Cologne school of painting

This term, first applied in the 19th century, subsequently came to refer specifically to painters who had their workshops in medieval Cologne and the lower-Rhine region from about 1300 to 1550.

[1][2] Initially, smaller altarpieces such as the Klaren Altar in Cologne Cathedral (c. 1360–1370) were created, based on book paintings from around the year 1300.

[4] A third creative period followed, under the influence of Netherlandish painters such as Rogier van der Weyden.

[5] Rogier's influence is especially notable in the work of the outstanding representative of this final phase, the anonymous painter known as the Master of the Saint Bartholomew Altarpiece.

For example, the latter's large Deposition of Christ resembles the same theme represented in the former's Escorial altarpiece, and the Master's heightened naturalism and emphasis on tear-stained features reflect Rogier's emotionalism.