Born in Nuremberg in 1502, Barthel Beham died in Italy in 1540. He was the younger brother of Hans Sebald Beham. Barthel Beham was a painter and printmaker, a citizen of Nuremberg and one of the most distinguished engravers of the 16th century in Germany, his short life notwithstanding. Beham was, inescapably, influenced by his great predecessor Albrecht Dürer in his precise and brilliant engraving technique, and he carried on the tradition of interest in classical themes which he knew both from Dürer and, as well, Marcantonio Raimondi.
