or Hans Baldung Grien
born 0441; 1484, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Württemberg
died 1545, Imperial Free City of Strasbourg
German painter and graphic artist.
He was assistant to Albrecht Dürer in Nürnberg and was active in Strasbourg as official painter to the episcopate. He is best known for the high altar of the cathedral at Freiburg, where he lived in 151217. His output was varied and extensive, encompassing religious paintings, allegories, mythologies, portraits, designs for stained glass, tapestry, and book illustration. His paintings are equaled in importance by his drawings, engravings, and woodcuts, frequently depicting the themes of the "dance of death" and "death and the maiden." In his taste for the gruesome, Baldung is close in style and spirit to Matthias Grünewald .