The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were a time of dramatic change in Northern Europe. Monarchs vied for territorial power, religious reformers questioned the central tenets of the church and scholars sought greater understanding of their world. Against this backdrop, artists produced works of extraordinarily diverse subject matter and superb technical skill. This exhibition brings together over 100 works by the greatest Northern European artists of the period. Among the highlights are prints and drawings by Albrecht Dürer, mythological paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder, and preparatory drawings by Hans Holbein the Younger displayed alongside the finished oil portraits.
The exhibition is co-curated by Kate Heard and Lucy Whitaker.
Publication
The Northern Renaissance: Dürer to Holbein
Kate Heard and Lucy Whitaker
248 pages, 290 x 230 mm, 191 colour illustrations, hard bound
ISBN 978 1 905686 32 2
This book discusses works by Albrecht Dürer and Hans Holbein – two of the greatest masters of the Northern Renaissance – together with a selection of paintings by Lucas Cranach. Encompassing portraiture, religion, mythology and allegory, these works are examined alongside others by such masters as François Clouet, Jan Gossaert and Joos van Cleve. Holbein’s superlative drawings of members of the court of Henry VIII can be seen side by side with finished paintings and miniatures of the same sitters, and this rich survey also includes illuminated manuscripts and early printed books.