Numerous death portraits of Dürer, like this vigorous print by Dürer's follower and imitator, were based on a well-known bronze portrait medal by Matthes Gebel. Dürer's coat of arms appears top left, accompanied by the year of his death. The arms make a punning reference to the artist's Hungarian family name, originally Ajtós (meaning “door”), which was translated into German as “Tür,” and over time that changed into the name “Dürer.” Very little is known about Schön, other than the fact that he was recorded as a printmaker in Nuremberg and that he was rather prolific. Some 1200 prints are attributed to him between about 1515 and the early 1540s.
