SCHÄUFELEIN, Hans Leonhard
(b. ca. 1480, Nürnberg?, d. 1538/40, Nördlingen?)

The Birth of Christ

1505-06
Wood, 27 x 15 cm
Christian Museum, Esztergom

Schaufelein was a German painter of portraits and religious subjects, and a woodcut designer, pupil and follower of Dürer.

In his early period the artist painted several versions of this subject. A characteristic feature of these paintings is the column behind the figure of Mary. Both this painting and its companion-piece representing the Circumcision of Christ are based on engravings of Dürer. The two panels were perhaps the wings of a diptych intended for private devotion.