SCHWARZ, Hans

German sculptor and medallist. He was probably a descendant of Ulrich Schwarz, a burgomaster of Augsburg, and at some time after 1506 trained as a wood-carver under Stephan Schwarz (fl. 1493-1535; possibly a relative) in Augsburg, where the dominant artistic influence was the work of Hans Burgkmair I. He then began making portrait medals of Augsburg’s leading citizens. Schwarz first sketched his subjects with clear strokes, defining their individual features, then carved a wooden model with the profile and an inscription, finally casting a medal in bronze or lead. In 1519, after only three years of experience as a medallist, Schwarz was invited to Nuremberg in Bavaria. In 1520 Schwarz was expelled from Nuremberg for unruly behavior. Thereafter he lived an itinerant existence, dying sometime after 1521.

Remarkably, Schwarz produced 149 medals and wooden models for medals in his brief career, along with about 137 bust-length portrait drawings that served as preparatory sketches for medals.