Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The Northern Renaissance was a period of profound social and religious upheaval in Europe, with the rapid spread of humanism and the burgeoning Protestant Reformation sweeping the continent. Reflecting this momentous change is the glorious art of the period, which draws on the complex themes of religion, allegory, and classical myth and is further characterized by superb technical skill coupled with an interest in capturing likeness with almost psychological precision.

This sumptuously illustrated volume features works by German artists Albrecht Dürer and Hans Holbein--two of the great masters of the Northern Renaissance. Working in a variety of media that included engravings, woodcuts, illuminated manuscripts, and oil paintings, Dürer and Holbein created landscapes, still lifes, and portraits of near-photographic realism, including Holbein's superlative drawings of members of Henry VIII's court. Examined here alongside a selection of works by other Northern Renaissance masters--including Lucas Cranach, François Clouet, Jan Gossaert, and Joos van Cleve--the works of Dürer, Cranach, and Holbein are shown to be a blend of techniques and ideals old and new.

Drawn from the Royal Collection's world-class paintings and drawings, The Northern Renaissance marks a major reexamination of works that have been little considered during the past forty years and offers a uniquely beautiful overview of a fascinating period in European art.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Map: Northern Europe c.1500
• Family Tree: Rulers of Northern Europe in the Renaissance
• Northern Europe in the Age of Dürer and Holbein
• 1 The Netherlands
• 2 Albrecht Dürer
• 3 Art in the Holy Roman Empire
• 4 Hans Holbein the Younger
• 5 Art in France
• Bibliography
• Acknowledgements
• Credits
• Index

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

This catalogue accompanies an exhibition of the same name held at the Queen's Gallery in Edinburgh. Head (Windsor Castle) and Scott (assistant surveyor of the Queen's Pictures) focus on drawings, prints, and paintings taken almost entirely from the Royal Collection. The book opens with a map of Europe c. 1500, which demonstrates the Holy Roman Empire's hold on northern Europe. An incredibly helpful family tree, which gives names, dates, complicated relationships, and titles of important characters, follows this map. Although the two great German masters of the Northern Renaissance--Albrecht Durer and Hans Holbein the Younger--are the main subject, their contemporaries, e.g., Leonardo, Cranach, Gossaert, and Clouet, are also discussed. Stunning color reproductions (many full page) are included, such as Holbein's splendid drawings and final paintings of the court of Henry VIII. Also featured are famous images by Durer, e.g., St. Jerome in His Study, along with those less often reproduced, e.g., his Birth of Venus drawing. This catalogue will be useful not only for its images and excellent supporting bibliography, but also for its brilliant overview of the political and social upheaval that occurred during the lifetime of these two artists. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students and researchers/faculty. K. E. Staab Pennsylvania State University

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Kate Heard is curator of prints and drawings in the Royal Collection Trust and deputy editor of the Journal of the History of Collections . Lucy Whitaker is assistant surveyor of the Queen's Pictures and coauthor of The Art of Italy in the Royal Collection: Renaissance and Baroque , also published by the Royal Collection Trust.