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ALBRECHT ALTDORFER was born in Regensburg, Bavaria about 1480 and spent his whole life
there. A Renaissance man in the true sense, he trained as an architect and was responsible
for the design of many of the buildings in his native city, as well as rising to prominence
in the city council. He also worked as an engraver, strongly influenced by Diirer, and
was a pioneer of the technique of copperplate etching, but it is for his landscapes painted
in oils on wood that he is best remembered. He specialized in biblical and historical
subjects set in backgrounds, that gave free rein to his fertile imagination. After a prolonged
tour of the Alps and Danube basin in 1511, however, he tended to concentrate on more
realistic landscapes that were unusual for the time in that they were devoid of human
figures and vividly conveyed a sense of atmosphere.