Christoph Schwarz (ca. 1545–1592) was among the most influential artists at the court of the Bavarian Dukes Albrecht V and Wilhelm V in Munich. In his early years, he designed much acclaimed façade paintings whose lively compositions reveal an examination of Venice. With Wilhelm V’s accession to power, he became the preferred painter for the monumental altar pictures of the Jesuits.

For the first time, an in-depth monograph is being dedicated to one of the most important court painters of the end of the sixteenth century. It examines Schwarz’s ambivalent position between city and court and the significance of his pictorial themes in the period of the Protestant Reformation. The extensive publication includes a complete overview of his works and a catalogue of works by artists he influenced.