Master ES, ca. (1450 – c. 1468) 

• Was an unidentified German engraver, goldsmith, and printmaker of the late Gothic period.
• Previously known as the Master of 1466.
• He was the first major German artist of old master prints and was greatly copied and imitated.
• The name assigned to him by art historians, Master E. S., is derived from the monogram, E. S., which appears on eighteen of his prints.
• The title, Master, is used for unidentified artists who operated independently.
• Master E. S. probably came from southwestern Germany or Switzerland.

• Evidence indicates that he was most active in the Upper Rhine region, he also visited Mainz, to the south on the Rhine at the confluence of the Main River opposite Wiesbaden.

• He was the first printmaker to sign his prints with an engraved monogram, which was standard practice on significant pieces of metalwork.

• He was the most distinguished German engraver before Martin Schongauer. 

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