Kulmbach, Hans Suess (Süss) von (c. 1475-1522)

German painter. As a young man, he collaborated with Albrecht Dürer in designing woodcuts, and after 1508 he designed numerous stained-glass windows. When Dürer gave up the execution of altarpieces in 1510, Kulmbach emerged as a major painter of triptychs in Germany.

About 1500 he left his native Kulmbach for Nuremberg, where he studied in Dürer's workshop and was also influenced by the visiting Venetian artist Jacopo de' Barbari. Next to Baldung Grien, Kulmbach was Dürer's most important pupil, with a personal style quite distinct from that of his master.

In 1511 Kulmbach obtained citizenship of his adopted town and became an independent artist. He visited Poland in 1514 and later three of his dozen or so altarpieces were exported to Cracow in Poland. He also painted a number of portraits of considerable ability.