16th Century

Using this collection housed at the Art Gallery of Ontario as a case study, the catalogue discusses the function of miniatures, their material presence, the circumstances in which they were made and aspects of their later history. The homes and studios of the most successful painters, as sumptuous as those occupied by oil painters, often passed from one generation to another: here, one key property in Covent Garden is described and illustrated. In this book, for the first time, a number of specialist artists’ suppliers are identified, showing where ivory could be obtained and enamel plates prepared and fired. The links between enamelling for clock and watch faces and enamelling for miniatures are demonstrated. The illicit practice within the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century art trade of duplicating old miniatures, a topic generally avoided in the literature, is addressed here. Miniatures are difficult to display in museums, but recently-developed photographic methods of identifying pigments are also proving to be a way of introducing a new audience to this multilayered subject. Eighteen years after Ken Thomson’s death, there could not be a more opportune moment to highlight his collection.

MOU is staging a first: an international exhibition dedicated to an exceptional woman, Margaret of Parma, daughter of Charles V and Johanna Van der Gheynst, in her hometown of Oudenaarde.

Portraits and splendid objects that Margaret cherished or commissioned will be brought together for the first time in 500 years. A magnificent banquet evoking “the feast of the century” will be organized for the occasion. All further enlivened by contemporary interventions by photographer Lieve Blancquaert and lutenist Floris De Rycker.

Margaret of Parma (1522–1586) was no minor figure: she was governor of the Netherlands during a turbulent time at the beginning of the Eighty Years’ War. She was also a society figure in Italy. Moreover, she was a true art lover and patron. It is high time this fascinating figure was given her proper place in history.

This article explores the relationship between skin, materiality and medicine in the early modern German-speaking lands. It focuses on the understudied artwork of the Munich-born artist Johann Rottenhammer (1564–1625), demonstrating that his painted bodies were related to medical understandings of skin. Skin was a mediating boundary between inside and outside: the colour and texture of skin carried meanings about the internal state of the body. In this period, ‘exploration’ beyond Europe was destabilizing the definition of ‘good’ or ‘normative’ skin. The appearance of healthy or unhealthy skin was expressed in contemporary northern European artistic theory, for example in Karel van Mander’s Book on Painting. This article contributes to the growing literature on materiality and medicine by demonstrating their indelible impact on the artist’s project. Medical histories of the sixteenth century have traditionally positioned the Galenic and Paracelsian medical traditions as diametrically opposed. This article observes, however, key areas of similarity—the origin of curative materials, and the relationship between the internal body and the external natural world—and considers how they were present in early modern German understandings of skin.

Imagine Me and You traces these multiple encounters through the world of Netherlandish artworks and their varied representations of the Islamic realm. Looking also at the ways in which contemporary Ottoman fashion played a role in biblical and historical scenes by Netherlandish artists, the exhibition invites viewers to reflect on the profound impact these interactions have had on crafting our shared history. This dynamic interplay between cultures unearths revelations about individual heritage and the broader global community. While acknowledging the complexity of establishing the origin of certain hybrid objects, the exhibition ultimately suggests that it is more important to amplify and celebrate these objects’ multicultural and multifaceted characteristics.

The approximately 120 objects in the exhibition include drawings, prints, paintings, textiles, and more; the works come from the collections of the Harvard Art Museums as well as from the Maida and George Abrams Collection, The Tobey Collection, other Harvard institutions, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In addition to sumptuous textiles and striking wool carpets from Türkiye (Turkey) and intricate album paintings from the Ottoman and Mughal periods, there is a range of drawings and prints from Dutch, Netherlandish, and other artists, including Margaretha Adriaensdr. de Heer, Haydar Reis, Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Melchior Lorck, Nicolas de Nicolay, Lucas van Leyden, Jacob Marrel, Rembrandt, and many more. A display of historical pigment samples sheds light on some of the materials these artists used.

Heemskerck’s pen-and-ink work Jonah Cast Out of the Whale onto the Shore of Nineveh (1566) depicts the climactic episode of the biblical story of Jonah, when the prophet was swallowed by a fish and regurgitated three days later. The figures of Jonah, suspended in mid-air, and of God the Father, in the clouds above, recall types by artists such as Michelangelo, whose work Heemskerck studied in Rome. 

