Konrad Witz

Konrad Witz (1400?-1445?), Swiss painter, whose work brought a new realism to northern European painting of the 15th century. Born in Rottweil, now part of Germany, he worked mainly in Basel, Switzerland, producing altarpieces and religious paintings. He was capable of skillful rendering of depth and perspective, and his human figures have a solidity and roundness, unlike those of the then-current Gothic style. His masterpiece, Miraculous Drought of Fishes (1444?, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva, Switzerland), a rendering of Lake Geneva, is probably the first European painting to portray an actual landscape rather than an idealized or imaginary scene.