Barthel Beham (or Bartel) (1502–1540) was a German engraver, miniaturist, and painter.
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👉 Barthel Beham in the context of Little Masters
The Little Masters ("Kleinmeister" in German), were a group of German printmakers who worked in the first half of the 16th century, primarily in engraving. They specialized in very small finely detailed prints, some no larger than a postage stamp. The leading members were Hans Sebald Beham, his brother Barthel, and George Pencz, all from Nuremberg, and Heinrich Aldegrever and Albrecht Altdorfer. Many of the Little Masters' subjects were mythological or Old Testament stories, often treated erotically, or genre scenes of peasant life. The size and subject matter of the prints shows that they were designed for a market of collectors who would keep them in albums, of which a number have survived.
The term Kleinmeister was used of the Nuremberg Little Masters as early as 1679, by Joachim von Sandrart, and has been applied to other groups of artists, from the genre masters of the Dutch Golden Age to a group of 6th-century BC Ancient Greek vase-painters.
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Barthel Beham in the context of Georg Pencz
Georg Pencz (c. 1500 – 11 October 1550) was a German engraver, painter and printmaker.
Pencz was probably born in Westheim near Bad Windsheim/Franconia. He travelled to Nuremberg in 1523 and joined Albrecht Dürer’s atelier. Like Dürer, he visited Italy and was profoundly influenced by Venetian art; it is believed he worked with Marcantonio Raimondi. In 1525, he was imprisoned with the brothers Barthel Beham and Hans Sebald Beham, the so-called "godless painters", for spreading the radical views of Thomas Müntzer by asserting disbelief in baptism, Christ, and transubstantiation. The three were pardoned shortly afterwards and became part of the group known as the "Little Masters" because of their tiny, intricate, and influential prints.
Barthel Beham in the context of "godless painters"
"Godless painters" is a term used by art historians to refer to Sebald Beham, his brother Barthel, and George Pencz, as exemplified in the title of a 2011 catalog of the Beham brothers' works, The Godless Painters of Nuremberg: Convention and Subversion in the Printmaking of the Beham Brothers. The epithet was coined in derision of the three painters during an inquest conducted by the Lutheran dominated city council of Nuremberg in 1525, which concerned the artists' protestant heterodoxy. The term is a double entendre alluding both to the content of the "godless painters'" works and to the doctrinal views for which they were condemned. The typically small-scale prints often depicted biblical or moral themes with a touch of eroticism. The "godless painters" are also considered to be leading representatives of the group of little masters.
The inquest consisted of numerous interrogations concerning matters of baptism, the Eucharist, and the role of secular authorities. Imprisonment and torture were threatened, but ultimately the three were condemned to short-term exile from the city.