Hans Asper
Encyclopedia
Hans Asper was a Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

.

He lived his entire life in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

. Nothing is known of his life until 1526, when he married the daughter of Ludwig Nöggi, a master carpenter who sat in the city council, and his first artwork dates only from 1531. Asper was himself a citizen of some standing, and was elected to the Great Council in 1545.

He painted in a variety of styles, and is particularly known for his studies of flowers and fruit. Many of his pictures are lost. His portraits show affinity to the works of Hans Holbein
Hans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also produced religious art, satire and Reformation propaganda, and made a significant contribution to the history...

. Notable works include portraits of Huldrych Zwingli
Huldrych Zwingli
Ulrich Zwingli was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system, he attended the University of Vienna and the University of Basel, a scholarly centre of humanism...

 and Zwingli's daughter Regula Gwalter, which came into the ownership of the public library of Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

. Asper is also believed to have provided the illustrations for Conrad Gesner's Historia Animalium.

Though Asper was highly regarded by the citizens of Zurich, and had a medal struck in his honor, he seems to have died in poverty. Two of his eleven children, Hans Rudolf Asper and Rudolf Asper, were also painters.
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