Strange Beauty – reviews of German Renaissance art show

The good, the bad and the ugly - National Gallery show highlights troubled history of German Renaissance art

Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/8 1543) Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve ('The Ambassadors'), 1533 Oil on oak
(Image credit: © The National Gallery, London)

What you need to know

The National Gallery's new exhibition, Strange Beauty: Masters of the German Renaissance has opened to mixed reviews with some critics calling it "riveting", others "disappointing". In fact, the show explores the evolution of British attitudes to German Renaissance art, which was long considered an ugly, inferior version of Italian art, and fell further into disfavour during the two World Wars.

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