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.
Germany and England in the 16th century
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
Conserving the Wolsey Angels
Saint Maurice was an important Black saint during the Renaissance, especially as the patron of the Holy Roman Empire
Lucas Cranach the Elder and workshop, Saint ...
Everything seems so perfect... Hang on, what’s that in the foreground? And why is that lute string broken?
The carpet and the globe: Holbein’s The ...
Queen Elizabeth I rarely commissioned portraits of herself, but her courtiers certainly did of the Virgin Queen
Portraits of Elizabeth I: Fashioning the Virgin ...
De Bry's images of the Americas affirm and assert a sense of European superiority.
Inventing “America” for Europe: Theodore de Bry
Explore Dürer's masterful "psychological self-portrait" and the hidden meanings of the various objects in it.
Decoding art: Dürer’s Melencolia I
Flashed or stained? Discover the historical techniques required to produce—and restore—this vibrant glass painting.
The conservator’s eye: a stained glass Adoration ...
Care to waltz? In Holbein’s time, death was a visible part of life—the dance partner from which no one could hide.
About Hans Holbein the Younger
What detail! Dürer studied the human body obsessively and spent four years working on this print. It shows.
Albrecht Dürer, Adam and Eve
It takes talent to turn an ordinary object into a work of art, but Dürer’s hand was up to the task.
Albrecht Dürer, Self-portrait, Study of a Hand ...
Have print, will travel. New technologies of mechanical reproduction allowed Dürer to circulate his artistic ideas.
Albrecht Dürer’s woodcuts and engravings
Dürer holds nothing back in this frontal portrait. By taking Christ’s pose, he conflates artist and creator.
Albrecht Dürer, Self-Portrait (1500)
These monumental figures concentrate their attention on the word of God, which Dürer writes into the painting.
Albrecht Dürer, The Four Apostles
Time collapses in this ambitious painting. As the Greeks battle the Persians, the West fends off the Ottoman East.
Albrecht Altdorfer, The Battle of Issus
Such a gruesome act; such a passive woman. But is she really so refined? With Cranach, meaning is never clear-cut.
Lucas Cranach the Elder, Judith with the ...
What a catch! Henry VIII reportedly kissed this likeness of Christina, but their marriage was not to be.
Hans Holbein the Younger, Christina of Denmark, Duchess ...
Get out your Pantone colors—and count the shades of green. With stunning precision, Dürer elevates humble ground.
Albrecht Dürer, The Large Piece of Turf
Is the pleasure worth the pain? At the Court of Saxony, an aristocratic woman vamps it up as Venus.
Lucas Cranach the Elder, Cupid complaining to Venus
This merchant is a man of business, yet as Holbein reminds us, the material world isn’t all there is.
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