Danube school

For more information on Danube school, visit Britannica.com.

Group of German and Austrian artists c. 1500-50, of which Albrecht Altdorfer (see ALTDORFER, (1)) and WOLFGANG HUBER were two of the central figures. The term came into use following an observation by Theodor von Frimmel (1853-1928) in 1892 that painting in the Danube region around Regensburg, Passau and Linz possessed certain common characteristics that entitled one to speak of a Danube style (Donaustil ). This point was taken up by Hermann Voss in Der Ursprung des Donaustils (Leipzig, 1907). Once the early, Viennese works (c. 1500-05) of Lucas Cranach the elder (see CRANACH, (1)) were recognized as having provided the formative stage of this stylistic development, the name Danube school (Donauschule) took deeper root. The name also carried associations of the regional landscape (Donaulandschaft) and of the art born of that region (Kunstlandschaft), evoking what critics saw as its nature-orientated quality. 'Danube school' and 'Danube style' established themselves as terms of reference too convenient to be dislodged, despite the demurs of many critics. The leading artists did not form a school in the usual sense of the term, since their communality derived from neither a single workshop nor even a particular centre, and the geographical limits of the school or style are even less precise. Nevertheless, continuing discussion over the idea of a Danube school has given de facto acknowledgement that it does exist as a stylistic phenomenon.

See the Abbreviations for further details.

Danube landscape near Regensburg, by Albrecht Altdorfer

The Danube School or Donau School (German:Donauschule or Donaustil) is the name of a circle of painters of the first third of the 16th century in Bavaria and Austria (also along the Danube valley). Many also were innovative printmakers, usually in etching. They were among the first painters to regularly use pure landscape painting, and their figures, influenced by Matthias Grünewald, are often highly expressive, if not expressionist. They show little Italian influence, and also represent a decisive break with the high finish of Northern Renaissance painting, using a more painterly style that was in many ways ahead of its time.

Among its members were:

• Albrecht Altdorfer
• Wolf Huber
• Jörg Breu the Elder
• Rueland Frueauf the Younger
• Augustin Hirschvogel (draughtsman, printmaker)

Lucas Cranach the Elder was a major influence on, and is occasionally considered a member of, the Danube school.

See also

• Early Renaissance painting

Bibliography

• Stange, Alfred. Malerei der Donauschule. Munich: Bruckmann, 1971.
• Stadlober, Margit. Der Wald in der Malerei und der Graphik des Donaustils. Vienna: Böhlau, 2006.

This art history-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e

This art-movement-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)