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The Famous Calligraphy Artist From 500 Years Ago Who Had No Hands or Arms
Thomas Schweicker became a well known artist due to his calligraphy and painting, despite working in a rather novel manner
Practiced for centuries, calligraphy is one of the most detailed and beautiful forms of art in the world. The decorative form of handwriting is painstaking and laborious, but those who excel in it can produce some truly astounding work with their hands. However, one of the most famous calligraphers in the world from nearly 500 years ago was a man named Thomas Schweicker, who became a leader in his craft despite the fact that he had neither arms nor hands.
Born in Germany in 1540 as the sixth of eight children, Schweicker had birth defects (most likely Amniotic Band Syndrome) that caused him to not have arms or hands. Although he lived at a time where manual labor was something that all but the most upper crust elite of society needed to do in order to make a living, he found a different way to succeed. His father was both a baker and a judge, and made sure that his son became self-sufficient from an early age. The boy not only learned to dress and wash himself, he even taught himself to write by using his feet,
