Shedding light on the relatively unknown art of the Wittelsbach dukes' sixteenth-century court, this is a monograph to focus on this Italian-trained Netherlandish artist. It incorporates original archival material, including letters and payment records into the analysis of Sustris' many projects that ranged from large fresco cycles.

Shedding new light on the relatively unknown art of the Wittelsbach dukes's sixteenth-century court, The Court Art of Friedrich Sustris represents the first monograph to focus on this Italian-trained Netherlandish artist. The volume incorporates original archival material, including letters and payment records into the analysis of Sustris's many projects that ranged from large fresco cycles to intimate luxury and devotional objects. Duke Wilhelm V of Bavaria transformed Munich into a vital cultural crossroads between northern Europe and Italy. As Wilhelm's court artist and artistic director, Friedrich Sustris created a unified vision that broadcast Bavarian magnificence to princely courts across Europe. Although much of Sustris's work is lost, the remaining body of his drawings provides a unique window onto the reception of drawings by early modern elites within the context of their collecting practices.

'Thanks to Prof. Maxwell's beautifully researched and compellingly written study, Sustris' role in shaping all aspects of the art at the Bavarian court is clearly and convincingly explained... a superb, and timely, book.' Jeffrey Chipps Smith, University of Texas at Austin, USA '... Maxwell's book is a major step forward in the study of Sustris. In addition, as an English-language publication, written to attract a broader readership, it should introduce this significant artist and his era to a new audience.' Renaissance Quarterly 'It is a struggle to explain why it has taken so long for the first monograph to be published on Friedrich Sustris, one of Northern Europe's most gifted and influential artists in the late sixteenth century... this book is important as the first comprehensive overview in English of Sustris's career and of Duke Wilhelm's patronage. It will undoubtedly inspire new research, and be a point of reference for those already interested in this still largely unexplored field.' Burlington Magazine 'Maxwell's book is a valuable contribution to the history of central European art, bringing to an English-speaking audience new material about Sustris, Wittelsbach patronage, and the other artists working in the ambit of the Bavarian court.' Sixteenth Century Journal