As the chief representative of the so-called Danube School, Albrecht Altdorfer (ca. 1480–1538) is one of the most important German artists of the early 16th century. Altdorfer is known for his drawings on prepared paper, of which the present red-brown coloured sheet is a fine example. The artists of the Danube School are distinguished by their particular interest in landscape, a subject that would only later become a genre in its own right – including in the art of Rembrandt. While this was not yet the case at the end of the 15th century, the treatment of landscape nevertheless changed with artists such as Altdorfer, who thereby created a new pictorial language, as seen here in this drawing. Although the main motifs are the landsknecht – a mercenary soldier – and the lady, Altdorfer awards almost greater importance to their surroundings. Thus the group of trees on the right-hand side occupies nearly half the composition, while an impressive rock formation rises in the left-hand background.