Hans Schöpfer the Elder (c. 1505 – 1569)

• Hans Schöpfer the Elder was a German portrait painter.
• He may have originated in Nuremberg.

• In 1520, he is documented as an apprentice in the workshop of Wolfgang Muelich, father of the portrait painter Hans Muelich.

• He left there in 1525 and, in 1531, is listed as a member of the Munich Painter's Guild, of which he became president in 1538. 

• In between, he was one of several painters who worked with Jörg Breu the Elder to create a series of panel paintings depicting virtuous men and women from the Bible and Roman history.

• He was employed by William IV, Duke of Bavaria, and painted a series of portraits of Ladies of the Court for Archduchess Anna, the wife of Albert V, Duke of Bavaria. 

• His son, also named Hans, is known to have been a portrait painter in Munich until at least 1610.

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