Scuola di Praga/Rudolfina del XVI/XVII secolo

Prague/Rudolfine School of the 16th/17th century Allegorical scene Oil on panel 60 x 47 cm When Maximilian died in 1576, Rudolph II succeeded to the Habsburg throne. Educated in Spain, a refined and cultured man of a shy and solitary character, he established one of the most important picture galleries of his time. In 1583 he moved the capital of the kingdom from Vienna to Prague where he surrounded himself with prestigious masters of Nordic Mannerism. In Prague Castle around 1590 Bartholomeus Spranger was at the pinnacle of his prestige. Over the next two decades he, together with Hans van Aachen and Joseph Heintz dominated the scene at this court that became, with Fontainebleau and Augsburg, one of the most relevant seats of European Mannerism. In 1612 with the death of Rudolf II, the court was emptied of the surviving artists and scientists, after more than a quarter of a century with the death of the ruler an era finally closed. Prague/Rudolfine school of the 16th/17th century Allegorical Scene Oil on panel 60 x 47 cm