'Zwei sonderbare menschenfressende Tiere ("Two Wondrous Man-Eating Animals", 1586).
Hans Schultes, also known as Hans Schultes der Älte ("The Elder"), was a late 16th-century, early 17th-century German engraver, woodcut artist and printmaker. He made several engravings depicting the events of the day. Some use sequentially illustrated narratives and can be interpreted as prototypical text comics, with descriptions underneath the images. Among them are 'Zwei sonderbare menschenfressende Tiere' ("Two Wondrous Man-Eating Animals", 1586), 'Die Hinrichtung von Hans Alewekher, Mörder aus Augsburg' ("The Execution of Hans Alewekher murderer from Augsburg", 1589) and 'Zwo Newe und Erschröckliche Zeittungen von Vier Vbelthäteren' ("Two New and Frightening Reports about Four Law Breakers", 1615). Together with Hans Burgkmair the Elder, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Jeremias Gath, Hans Holbein the Elder, Hans Holbein the Younger, Bartholomäus Käppeler, Caspar Krebs, Georg Kress, Hans Rogel the Elder, Hans Rogel the Younger, Erhard Schön, Johann Schubert, Elias Wellhöfer and his own son, Lucas Schultes, Hans Schultes the Elder is one of the earliest German prototypical comic artists who left us with a signature.
Life and work
Hans Schultes was born in 1542 in Ostheim, but spent most of his life in the city of Augsburg, where he also passed away in 1619. Augsburg is nowadays located in Bayern, Germany, but was back then a part of the Holy Roman Empire. His son, Lukas Schultes (1593-1634), was also a notable printmaker. Hans Schultes made various portraits of local religious leaders, but most of all he drew several woodcuts based on recent events, a forerunner of today's newspapers. In the 16th, 17th and 18th century these so-called 'Geschichtsblätter' ("Pages about Events") were very popular. They portrayed battles, massacres, public executions, natural disasters and other atrocities. Schultes, for instance, visualized the Siege of Paris (1590) during the French Wars of Religion, when royal troops tried to conquer Paris from the Catholic League. Visualizations of festive city visits by royals and noblemen, royal marriages and state funerals were equally popular. But Schultes appears to have been particularly interested in mysterious natural phenomena. He made an engraving about a comet above Augsburg (1577), aurora borealis above Augsburg (1582), storm in Ghent (1586) and an earthquake in Vienna (1590). He also visualized an unexplained apparition in the sky above Tachov, Bohemia (1586).
Schultes was just one of several artists who made such drawings. Other creators included Johannes van den Aveele, Jeremias Gath, Frans Hogenberg, Romeyn de Hooghe, Hans Burgkmair the Elder, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Jeremias Gath, Hans Holbein the Elder, Bartholomäus Käppeler, Caspar Krebs, Georg Kress, Hans Rogel the Elder, Hans Rogel the Younger, Der Prager Meister von 1609, Erhard Schön, Johann Schubert, Lucas Schultes and Elias Wellhöfer. Like most art from that era, the historical accuracy of these graphic "news reports" should be taken with a grain of salt. No eyewitnesses were consulted and all information was based on descriptions from messengers, travelers or hearsay. Unavoidably, anecdotes were sensationalized and used for propaganda purposes. The printers couldn't print opinions that could get them in trouble with the authorities. Audiences wanted to be awed as well. As a result, huge public festivities were made more bombastic, and scenes of death and despair were heavily dramatized. The prints were distributed all over Europe. Once the events became old news, the drawings were bundled and compiled into collectable picture albums.
'Die Hinrichtung von Hans Alewekher, Mörder aus Augsburg' ("The Execution of Hans Alewekher murderer from Augsburg", 1589).
Two Wondrous Man-Eating Animals
In 1586, Schultes reported about two unusual man-eating animals in 'Zwei sonderbare menschenfressende Tiere ("Two Wondrous Man-Eating Animals", 1586). He depicts the creatures in two thematically connected images. In the first we see a large beast devour a man, while another is seen on his knees, begging in fright. In the second image, a woman runs away from a strange horse-like creature with a crocodile snout.
The Execution of Hans Alewekher
'Die Hinrichtung von Hans Alewekher, Mörder aus Augsburg' ("The Execution of Hans Alewekher murderer from Augsburg", 1589) depicts a family murder in Augsburg. The image on the right depicts the crime scene and should actually be read first. We see Hans' pregnant wife and four of his children, murdered in their sleep. In the same image, the authorities investigate the case. The narrative continues in the left panel, where several events are visualized in one single image. In the lower center, Alewekher is arrested. He is hung from a tree on the top left, while in the top right his corpse is burned at the stake.
Two New and Frightening Reports About Four Law Breakers
In 1615, Schultes produced another two-panel narrative, 'Zwo Newe und Erschröckliche Zeittungen von Vier Vbelthäteren' ("Two New and Frightening Reports about Four Law Breakers"). The first report deals with a Jewish man, Samuel, who was arrested for theft in Frankfurt am Main. He was originally born in Prague. Since he had committed similar thefts before, he was imprisoned. At first the man wanted to convert to Christianity, but once he was informed about his death sentence, he changed his mind. According to the report, the man originally wanted to die a Jew, but the night before his execution he wanted to convert to Christianity after all. This request was denied, "since he had been untrustworthy before." On 15 April 1615, he was hung upside down at the gallows, until he passed out and away. The top panel shows the execution scene. The second report describes three criminals who were arrested in Mindelheim in Schwaben. They were sentenced for murder, robbery, arson, theft and heresy. The lower panel depicts them being tortured with hot pliers, broken on the wheel and burned at the stake.
'Zwo Newe und Erschröckliche Zeittungen von Vier Vbelthäteren' ("Two New and Frightening Reports about Four Law Breakers").