Dürer and Cranach. Art and Humanism in Renaissance Germany _ 218.058 visitors

 9 October 2007 to 6 January 2008.

>>EXPOSICIÓN VIRTUAL

Dürer and Cranach. Art and Humanism in Renaissance Germany offered a survey of German art from the late 15th to the mid-16th centuries and focused on two of the greatest artists of the period, Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) and Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553), and to a lesser extent Hans Baldung Grien (1485-1545) and Albrecht Altdorfer (ca.1480-1538). Also included are works by other significant painters who were influenced by these leading artists. The exhibition looked at a period in art history and a group of artists that are rarely the subject of exhibitions in Spain.

One of the exhibition's principal aims and attractions was that of offering a global perspective on German Renaissance art, both with regard to the wide variety of different media in which artists worked and the importance that each enjoyed at the time, as well as the role that art played in the political and religious changes that came about during this turbulent period.

The exhibition layout

The exhibition's argument was reflected in its layout, which was divided into two main parts. The first was entitled Artists and their World and could be seen at the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, while the second part, A World in Conflict, was shown at Fundación Caja Madrid.

Artists and their World aimed to reveal artists' personal concerns and preoccupations: how they saw themselves and their environment, how they saw their professional status, their idea of religion, their aesthetic intentions and the way they used new technologies such as printing. This part of the exhibition was divided into the following sections:

• Room 1. Pride and Melancholy. An Image of the German Artist. This section looks at the image that artists had of themselves and how they wished to be seen.
• Room 2. Nuremberg. This room examines Dürer¿s collaboration with goldsmiths and craftsmen on the design of decorative objects.
• Room 3. Italy: ¿Here I am a gentleman¿ (Dürer¿s own words). This section covers Dürer's trips to Italy and the way in which he assimilated Italian models and the Italian concept of the artist.
• Room 4. Science and Painting. This looks at the theoretical activities of Renaissance artists, particularly with regard to studies of the nude and human anatomy.
• Room 5. Other Canons of Beauty. This room juxtaposes Dürer¿s ideal canon of beauty with the more sensual, carnal and realist models proposed by artists such as Cranach and Grien.
• Room 6. Humanist Debates: Antiquity and Nature. These were recurring themes in German Renaissance painting and in other branches of learning and culture of the day.
• Room 7. Apelles Germaniae. On display are some of Dürer¿s most outstanding depictions of the natural world, which he approached almost in the manner of a naturalist.
• Room 8. A German Portrait? This section demonstrates how Dürer created a model for the German portrait which went beyond the Flemish type and was to prove highly influential.

The second part of the exhibition, entitled A World in Conflict, looked at artists' reactions to the world of political power, to religion in terms of conflict and to war as a means of resolving issues. It was organised in the following manner:

• Central Hall. The Reform of religious Imagery, and Images of Salvation
• Room 2. The Passion of Christ
• Room 3. Maximilian I. The Emperor conceded great importance to the arts as a vehicle for propaganda and commissioned the leading artists of the day, above all Dürer, to produce designs for his armour, carriages and other objects, in addition to executing his portrait.
• Room 4. Images as Words. This section includes paintings and drawings whose function was to teach Luther¿s new doctrine in a simple, accessible manner.
• Room 5. From Chivalry to Canons: towards a modern Image of  War. The world of chivalry, fashionable sports such as hunting and jousts, and themes from everyday life including social conflicts and wars were among the favoured subjects for prints, reflecting part of contemporary society.

Loans

The more than 230 works in the exhibition have been loaned from a wide variety of public and private collections. The collaboration of the Musée du Louvre has been particularly significant, as are the generous and crucial loans from the Collection of Baron Edmond de Rothschild, the more than 30 prints from the Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid, and the loan from Patrimonio Nacional of a spectacular tapestry measuring 8 x 5 metres on the theme of Dürer¿s Apocalypse. The latter had rarely been seen on public display and was a highlight of the display at Fundación Caja Madrid.

Also worthy of separate mention is the rich collection of German Renaissance art housed in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, of which some of the most important examples had been selected for inclusion in the exhibition. The list of lenders is a long one. It includes the Albertina and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the Landesmuseum Joanneum in Graz, the Metropolitan Museum, New York, the National Gallery, Washington, the Museo del Prado, Madrid, the National Gallery, London, the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, the Gallerie dell¿Accademia, Venice, and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. The exhibition also includes loans from many of the leading German museums including the Staatliche Museen, Berlin, the Staatliche Kunstsammlung, Dresden, the Städel Museum, Frankfurt, and the Germanisches Museum, Nuremberg.