Epitaph of the Prague Goldsmith Nikolaus Müller

The epitaph of the Prague goldsmith Nikolaus Müller, painted by Flemish artist Bartholomeus Spranger (1546–1611), ranks among the iconic works of the so-called Prague School, the term used for painting at the court of Emperor Rudolf II. It captivates with the refined modelling of Christ’s athletic body and a pronounced contrapposto – effects that contemporaries regarded as displays of artistic virtuosity. This manner of execution was intrinsic to the sophisticated style cultivated in late sixteenth century Rudolfine Prague by artists of transalpine origin who had undergone extensive training in Italy – most notably Hans von Aachen and Joseph Heintz, alongside Spranger. Spranger’s Italian formation is well documented: in the late 1560s–early 1570s he worked in Parma and in Rome with Giulio Clovio and for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese at Caprarola, absorbing Roman disegno and the Mannerist figura serpentinata before departing Italy for Vienna in 1575. Having settled in Prague in 1580, he soon established himself as Rudolf II’s leading painter. Only in the following decade did Hans von Aachen and Joseph Heintz enter imperial service, and it was through their subsequent interplay that the distinctive figural idiom later associated with the “Prague School” began to take shape. Although Spranger is best known for his mythological and allegorical scenes, the Müller epitaph demonstrates that the painter could compellingly apply his distinctive rendering of the human body to religious themes as well.