Willibald Imhoff (born 16 November 1519 in

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, died 25 January 1580) was an

art collector A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

of the famous Nuremberg

Imhoff family The Imhoff, Imhof or Im Hof family is a noble patrician family that belonged to the wealthy trading dynasties and ruling oligarchy in the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg during its ''Golden Age'' in the Renaissance. The ''Imhoff Trading Company'' ...

, and the grandson of

Willibald Pirckheimer Willibald Pirckheimer (5 December 1470 – 22 December 1530) was a German Renaissance lawyer, author and Renaissance humanist, a wealthy and prominent figure in Nuremberg in the 16th century, imperial counsellor and a member of the governing City ...

. He was a wealthy partner in the Imhoff trading company. In his youth, Imhoff stayed in his family's trading offices in Lyon and Antwerp to learn wholesale and long-distance trade. In 1540-42 he traveled to France and then in 1544 to Spain. In 1545 he married Anna Harsdörffer (1528-1601), daughter of Wolff Harsdörffer and Ehrentraud

Welser Welser was a German banking and merchant family, originally a patrician family based in Augsburg and Nuremberg, that rose to great prominence in international high finance in the 16th century as bankers to the Habsburgs and financiers of Cha ...

. Even after that he regularly made trips to Lyon and Zaragoza as a partner of the trading company. Since Willibald Pirckheimer died in 1530 without descendants in the male line, his library and a large part of his art possession passed to Willibald Imhoff. The art collection was successively expanded by Imhoff as the ''Imhoff art cabinet'' and included among other works by his grandfather's close friend

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...

(including his Portrait of Johann Kleberger) works by Holbein, Cranach, Titian and Paris Bordone. He bought a large number of ancient and contemporary statues and busts made of marble or clay, a rich copperplate collection, numerous drawings by famous masters, faience, Venetian glasses, and expanded the Pirckheimer library. After the death of Andreas Dürer (Albrecht's brother) Imhoff was able to acquire numerous works by Albrecht Dürer. Imhoff also collected coins and he cataloged the coin collection of Duke

Albert V of Bavaria Albert V (German: ''Albrecht V.'') (29 February 1528 – 24 October 1579) was Duke of Bavaria from 1550 until his death. He was born in Munich to William IV and Maria Jacobäa of Baden. Early life Albert was educated at Ingolstadt by Catholi ...

. Schardt Büste Willibald Imhoff.jpg, Bust of Willibald Imhoff, by Johan Gregor van der Schardt, 1570 1580 Schardt Anna Imhoff Bodemuseum anagoria.JPG, Bust of Anna Imhoff

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Imhoff, Willibald 1519 births 1580 deaths Art collectors from the Holy Roman Empire