1552 -1615 · Cologne, Italy, Munich and Prague

Elegant bodies, refined compositions and the brilliance of the small panels make Hans von Aachen a master of international mannerism at the court of Rudolf II.

Hans von Aachen was born in Cologne in 1552. After initial training in his hometown, he left around 1574 for Italy and stayed for a long time in Venice, Rome and Florence. There he studied Venetian color, shortcuts, slender figures and court art of the Mannerist generation. His portraits quickly ensured him an international clientele. Returning north of the Alps, he worked in Cologne then in Munich for Duke William V of Bavaria. In 1592, Emperor Rudolf II named him court painter; von Aachen then settled in Prague, a cosmopolitan home where scholars, collectors and artists developed a common language. He painted portraits, religious subjects, mythologies and moral allegories, often on small panels or on copper intended for the imperial cabinet. The compositions combine flexible bodies, complex gestures, luminous skin tones and precious details. The Holy Family shows the more intimate dimension of its art: the sacred figures come together in a tender scene, animated by the offering of fruits. In the service of Rudolf II, von Aachen also acts as a diplomat and artistic agent, traveling to negotiate and acquire works. Around two hundred paintings are today firmly linked to his name, while engravings, copies and lost works bear witness to a much wider diffusion. Died in Prague in 1615, he embodies the passage from international mannerism to the visual culture of the first Baroque. The "Hans von Aachen" selection notably compares The Holy Family. His reading favors light.

Von Aachen makes the cabinet painting a precious theater: the body curves, the color shines and each gesture transforms the allegory or the sacred story into refined conversation.