Stefan Lochner

Lochner was probably born in Meersburg on Lak Constance since both his parents died there in 1451, the year of his own (most likely premature) death in Cologne. He is first mentioned in that city as a painter in 1442 under the names Meister Steffen and Stephain Loechener. Albrecht Durer passing through Cologne on his way to the Netherlands in 1520identified the artist of the large altarpiece of the <em>Adoration of the Magi </em>as "Maister Stephan". This work (now in the cathedral of Cologne) marks Lochner as the major exponent of the Cologne School, revealing his affinity for the International Gothic Style developed under the influence of South German, Cologne, and above all, Netherlandish masters. There is no document attesting to an actual sojourn in the Netherlands, but his pictures offer sufficient evidence for a contact with the North.