Cologne was a major centre of learning, trade and pilgrimage during the later Middle Ages. Its ambitious and sophisticated elector archbishops, patrician merchants, scholars and councillors were powerful patrons of the arts, not least to impress visiting princes and scholars. This substantial volume celebrates the great artistic heritage of Cologne through a discussion of the city's development as an art centre, its workshops and patrons, its masters and styles and the influence of other regions, especially the Netherlands. The study is illustrated throughout with large photographs of altar pieces, panel paintings, stained glass and other works of art followed by a list of locations.

This book -- the first such study in English -- traces the development of the Cologne school of painting over two centuries. It begins with the period before 1400, when the adaptation of French ideas to the indigenous tradition produced an elegant, genteel art, characterized by elongated figures and graceful gestures. A change was heralded by the Veronica Master's introduction of the International Courtly Style around 1400, with its sophisticated iconography, costly pigments, exquisite punchwork, gesso jewels and precious brocade fabrics; and the Dombild Master's introduction around 1440 of Eyckian proportions and realism. In the final phase of this development, the Master of the St Bartholomew Altarpiece opened the door to the Renaissance with his highly distinctive style and innovative iconography.

The book is fully illustrated and accompanied by a translation of the guild regulations; a biographical index of archbishops and lay patrons; and a handlist of cited panels grouped according to location.