Urs Graf

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The wild army (Urs Graf, around 1520).

Urs Graf (born 1485 in Solothurn, Switzerland; died after 1529) was a Swiss Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut, etching and engraving. He only produced two etchings, but one of these of 1513 is the earliest etching to be dated. His woodcuts are more significant, especially as he apparently invented the technique of white-line woodcut, where the print is mostly black, with white lines creating the image. He also produced a few engravings, including copies of Martin Schongauer and Albrecht Dürer. ^[1]

Graf learned his profession first from his father, Hugo Graf, then from a goldsmith in Zürich. He initially earned money as a designer of book illustrations and by assisting a stained glass painter. In 1512, he became a member of the goldsmith guild and a citizen of Basel. He quickly came in conflict with the law for abusing his wife and supporting prostitution, cumulating in attempted murder, making him leave the city in 1518. He was reinvited to Basel one year later and continued working. In 1527, he vanished from the city, never to be found again, though a signed drawing from 1529 exists.

Like many Swiss men of his day, Graf was also known for also working as a mercenary for considerable periods. His artistic work, in the tradition of Albrecht Dürer and Hans Baldung, somehow followed his "other interests", depicting (besides the political situation) social, erotic, and violent scenes -- for example, Two Prostitutes Beating a Monk, though a strong religious aspect emerges sometimes.