Germany and England

Cranach, Dürer, and Holbein—and all other artists after 1517—lived in a world forever changed by the Protestant Reformation.

1500 - 1600

videos + essays

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Dürer’s <em>Rhinoceros</em>: art, science, and the Northern Renaissance
Dürer’s Rhinoceros: art, science, and the Northern Renaissance

For centuries, this print of a rhinoceros has intrigued artists, scientists, and the public alike.

Anthonis Mor, <em>Portrait of Mary Tudor</em>
Anthonis Mor, Portrait of Mary Tudor

Queen of England and Ireland, Mary I's courage, iron will, and brutal impatience are captured in this likeness.

Master H.L., <em>The Breisach Altarpiece</em>
Master H.L., The Breisach Altarpiece

The dancing lines and joyful subject of this 16th-century altarpiece are exuberant.

Hans Baldung Grien, <em>Freiburg Altarpiece</em>
Hans Baldung Grien, Freiburg Altarpiece

Baldung’s joyous Freiburg Altarpiece is a delightful counterpart to his well-known artworks depicting witches.

Matthias Grünewald, <em>Isenheim Altarpiece</em>
Matthias Grünewald, Isenheim Altarpiece

Demons as haunting as these could be a sign of delirium, or just another of Grünewald’s otherworldly creations.

Albrecht Dürer, <em>The Triumphal Arch</em> or <em>Arch of Honor</em>
Albrecht Dürer, The Triumphal Arch or Arch of Honor

The Arch of Honor praises Maximilian I as the ideal emperor, a paragon of modern rulership, guided by traditional chivalric values but also aggressively modern in both diplomacy and warfare.

Conserving the Wolsey Angels
Conserving the Wolsey Angels

After their recent rediscovery, the Wolsey Angels go through extensive conservation and preservation after being exposed to the elements on the gateposts of a stately home in England, perhaps for centuries

Lucas Cranach the Elder and workshop, <em>Saint Maurice</em>
Lucas Cranach the Elder and workshop, Saint Maurice

Saint Maurice was an important Black saint during the Renaissance, especially as the patron of the Holy Roman Empire

The carpet and the globe: Holbein’s <em>The Ambassadors</em> reframed
The carpet and the globe: Holbein’s The Ambassadors reframed

Everything seems so perfect... Hang on, what’s that in the foreground? And why is that lute string broken?

Portraits of Elizabeth I: Fashioning the Virgin Queen
Portraits of Elizabeth I: Fashioning the Virgin Queen

Queen Elizabeth I rarely commissioned portraits of herself, but her courtiers certainly did of the Virgin Queen

Inventing “America” for Europe: Theodore de Bry
Inventing “America” for Europe: Theodore de Bry

De Bry's images of the Americas affirm and assert a sense of European superiority.

Decoding art: Dürer’s <em>Melencolia I</em>
Decoding art: Dürer’s Melencolia I

Explore Dürer's masterful "psychological self-portrait" and the hidden meanings of the various objects in it.

Selected Contributors