Facade Paintings in Schaffhausen

20 May 2023

During the Renaissance (1450-1600), painting facades after houses was a widespread practice. In Schaffhausen, many house facades were also decorated with frescoes.

The frescoes of the house Zum Ritter are among the most important Renaissance façade paintings north of the Alps. The painter Tobias Stimmer (1539-1584) created this monumental mural between 1568 and 1570.

Besides painting facades, he made a name for himself as a portraitist, draughtsman, and illustrator, and, together with Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) and Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543), is among the most influential artists of the late Renaissance in the German-speaking region.

The work is a coherent pictorial programme. It depicts the civic virtues of honour, patriotism and self-sacrifice.

(Source: Museum zu Allerheiligen, Schaffhausen)

August Brandes (1872-1948), reconstruction, 1907.
Collection: Museum zu Allerheiligen.

Haus zum grossen Kafig.