ASPER

asper, hans (1499-1571), swiss painter, was born and died at zurich. he wrought in a great variety of styles, but excelled chiefly in flower and fruit pieces, and in portrait-painting. many of his pictures have perished, but his style may be judged from the illustrations to gessner's _historia animalium_, for which he is said to have furnished the designs, and from portraits of zwingli and his daughter regula gwalter, which are preserved in the public library of zurich. it has been usual to class asper among the pupils and imitators of holbein, but an inspection of his works is sufficient to show that this is a mistake. though asper was held in high reputation by his fellow-citizens, who elected him a member of the great council, and had a medal struck in his honour, he seems to have died in poverty. asperges ("thou wilt sprinkle," from the latin verb _aspergere_), the ceremony of sprinkling the people with holy water before high mass in the roman catholic church, so called from the first word of the verse (ps. iv. 9) _asperges me, domini, hyssopo et mundabor_, with which the priest begins the ceremony. the brush used for sprinkling is an aspergill (_aspergillum_), or aspersoir, and the vessel for this water an _aspersorium_. the act of sprinkling the water is called _aspersion_.