The impact of the Council of Trent on Catholicism is indisputable, and similarly on a great deal of art made after it ended
The Northern Renaissance: 1500s
The celestial globe that features mythology, science and technology
Gerhard Emmoser, Celestial globe with clockwork
A stunning tapestry woven by victims of religious persecution
Hunters in a Landscape tapestry
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 ...
A pendant triptych in boxwood and feathers reveals the dynamic global interactions between Europe and the Americas in the 1500s
A Renaissance miniature in wood and feathers
The portability and affordability of prints contributed to the exchange of information and ideas between cultures.
Printmaking in Europe, c. 1400−1800
Queen Elizabeth I rarely commissioned portraits of herself, but her courtiers certainly did of the Virgin Queen
Portraits of Elizabeth I: Fashioning the Virgin ...
Snakes, frogs, and lizards, oh my!
Follower of Bernard Palissy, rustic platter
From seductive centerfolds to noble savages, images of the naked human body played a complex and sometimes troubling role in European culture.
Confronting power and violence in the renaissance ...
In the late sixteenth century, European publications about the Americas had few illustrations, so printmakers felt free to invent imagery about the peoples and lands across the Atlantic.
Johannes Stradanus and Theodoor Galle, “The Discovery ...
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
Was Dürer Melancholic? At times, yes.
What is Melencolia?
Dürer combined the corporeality of Italian art with the detail and emotive narration of northern European art.
Who was Albrecht Dürer?
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
Emperor Maximilian I employed Dürer to create a Triumphal Arch. It remains one of the largest prints ever produced.
Albrecht Dürer, The Triumphal Arch
Faded though it is, this tapestry retains its breathtaking illusionism: veins pop, wine flows, and hair curls.
Browse Smarthistory images for teaching & learning!
