Plaquettes began to be made in southern Germany around 1510-1520, in Augsburg and Nuremberg. They were produced by bronze foundries, goldsmiths and cabinetmakers. Models would be carved in stone, slate, wood or wax, and then cast in bronze or lead. Like in Italy, plaquettes served a number of functions, being used as pendants, badges or furniture decoration, as well as admired as small works of art. Plaquettes often, but not always, portrayed religious or mythological scenes. Peter Flötner produced several series of plaquettes, including 'The Virtues,' and 'Eminent Women of Classical Antiquity' as well as 'The Seven Gods of the Planets' series. These plaquettes show Flötner's use of landscapes to set-off his expressive figures in many of his plaquettes. Such compositions may have been influenced by Venetian paintings.
Flötner worked in Germany as a sculptor, medallist, cabinetmaker, woodcutter and designer. He is known for the wide range of his work, including fountains, organs, and furniture as well as decorative objects. He was probably born in the Thurgau region of Switzerland, and may have trained in the Augsburg workshop of the Renaissance sculptor Hans Daucher between 1515 and 1518. He was certainly influenced by Daucher's Italianate style and that of Hans Burgkmair I. Flötner settled in Nuremberg in 1522, and was registered as a 'master sculptor' when he became a citizen in 1523. He is conjectured to have visited Italy in 1520-21, and again by 1530. These visits would have played a part in encouraging his adoption of Italian renaissance styles. In Nuremberg, Flötner introduced new classical forms in architecture, marking a change from the gothic style influenced by Albrecht Dürer. His mature classical style is seen first in the Apollo Fountain which he designed for Nuremberg in 1532. Flötner later worked on commissions for the interior decorations and furniture of various aristocratic houses.