“Germany’s true strength and greatness lies along the Rhine.” Mary of Hungary, Regent of the Netherlands, 1551

This is the first publication to treat Renaissance art and culture along the Rhine as an important theme. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Rhineland was a central region in Europe where the complex conflicts and innovations of this transitional period interfused and influenced each other in a unique way. The specific character of the Rhineland’s Renaissance developed both in affluent cities of burghers, such as Cologne, as well as at the courts of the various territories. This region proved to be an important experimental field for the development of solutions to the social, cultural, and religious challenges of the time.

This richly illustrated volume brings to life, in words and pictures, the eventful sixteenth century along the Rhine with its protagonists—princes, artists, scholars, citizens, and farmers.

Exhibition schedule: LVR-LandesMuseum, Bonn, September 16, 2010–February 6, 2011