The Last Knight

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

NOW CLOSED

Maximilian I in Imperial Regalia (detail; after 1508), Bernhard Stringel. Photo: Tiroler Landesmuseum

The Art, Armor, and Ambition of Maximilian I

The Habsburg emperor Maximilian I dressed to impress – whether at court or on the battlefield. Offering his patronage to the great armourers of his era, Maximilian realised his passion for vanishing ideals of chivalry and knighthood, and bolstered his dynastic ambitions by bestowing sumptuous ceremonial costumes on his progeny. This exhibition of some 180 objects also includes paintings and sculptures commissioned by Maximilian to glorify his reign. Find out more from the Met’s website.

Preview the exhibition below | View Apollo’s Art Diary here

Field armour of Maximilian I (1480), Lorenz Helmschmid. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Photo: Bruce M. White/The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Margaret of Austria (c. 1490/91), Jean Hey. Photo: The The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Maximilian I in Imperial Regalia (after 1508), Bernhard Stringel. Photo: Tiroler Landesmuseum

Ceremonial armour commissioned by Maximilian I for his grandson, Charles V (c. 1512–14), Conrad Seusenhofer. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Photo: Bruce M. White/The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Event website