mid-1520s, he began designing woodcuts for anti-Catholic books and broadsheets.
  From the mid-1530s Schn s interests changed. He depicted classical themes, which may have been conceived for a print series. In 1538 he published a book on figural design, movement, and correct spatial placement. He also made several paintings, signed drawings, and designed a fountain.