»The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England«

The Tudor family ruled England from 1485 to 1603. International artists and merchants, many of them political refugees, were drawn to the Protestant island state. In particular, sculptors, painters, weavers and armourers from Florence, Flanders and present-day Germany worked for the English royal house and contributed to the development of a typically English style. From 10 October to 8 January, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is offering deep insights into this turbulent period with The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England. More than 100 objects, including works of art, armour and manuscripts, bear witness to a high period in the history of English art and culture.

The most famous ruler of the Tudor dynasty today is Henry VIII, who renounced the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope and promoted the Reformation in England. With Mary I and Elizabeth I, the Tudors also record the country's first two reigning queens. The latter, already stylised as the »Virgin Queen« during her lifetime, died childless in 1603, thus ending the reign of the Tudors.