Stefan Lochner

Born circa 1410, possibly in Meersburg, Baden; died in 1451 in Cologne. German painter.

Lochner, who started painting in Cologne in the early 1430’s, was influenced by the 15th-century Flemish masters (particularly Robert Campin). In his paintings the rich colors of his palette combine harmoniously with a golden background. The artist’s ability to render the materiality and poetic beauty of the real world is effectively combined with a Late Gothic spiritualization of images. Examples of Lochner’s works are the altarpiece The Adoration of the Magi (c. 1440, Cologne Cathedral), Madonna of the Rose Bower (1440’s, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne), The Day of Judgment (c. 1435, Wallraf-Richartz Museum), and Presentation in the Temple (1447, Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt).