An up-to-date survey covering the years 1389-1580, when northern Europe witnessed a period of artistic innovation as dynamic as contemporary events in Italy

Discusses the work of artists such as Van Eyck, Durer and Holbein who mastered new techniques of oil painting and printmaking to produce some of the most exquisite art of all time

Examines the developments in all the arts, from paintings, tapestries and illuminated manuscripts to sculpture and architecture

Sets the art in the context of intellectual and religious horizons, brought about by events such as the Protestant Reformation and the discovery of the Americas