Hans Besser
Hans Besser (1510 – after 1558) was a German Renaissance portrait painter. Not much is known about Besser's life except through his works. He was probably born in Aachen, Cologne and left in 1537 because of religious persecution, and found refuge in the Electoral Palatinate.
Also recorded as Master of the Counts Palatinate and Margraves · Hans Pesser
Hans Besser
Hans Besser · Public domain
- Born
- 1510
- Died
- after 1558
- Movement
- Renaissance
- Nationality
- Germany
- Occupation
- painter
- Languages
- German
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Documentary summary
Hans Besser (1510 – after 1558) was a German Renaissance portrait painter. Not much is known about Besser's life except through his works. He was probably born in Aachen, Cologne and left in 1537 because of religious persecution, and found refuge in the Electoral Palatinate.
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wikidata · Q1578692 · wikipedia · Hans Besser
In this article
Biography
Biography
He became a citizen of the city of Speyer. In 1546 he was appointed official court painter for Frederick II, Elector Palatine. After the death of Frederick in 1556, Besser continued as court painter to Otto Henry, Elector Palatine. Besser was primarily a portrait painter. Before these portraits were detectable through documentation, attributions of his works were originally assigned to either Master of Pfalz or Master of Margrave. These names were given to the painter because of the frequent representation of the Palatinate princes. Besser demonstrated none of the leading visual style of the Renaissance in Germany. His cool portraits with their motionless poses and rigid facial expressions show a distant contemplation, which seems to follow a sober objectivity of Dutch painting of the period of the Reformation.
Deutsch, Oberbay(e)risch?
Hans Besser · [1]
Dorothée de Danemark, Electrice consort palatin
Hans Besser
Key facts
Key facts
• Born — 1510 • Died — after 1558 • Movement — Renaissance • Style — portrait painting • Illustration — Frederick II by Hans Besser, Kunsthistorisches Museum, 1545
Places
Named by the record
Places
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Aachen.
Birth place
Heidelberg.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Hans Besser”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1578692: Hans Besser
General reference · Wikidata
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Paintings
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