PUBLIC TOURS (IN GERMAN LANGUAGE): 24 November 2012, 15:30

Albrecht Altdorfer

"The German Princes" from the "Triumphal Procession of Emperor Maximilian I", c. 1512-1515

Pen and brown ink, watercolour and bodycolour, heightened with gold, on vellum

Albertina, Vienna

Many of the most important works created for the propaganda and in memory of Maximilian I are preserved in the Albertina. These include works of Albrecht Dürer, but also the extraordinary Triumphal Procession of Albrecht Altdorfer and his workshop, which will form the core of the exhibit. Of the original 109 large-sized parchment sheets with flamboyantly colourful representations of riders, magnificent chariots and landsknechts, sheets 49 to 109 are preseved in the Albertina and, compiled as a frieze, amount to a length of more than 54 metres. In addition to this unique work, other important imperial commissions are presented, such as the monumental woodcut  Arch of Honor and the book projects Theuerdank, Weisskunig and Freydal, which are very closely intertwined with one another in terms of form and ideas. Emperor Maximilian I has been called the "Last Knight" since the 19 ^th century, although he stood at the beginning of a Europe-wide renaissance of chivalry represented in the form of magnificent tournaments and armaments.

In addition to many other themes, the exhibition presents this illustrious aspect of the art from the time of Maximilian with numerous examples from the internal collection, complemented by important loans from international museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, the Berlin Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings) and the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History) Vienna.

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