Middle Ages and the Renaissance

What are the defining characteristics of Romanesque art? Were women artists active in the Middle Ages? And what hidden meanings lie behind a goldfinch in a late Gothic painting? This volume addresses these and many related questions through key works from the Belvedere’s Collection Middle Ages and Renaissance. Spanning the period from 1200 to 1600, the holdings include numerous objects of international renown, among them examples from the early and late phases of Michael Pacher’s artistic activity, panels from the Schotten Altarpiece, and works by Lucas Cranach the Elder. The Belvedere’s sculpture collection is equally distinguished, featuring exceptional pieces such as the Madonna of Sonntagberg, sandstone figures by the Master of Groß­lobming, and the one­of­a­kind Znojmo Altarpiece. The book offers an overview of art­historical developments from the Romanesque through the Gothic to the Renaissance in Austria, and includes cultural­ historical excursuses that illuminate the broader contexts of the objects. In doing so, it provides fresh insights and opens new perspectives, inviting readers to see the art of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in a new light.