15. + 16. Jahrhunderte
The Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries

Outstanding German sculpture was created in the late 15th cent. with the powerfully realistic works, particularly in wooden altarpieces, of Peter Vischer the elder, Veit Stoss, Adam Kraft, and Tilman Riemenschneider.  Active both as a sculptor and as a painter, Hans Multscher established the Swabian school.  In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, manuscript illumination and fresco painting declined as stained glass technique and panel painting became highly developed.  The refined paintings of Stephan Lochner are among those that reflect Flemish influence, particularly of the van Eycks and of Rogier van der Weyden. Martin Schongauer, painting at the same time, developed a more individual style, characterized by delicate and curving lines. Hans Holbein the elder, and Michael Pacher were among the other major 15th-century figures.

The artistic genius of the century was Albrecht Dürer. His paintings, woodcuts, and engravings were produced at an unprecedented level of perfection, influencing all European art of the time. He visited Venice and was chiefly responsible for bringing elements of the Italian Renaissance style to Germany.  Painting in the 16th century was at its height in Germany and led all other arts.  Hans Holbein the younger, Mathias Grünewald (creator of the last major Gothic altarpiece), Albrecht Altdorfer (who brought pure landscape painting into vogue), Lucas Cranach the elder, and Hans Baldung were the great masters of the age. Gothic architecture prevailed so long in Germany that when the Church of St. Michaelís in Munich was built (c.1590), the Renaissance and Mannerist periods had already ended, and early Baroque churches, heavily influenced by Italian design, were being constructed.
 

Liebfrauen

Dom

Fig's 1 & 2.  The Church of Our Lady, in the Cathedral's close vicinity and near the Great Market, shows complete unity of style - the strong individualism characteristic of early Gothic architecture.

These twin-churches therefore represent one of the largest of all dual church buildings of early Christian architecture. The ancient masonry of the south-building was incorporated in later alterations and remained until the 12th century. The present church was built between 1235 and 1260.

The Church of Our Lady is considered to be the earliest and most important among Gothic buildings of central construction and altogether one of Germany's first Gothic churches. The remarkably clear and beautiful Gothic design of its foundations is cross-shaped with two chaples built into each of the cross-angles. Here, assimilation of German and French architectural ideas (The Workshops of Soissons and Rheims) achieved a central structure of perfect harmony.

The German World Heritage List:
http://my.bawue.de/~wmwerner/english/heritage.html


Heinrich Isaac: DerWelte


 
 
 

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