Danube school time. Among its members were: Lucas Cranach the Elder was a major influence on, and is occasionally considered a member of, the Danube school. Danube school The Danube School or Donau School (German: "Donauschule" or "Donaustil") was a circle of painters of the first third of the 16th century in Bavaria and Austria (mainly along the Danube valley). Many also were innovative printmakers, usually in etching. They were among the first painters to regularly use pure landscape painting, and their figures, influenced by Matthias Grünewald, are often highly expressive, if not expressionist. They show little Italian influence, and also represent
Danube Swabians that their Shwovish or 'Essekerish' could only be understood by those who also spoke Croatian or Serbian. As is the custom in Hungary (as well as southern Germany), Danube Swabians often put the surname first, especially when writing, for example "Butscher Jakob" (see photo of memorial). Danube Swabian villages tend to have relatively few family names as the villagers stem from only a few families, but usually the same family name does not appear in more than a couple of villages, meaning that there are many Danube Swabian family names. The names come from throughout southern Germany, from assimilated Hungarians,