Amman, Jobst (1539-1591)

Swiss-born German printmaker, one of the leading book illustrators of the late 16th century. His output included numerous ornamental and heraldic prints and title pages, as well as many narrative illustrations. He received many commissions from humanists and editors, notably Sigmund Feyerabend (1528-1590) of Frankfurt. Among his finest works is his series Animals.

The son of a choirmaster and teacher of rhetoric, Amman worked first as a stained-glass designer in his native Zürich before moving, successively, to Schaffhausen, Basel, and Nuremberg, where he finally settled. In 1574 he married the widow of a Nuremberg goldsmith and became a citizen of his adopted city. Although he is not documented as an assistant of Virgil Solis, he was effectively the latter's successor as the leading book illustrator in Nuremberg. His most important works include his penetrating portraits Hans Sachs and Wenzel Jamnitzer, as well as his series Animals and his Allegory of Commerce (1585).

Because of his commissions he travelled widely: to Augsburg in 1578, Frankfurt and Heidelberg in 1583, Würzburg 1586-87, and Altdorf in 1590.