Geschichte der Malerei

Art history is now at an important turning point. What was once referred to as art history was actually the history of artists. Biographies of the masters were told, their works were lined up, and each one was given a more or less accurate characterization. However, the fundamental aspect that should be the starting point for all art historical considerations was rarely mentioned: I mean the great stylistic changes that have occurred over the centuries. What do we call style? In art, style is akin to what fashion is in life: that all-powerful something that imprints a stamp on all products of a time. One can fairly accurately determine when each hat and each tailcoat was worn. Similarly, every painting has its birth certificate. Everything is tuned to the same note, regardless of whether it is created in the South or the North during the same taste phase. Of course, there is a certain delay before a hat design created in Paris reaches the provinces. Likewise, new styles do not emerge simultaneously in different countries, but rather some arrive earlier and others later. Indeed, certain hats worn in Paris are simply not possible elsewhere.

In the second volume of his series on the history of painting, Richard Muther extensively discusses the Renaissance style in the Netherlands as well as Hubert and Jan van Eyck. He describes portrait and landscape painting, painting in Southern Germany in the 15th century, Albrecht Dürer, Tintoretto, Holbein, Rubens, Rembrandt, French painting, and much more. Illustrated with over 600 images based on paintings and sketches. This book is a careful unchanged reprint of the long out-of-print original edition from 1912.