Frankfurt- It is a turning point in the history of art: Renaissance Painting. What began in Italy developed into something completely new in northern Europe - with the painters Hans Holbein the Elder. Ä. (around 1464–1524) and Hans Burgkmair (1473–1531) as pioneers of this unique art. Its center was the free imperial and trading city of Augsburg, which in just a few decades developed into the capital of a German and international renaissance. None other than one of the greatest German Renaissance painters of the time, Hans Holbein the Elder. J. (1497–1543), ultimately made this art known throughout Europe. The Städel Museum is dedicated to this fascinating era of art from November 2, 2023 to February 18, 2024. For the first time, Holbein the Elder's most important paintings, drawings and prints are being presented. Ä. and Burgkmairs brought together in one exhibition, supplemented by works by other Augsburg artists from the period from around 1480 to 1530 as well as important works by German, Italian and Dutch masters. Albrecht Dürer, Donatello, Jan van Eyck and Hugo van der Goes have studied the work of Holbein the Elder. Ä. and Burgkmair have had a lasting impact. With around 180 important works of art from leading international museum collections, an overview of the various stylistic peculiarities of Renaissance painting in the north is created. A highlight of the Frankfurt exhibition is the presentation of the two masterpieces by Hans Holbein the Elder. J., the Madonna of Mayor Jacob Meyer zum Hasen (1526–1528) from the Würth Collection and the Solothurn Madonna (1522) from the Solothurn Art Museum.

Hans Holbein the Elder J., Madonna of Mayor Jacob Meyer zum Hasen, 1525/26 and 1528. Oil on softwood, Würth Collection, inv. 14910. Photo: Volker Naumann, Schönaich.

Hans Holbein the Younger, Solothurn Madonna, 1522. Oil on lime wood, Kunstmuseum Solothurn, adopted by the Kunstverein, 1879. Photo: David Aebi, Bern

Städel director Philipp Demandt about the exhibition: “The Städel Museum is widely appreciated for its large Old Master exhibitions. After Rubens, Rembrandt and Reni, the audience can once again look forward to an extraordinary show. The Städel Museum presents the Renaissance in the North - a new, completely unique painting that was created more than 500 years ago in northern Europe on the threshold from the Middle Ages to modern times. With around 130 important works of art from the leading international museum collections, we celebrate the great German Renaissance painters and their role models in an exhibition. Famous paintings by Hans Holbein the Elder, Hans Burgkmair and Holbein the Younger enter into a dialogue with works by Albrecht Dürer, Jan van Eyck and Donatello. A key work in the exhibition is the Madonna by Holbein the Younger from the Würth Collection, which is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of the German Renaissance. The fact that this painting can be seen together with the Madonna from the Solothurn Art Museum in Frankfurt should not be missed.”

“Around 1500, Augsburg was one of the leading art centers north of the Alps. Among the artists of this time, colleagues and competitors Holbein the Elder and Burgkmair the Elder particularly stand out: their works exemplify the different stylistic possibilities of Renaissance painting in the north and also influenced subsequent generations of artists, as the works of Holbein the Younger show. How groundbreaking his engagement with art from Augsburg was can be clearly seen in his early work. In less than ten years, Holbein the Younger developed his own distinctive artistic expression, which made him one of the most important European artists of the 16th century,” explains Jochen Sander, Curator of the exhibition, Deputy Director and head of the Collection for German, Dutch and Flemish painting before 1800 at the Städel Museum.

Hans Holbein the Elder Ä., Portrait of a member of the Augsburg Weiss family, 1522, mixed media on lime wood, 41.7 x 35.2 x min. 0.6 cm, Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main.

Hans Burgkmair d. Ä., Portrait of a young man, 1506, oil on poplar wood, 40.8 x 28 cm, Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Gemäldegalerie © KHM-Museumsverband.

Hans Burgkmair d. Ä., Story of Esther, 1528, oil on spruce wood, 103 x 156.3 cm, Bavarian State Painting Collections, Munich © Bavarian State Painting Collections, CC BY-SA 4.0

Hans Holbein the Elder Ä., Mary caressing the child, around 1499, 24 x 16.2 cm, Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Gemäldegalerie © KHM-Museumsverband.

Niklas Reiser, Maria of Burgundy, half-figure in profile, around 1500. Oil on wood, 79.5 x 56.5 cm. Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Gemäldegalerie © KHM-Museumsverband

Hans Burgkmair d. Ä., Christ on the Mount of Olives, 1505. Oil on fir wood, 92 x 63 cm. Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg © Hamburger Kunsthalle / bpk / Photo: Christoph Irrgang.

Lukas Furtenagel, Hans Burgkmair and his wife Anna, 1529. Oil on linden wood, 60 x 52 cm. Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Gemäldegalerie © KHM-Museumsverband.

Jan van Eyck, Lucca Madonna, ca. 1437. Mixed media on oak wood, 65.7 x 49.6 cm. Städel Museum Frankfurt am Main.

 Andrea Solario, Salome with the Head of John the Baptist, ca. 1520/24. Oil on wood, 58.7 × 57.7 cm. Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna. © KHM-Museumsverband

Hans Holbein the Elder J., Portrait of Simon George of Cornwall, ca. 1535–1540, mixed media on oak. Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main.

Jost de Negker (form cutter), Hans Burgkmair d. Ä., Emperor Maximilian I on horseback, 1508. Clair obscur woodcut in two plates (beige-green), 323 x 227 mm. Albertina, Vienna © ALBERTINA, Vienna