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Benedikt Dreyer

German artist (1495-1555)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 23, 2026
Entity authorityQ567325
Source-derived summary

Benedikt Dreyer (born before 1495 - died after 1555) was a German sculptor, carver and painter working in Lübeck.

Dreyer was an apprentice in Lüneburg (1506–1507), and was a house owner in Lübeck until 1555, according to the land register.

He made a Gothic altar (1522), the "Antonius altar" from Burg Church in Lübeck, which is part of the remarkable collection of medieval art in the St. Annen Museum in Lübeck. Another altar also in the same museum is attributed to him: the "Last Judgment" altar from Tramm Church in the district of Lauenburg.

Another altar attributed to Dreyer, that from Birket Church in Lolland, is in the collection of The National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen.

Attributed to him also is "God the Father with the Dead Christ" (1513–20) at Heiligengeist Hospital in Lübeck.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Benedikt Dreyer” is german artist (1495-1555). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Benedikt, Dreyer and German, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1495, 1555, 1506, 1507—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—1495-01-01, 1480-01-01—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. For this dossier, Benedikt, Dreyer and German is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “german artist (1495-1555)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q567325. VIAF identifies the subject as 67561751. The Library of Congress control number is no2008020729. 3 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1495, 1555, 1506 and 1507.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Benedikt Dreyer”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Benedikt Dreyer primary sources, Benedikt Dreyer archive and Benedikt research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Benedikt Dreyer”?
  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Benedikt Dreyer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.