Swiss painter and draughtsman. He may have been the son of Heinrich Asper,
from an old family of Zurich councillors. As there is no surviving
evidence relating to his life until 1526, and no sign of his
artistic activity until 1531, when it suddenly appears fully
developed, it has been suggested that he was originally active in
another profession. There is a plausible case (Wüthrich) for
identifying him with Hans von Zürich, a member of a Zurich goldsmith
family depicted in a portrait by Hans Holbein (1532; untraced) and
in an etching by Wenceslaus Hollar (1647). According to this theory,
Hans Asper was active in Basle following another profession but was
inspired by Holbein to turn to portraiture. In 1526 he married the
daughter of the master carpenter and Zurich councillor Ludwig Nöggi.
Their 11 children included the painters Hans Rudolf Asper (b 1531)
and Rudolf Asper (1552–1611). Hans Konrad Asper (c. 1588–?1666), son
of Hans Rudolf, was an architect and sculptor in Vienna, Konstanz,
Salzburg and Munich. Hans Asper was highly regarded in Zurich—in
1545 he was elected to the Great Council—but despite his unremitting
industry as an artist, he was never able to derive an adequate
income from his work.
Porträt der Cleophea Holzhalb
Heinrich Bullinger
Der Zurcher Reformator Ulrich Zwingli
Pietro Martire Vermigli, Italian theologian of the Reformation
period
Regula Gwalter-Zwingli, die Tochter von Ulrich Zwingli und Anna
Reinhart
Der Zurcher Söldnerführer Wilhelm Frolich im Jahr 1549
Bildnis Heinrich Rahn
Huldrych Zwingli
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