The Northern Renaissance: Dürer to Holbein

Recently we visited The Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace (one of our favorites) to see their new exhibit on the northern Renaissance.  Here are some we particularly liked.  Enjoy!

'Lucretia,' Lucas Cranach the Elder (1550) and workshop
The virtuous Lucretia was blackmailed and raped by Sextus Tarquinius, and upon losing her honor she stabbed and killed herself, igniting a rebellion that resulted in the foundation of the Roman republic. 

'A standing masquerader,' Leonardo da Vinci (1517-18) 
[black chalk, pen and ink and wash]
Drawn during da Vinci's last years in France, it was a period of extravagant festivals in the French court.  This was most likely a study for costumes to be worn at these events. 

'A rhinoceros,' Albrecht Dürer (1515) [woodcut]
The artist never actually saw the animal in real life, but the depiction is incredibly accurate.  In the centuries since his death, this image has been used by other artists as a model for their own depictions.

'Satyr,' Benvenuto Cellini (1545) [bronze]

'The Apocalypse: The Four Horsemen,' Albrecht Dürer (1498) [woodcut]
The Book of the Revelation of St John - aka the Apocalypse - was a popular subject in the Middle Ages, many believing the world would end in the year 1500. Dürer vividly depicts the violence and horror believed to come, emphasizing the fears and imagination of people at that time (look at the mouth of hell swallowing people in the bottom left corner!). This was published as a book with 15 pages of illustrations.

'A greyhound,' Albrecht Dürer (1500-1) [brush and ink]

'A head of a man wearing a turban,' attributed to a follower of
Martin Schongauer (1480) [pen and brown ink]

Walking back through St James' Park ... a gorgeous day!