6 Paintings Worth a Visit in Munich

Adam Elsheimer (c.1578–1610) lived to the age of 32 and produced only a small body of work. He is little known outside specialist circles today, but he was one of the most influential painters of the early 17th century. Born in Germany but active in Rome, he worked on a small scale, producing exquisite paintings on copper that are astonishingly rich in detail and invention. This extraordinarily poetic landscape dominates the actual subject of the painting: the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt. Despite the darkness of the night, this landscape exudes a sense of peace and calm. The scene is illuminated by three symbolic sources of light, which also clarify the composition. Joseph carries only a small torch that barely illuminates the face of the child and symbolizes Christ’s humility. The full moon in the distance, which reflects in the calm water below, and the countless stars in the sky testify to the presence of God. In the left foreground, shepherds tend to a campfire that sends sparks up into the air, likely referring to the shepherds who received the nocturnal annunciation of the birth of Jesus. This is credited with being the first moonlit nocturnal scene in the history of European painting as well as the first representation of the Milky Way; Elsheimer must have been in contact with scholars who were making rapid advances in the knowledge of the stars. Elsheimer’s representation of the heavens was so accurate that we can recognize constellations and see the surface of the moon. (Emilie E.S. Gordenker)

The skill of Adoration of Christ is that it evokes a delicate charm without being cloyingly sentimental. This makes it typical of the work of Stefan Lochner (c.1410–51). This scene is a simple portrayal of the Nativity, with Mary kneeling before Christ in a stable and an angel announcing the birth to shepherds on the left. Lochner often gave his compositions a strong Gothic-style structure, here provided by the Virgin kneeling in adoration of Christ. Her central position and triangular shape, formed from flowing robes spreading out across the picture, balance the whole image. The robes are painted with a softness typical of Lochner, but they also have a sculptural quality, lending Mary a suitable monumentality. (Ann Kay)

Albrecht Altdorfer (c.1480–1538) depicted biblical and historical stories set in stirringly evoked Alpine and Danube landscapes. In The Battle of Issus Altdorfer conjures up a vivid bird’s-eye view of the scene—almost reminiscent of the spectacular, computer-generated battle scenes from war movies of today. A large panel hanging in the swirling clouds describes the scene: the Persian emperor Darius, to the center left of the painting, is fleeing on a chariot pulled by three white horses, having been defeated by Alexander the Great. The ranks of soldiers are almost incidental, yet the painting shows an architect’s eye for spatial perspective, and the setting looks distinctly like the Rhineland. It is the dramatic and moody clouds with the sun overshadowing the moon that gives a fantasylike element to an otherwise realistically depicted battle. (James Harrison)

Martin Schongauer (c.1445/50–91) came from the Alsatian city of Colmar. It is likely that he learned engraving from his father, and he was later greatly influenced by Netherlandish art, in particular the work of Rogier van der Weyden. Schongauer often depicted religious subjects, such as this exquisitely painted Holy Family. The detail and fine linear quality show his superb draftsmanship. The balance of the composition is emphasized by his use of color, and is based on a harmony between vertical and horizontal planes. The rich red of Mary’s robe is continued in Joseph’s scarf and forms the base for the deep brown of the cow in the background, creating a strong vertical line and focusing the eye on the primary subject. This is countered by the pale blue used in the imaginary landscape, the lake, and the mountains. (Tamsin Pickeral)

Little is known about Michael Pacher (c.1435–98) except that he was an accomplished sculptor as well as painter. His sculpture is late Gothic in spirit, but his painting is strongly reflective of Italian art, in particular that of Mantegna. This altarpiece was made for the Neustift Monastery near Brixen, and it demonstrates the artist’s striking synthesis of painterly and sculptural qualities. The four saints, Jerome, Augustine, Pope Gregory the Great, and Ambrose, are seated within a dramatically virtuoso architectural setting that appears to protrude from the picture plane into the viewer’s space. However, the three-dimensional effect is in contrast to the figures themselves, which are relatively flatly modeled. The inclusion of the figure right at the forefront of the picture plane is reminiscent of Mantegna’s work, and it represents the Emperor Trajan being delivered from purgatory. The combination of Gothic and Renaissance is particularly evident in the beautiful detailing and patternlike quality with strong sculptural forms and areas of broad flat coloring. Pacher’s work represents one of the first interpretations of Italian Renaissance ideals within the traditions of German art. (Tamsin Pickeral)

Hans Baldung (1485–1545) adopted the nickname Grien, from the color green (“grün”), while working in Albrecht Dürer’s workshop in Nuremberg. A celebrated German Northern Renaissance painter and printmaker, Baldung uses complex composition to portray human comportment in a style that would later be known as Mannerism, a break from the pictorial and psychological content of High Renaissance paintings. Consisting of two separate panels, Allegories of Music and Prudence portrays what are presented as the key pillars of high civilization through female nudes. With the precision of a commercial draftsman, but with the charged strangeness of a progressive artist, Baldung depicts the human form in a manner that verges on grotesque. The rounds of flesh are disproportionate but elegant, disjointed but harmonious. The deep blacks contrast with the pale yellow flesh and the glowing greens. Placed somewhere between paganism and Christianity, Baldung depicts human psychology and civil values in a wildly fantastic mixture. (Sara White Wilson)