Beham [key], name of two German Renaissance artists, brothers, who were both influenced by Dürer and later by Italian art. Hans Sebald Beham, 1500–1550, engraver, etcher, and miniaturist, with his brother, was banished from Nuremburg for freethinking in 1525. After some vicissitudes he settled in Frankfurt c.1532. His rare paintings have less interest than his engravings, of which he executed about 300, together with hundreds of etchings and woodcuts in a delicate technique. The subject matter varies from a Virgin and Child (1520) to the Labors of Hercules and Farmers' Dances. His brother, Barthel Beham, 1502–40, painter, engraver, and woodcut designer, worked, as did Hans Sebald for a time, for the dukes of Bavaria. His painted portraits are well known; that of Leonhard von Eck is in the Metropolitan Museum. His mature prints show clear composition and excellent technique. They include Virgin at the Window and portraits of King Ferdinand I and his brother, Emperor Charles V.
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