Louvre Exhibition Reveals Martin Schongauer's Genius, Influencing Dürer and Michelangelo
The Louvre Museum in Paris presents "Martin Schongauer, le bel immortel" from April 8 to July 20, showcasing the 15th-century master's engravings, drawings, and paintings. Born in Colmar around 1445, Schongauer revolutionized engraving with cross-hatching techniques, achieving unprecedented tonal range. His engraving "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" (1469-1473) was copied by Michelangelo. The exhibition assembles all surviving panel paintings except one from Vienna, alongside 115 engravings and works by contemporaries like Rogier van der Weyden and Hans Pleydenwurff. Schongauer's influence persisted through the 17th century.
Key facts
- Exhibition at Louvre Museum runs April 8 to July 20, 2026.
- Martin Schongauer (c. 1445-1491) was born in Colmar, Alsace.
- He studied under Hans Pleydenwurff in Nuremberg and later in Rogier van der Weyden's Brussels workshop.
- His engraving 'The Temptation of Saint Anthony' inspired a painted copy by young Michelangelo.
- Schongauer perfected cross-hatching in burin engraving, translating light and texture into black and white.
- Only four small devotional panels and elements of four altarpieces survive as paintings.
- The exhibition includes loans from the British Museum, Uffizi, and Musée Unterlinden.
- Dürer traveled to Colmar in 1492 to meet Schongauer, who had died a year earlier.
Entities
Artists
- Martin Schongauer
- Albrecht Dürer
- Michelangelo
- Rogier van der Weyden
- Hans Pleydenwurff
- Caspar Isenmann
- Israhel van Meckenem
- Jost Haller
- Hans Hirtz
- Pieter van der Weyden
- Ludwig Schongauer
- Master E. S.
- Master of Stötteritz
- Master of the Stauffenberg Altarpiece
- Dirk Bouts
- Jacopo Zucchi
- Martín Bernat
- Baccio Baldini
- Giorgio Vasari
- Caspar Schongauer
- Jean d'Orlier
- Rembrandt
Institutions
- Louvre Museum
- British Museum
- Gallerie degli Uffizi
- Musée Unterlinden
- University of Leipzig
- Historisches Museum Basel
- Collegiate Church of Saint-Martin, Colmar
- Connaissance des Arts
- Musée du Louvre
- église des Dominicains de Colmar
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
- Kimbell Art Museum
- Petit Palais
- musée Unterlinden
- Beaux Arts Magazine
- Louvre
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Colmar
- Alsace
- Strasbourg
- Haguenau
- Nuremberg
- Franconia
- Augsburg
- Bavaria
- Leipzig
- Saxony
- Brussels
- Bâle
- Switzerland
- Breisach
- Florence
- Vienna
- Issenheim
- Londres
- Pays-Bas méridionaux
- Italy
- Spain
- Schongau
- Saint-Empire
- Bohemia
- Vieux-Brisach
- Lyon
- Boston
- Fort Worth
- Alt-Breisach