Between “Silesiae metropolim” and “Quasi centrum Europae”

The mobility of Breslau and Nuremberg artists in the 15th and 16th centuries

Abstract

Although several scholars have explored the issue of commercial and artistic relationships between Nuremberg and Breslau, the multidimensional phenomenon of artists’ mobility between the banks of the Pegnitz and the Oder in the 15th and the 16th centuries has received little attention. Taking into account the vast number of networks – especially commercial, family, ecclesiastical, and monastery ties – that determined and facilitated the migration in question, especially among painters and goldsmiths, it turns out that the presence of numerous merchants in Breslau who were originally from Nuremberg had little impact on this particular mobility. Nevertheless, almost every case of artists’ mobility discussed was anything but coincidental, taking place within the framework of dense networks. Moreover, it becomes clear that the social position of artists from particular crafts was closely related to their mobility – more affluent and appreciated by their patrons, goldsmiths migrated more frequently than painters.