School with school master and children

This panel is really an advertisement. In 1516 a Basel schoolmaster, Oswald Geisshuesler, known as Myconius, wanted a sign to hang outside his house, and the painted board promised in plain German to teach anyone, burgher or craftsman, child or grown adult, to read and write for a modest fee. It was painted on both sides so it could be read coming and going, and the two faces have long been divided between Ambrosius Holbein and his younger brother Hans, who were working side by side in Basel that year. This side shows the schoolmaster and his wife at work with the younger pupils. It is one of the earliest surviving painted shop signs of its kind. In the 18th century the two-sided board was sawn apart so both scenes could be shown flat. It had already been given to the city of Basel back in 1662.