Valentin
Maler

* around 1540 Iglau/Moravia – buried September 1, 1603, Nuremberg, formerly grave in the Johannisfriedhof cemetery. Brother of →Wenzel. ∞ November 2, 1569, Maria (born December 29, 1545 – buried June 9, 1616), daughter of Wenzel →Jamnitzer; five sons, including →Christian, and two daughters. Through his wife, he was related by marriage to the goldsmiths Hans →Straub and Martin →Holweck, who were also married to Jamnitzer daughters. Around 1567, Maler came to Nuremberg, where he probably initially worked for Wenzel Jamnitzer, with whose daughter he concluded a marriage contract on February 12, 1569. Without the usual journeyman's years, he was allowed to take the master craftsman's examination on November 29, 1569, despite the protests of the jurors, and was sworn in as a master on December 15, 1571. His master's fee was waived "in honor of Wenzel Jamnitzer." In the same year he was granted citizenship. In 1570 he was paid 16 fl. for the production of stamping irons for gold guilders, which the Nuremberg council wanted to mint Emperor Maximilian II during his visit to the city. The dated medals he made for foreign clients suggest corresponding travels: in 1571 to Prague, in 1572 to the court of Duke Wilhelm in Munich. In 1574/75 he accepted a call to Dresden, and in 1582 he created medals for the Breslau bishop Martin Gerstmann and the Breslau councilor Friedrich Schmid. In 1582/83, his presence in Stuttgart is documented, where he carried out various commissions for Duke Ludwig, also setting up a mint for which he received 276 florins in wages and 50 florins in bonus. In 1583/84, he spent an extended period in Augsburg, where, despite competition from local masters and especially from Baldwin Drentwett, he received many commissions from local dignitaries. In the mid-1570s, he produced medals for Bishop Julius Echter and several Würzburg canons. However, he primarily commissioned works for Nuremberg patricians and citizens. His Nuremberg portrait medals cover the period from 1567 to 1593; the first medal, depicting a view of Nuremberg, dates from 1585. In addition to portraits, he also produced depictions with religious, historical-political, and other themes. In his early years, wax embossing dominated, while in later years, die cuts increasingly came to the fore. On May 22, 1588, he received a 25-year privilege from Emperor Rudolf II for minting and casting medals to protect his work from imitation. In 1589, Maler applied for the position of Nuremberg Mint Master, but the council rejected his application. However, by decree dated December 15, 1600, he received permission to produce a printing press (probably a roller press) for Julius Echter, Bishop of Würzburg, and to mint 200 florins, 200 thalers, and 200 guldengroschen as trial coins. From 1583 to 1600, he produced prize medals for the University of Altdorf, which were awarded annually to students in four classes. From 1586 to 1589, he trained Nikolaus →Schwabe, for which he demanded 300 florins as a tuition fee, but received only 100 florins from Elector Christian I of Saxony. On a portrait token, he referred to himself as PICTOR and STATVARIVS. A payment of 300 florins is documented for a wax statue of "Prudentia" by Georg Ilsung, governor of Swabia. The epitaph for his father-in-law, Wenzel Jamnitzer the Elder, is also attributed to him. In 1579, Maler bought the house at Obere Schmiedgasse 18 for 1250 florins, which he sold again in 1588 for the same price. In 1599, he acquired the house at Agnesgasse 12 for 1800 florins, which was valued at 2000 florins in 1606; Maler was described as an artist and form cutter (here in the sense of iron cutter). He evidently did not make much money. In 1605, his widow owed her brother-in-law Wenzel Maler in Augsburg 1,100 florins, and the house on Agnesgasse was also mortgaged with 1,100 florins. The property was sold by his widow and co-heirs to her son →Christian on November 6, 1609, for 2,000 florins. Panzer recorded Maler's portrait.

Works: Medal catalog, see M. Bernhart, in: MBNG, 1936. MuS: MUNICH, State Coin Collection, NUREMBERG, GNM. Lit.: Thieme-Becker; Rosenberg 3983; Doppelmayr, 1730; Will, Coin Collection, Vol. II, pp. 137f.; Imhoff II, 1782, p. 829; Stockbauer, 1893, No. 458; Hampe, Rv.; Habich, Show Coins; MBNG 35, 1918; Baroque, 1962; G. Kuhr, in: MVGN 61, 1974; Frederick John Stopp: The Emblems of the Altdorf Academy, Medals and Medal Orations 1577-1627, London 1974; Weber, Renaissance Plaques 1975: Mende, 1983; Jamnitzer, 1985; Mitchiner, 1988; Fischer/Maué, 2000; Tacke, 2001; Goldsmith's Art, 2007 No. 550; Kohn, NHb Sebald; Archive of the Nuremberg GSK at the GNM. Exhibitions: 1952/5; 1959/9 Nos. 55 and 62; 1980/2 No. 125; 1994/24.

(quoted from the Nuremberg Artists’ Encyclopedia, edited by Manfred H. Grieb)Feedback geben