Holbein
and the Renaissance in the North

It was a turning point in the history of art: Renaissance painting. What had begun in Italy developed into something completely new in Northern Europe in the works of the painters Hans Holbein the Elder (ca. 1464–1524) and Hans Burgkmair (1473–1531), pioneers of this singular art. Its centre was the free imperial and mercantile city of Augsburg, which became the capital of a German—but also an international—Renaissance within just a few decades. None other than Hans Holbein the Younger (1497–1543), one of the German Renaissance’s greatest painters, would ultimately make this art known throughout Europe.

The Städel Museum devoted an exhibition to this fascinating art-historical epoch. For the first time, it brought together the most important paintings, drawings and prints of Holbein the Elder and Burgkmair in a presentation further enhanced by works of other Augsburg artists of the period from around 1480 to 1530 as well as prominent works by their colleagues active elsewhere in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Masters such as Albrecht Dürer, Donatello, Jan van Eyck and Hugo van der Goes had a lasting impact on the art of Holbein the Elder and Burgkmair. Uniting 180 important works from leading international museum collections, the show offered an overview of the various stylistic particularities of Northern Renaissance painting. A highlight of the Frankfurt show was the presentation of the two masterworks by Hans Holbein the Younger: “The Madonna of Mayor Jacob Meyer zum Hasen” (1526–1528) from the Würth Collection and the “Solothurn Madonna” (1522) from the Kunstmuseum Solothurn.

An exhibition of the Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main, and the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Curator, Städel Museum
Prof. Dr. Jochen Sander (Deputy Director and Head of German, Dutch and Flemish Paintings before 1800)

Supported by
Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe with Deutsche Leasing AG, Frankfurter Sparkasse & Sparkassen-Kulturfonds des Deutschen Sparkassen- & Giroverbandes, Städelscher Museums-Verein e.V., Dagmar-Westberg-Stiftung

With Additional Support from
Fontana Stiftung, Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung, Christa Verhein Stiftung

Media Partners
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, hr – Hessischer Rundfunk, ARTE, Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt am Main

Culture Partner
hr2-kultur