Jonah Cast Out of the Whale onto the Shore of Nineveh is the preparatory design for one of a four-part print series on the biblical book of Jonah, all of which were engraved by Philips Galle with text added by Hadrianus Junius. The three other drawings for the series are in museum collections in Boston and in the UK in Oxford and Cambridge. The first drawing by Maarten van Heemskerck to enter the CMA’s collection, its provenance includes the 17th-century architectural painter Pieter Saenredam and most recently the Einar Perman collection, Stockholm.

Albrecht Dürer’s Material Renaissance explores how printmaking forged novel, engaging and creative ways of living, knowing and making the world. The exhibition brings to life the intense focus on materiality generated by one of the most innovative Renaissance artists, Albrecht Dürer – and also the material world of one of the most influential cities of the Renaissance: Nuremberg. Though a detailed examination of Renaissance Nuremberg’s artistic and print culture, the exhibition will explore themes including music and dance, weaponry and conflict, fashion, bodies and social relations, religious piety and persecution, and daily life in Renaissance households. Drawing on the University of Melbourne's remarkable collection of early modern prints and books, exhibits will feature some of Dürer’s most famous prints, including Melencolia I, and other treasures including the Nuremberg Chronicle and a leaf from the Gutenberg Bible.

Putti is a popular decorative motif that enriches countless works of modern European art. This charming phenomenon showing the image of small, winged angels certainly intrigues and arouses curiosity. The exhibition in the Main Building presents the subject on the example of the Renaissance, mainly Italian and German countries, against a broad background of ancient and modern European art.

“The tender beauty and accessibility of Metsys’ representation of the familial bond between the Virgin Mary and Christ Child represents a major innovation in early Netherlandish painting that greatly heightens the emotional impact of the image,” says Timothy Potts, Maria Hummer-Tuttle and Robert Tuttle Director of the Getty Museum. “Painted at the height of his career, and preserved today in excellent condition, Madonna of the Cherries is among Metsys’ most appealing and influential compositions. Acknowledged as a masterpiece in its day, the painting became especially famous in the 17th century, after which its whereabouts were lost. I have no doubt that its spiritual and artistic resonance will make it one of the most beloved works in our collection.”

Simon Dickinson, Chairman, says ‘At a time when there are fewer galleries dealing in this field than ever before and the auction houses seem to be taking a step back, we have decided to take a step forward.’ 

The exhibition will include several re-discovered masterpieces including Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s bronze Matilda of Canossa (c. 1633), one of the last remaining casts of this bronze left in private hands, which is being offered with an asking price of $2 million. 

Among the other highlights is Luca della Robbia’s Portrait of a Youth (c. 1435-40). Defined as one of the fathers of Renaissance art, Luca della Robbia was among the protagonists of the rebirth of terracotta sculpture. Portrait of a Youth is an extraordinary surviving example, and offers international collectors a chance to acquire one of the last works by the artist outside museum ownership.

Discover the oldest rooms at Hampton Court Palace and meet the ordinary men and women who enabled the Tudor court to exist and flourish.

The Wolsey Rooms were originally built for Thomas Wolsey, Henry VIII's chief minister, when he owned Hampton Court in the 1520s. Explore his world and the events of the early years of Henry VIII’s reign.

This remarkable story of an ambitious royal dynasty is told through rare and important 16th-century artworks and historic objects, as well as interactive displays. Find out about the achievements of the Tudors, and the impact of their rule in an age of great change. In the tumultuous 16th century, English people had to adapt to survive, while European exploration – and exploitation – of the wider world affected lives everywhere.

When the founders of Dulwich Picture Gallery began assembling the collection at the beginning of the 19th century, they were determined to find a masterpiece by the artist and inventor, Leonardo da Vinci. However, discovering a work by Leonardo proved difficult. Join the quest to find this Renaissance master and follow his trail through the Dulwich Picture Gallery collection — navigating fakes, mistakes and surprises along the way.