Der Kaiser und der Bauernsohn c. 1520

Jörg Breu the Elder made this pen and ink drawing entitled "The Emperor and the Peasant Son" sometime in the early 16th century, a period of great social change in Europe. The drawing depicts the well-known legend of Emperor Maximilian I and a peasant family. Maximilian, hunting in disguise, offers to be the godfather of a peasant’s newborn son. The image engages with a crucial question of its time, namely how to represent the relationship between the ruling classes and the peasantry. Breu’s work is especially interesting given the Peasants’ War that broke out in southern Germany in 1524. The drawing is an important document of social history, testifying to the economic and political conditions that gave rise to such a legend. If you’re interested in learning more, I recommend researching the history of the Holy Roman Empire and the conditions of peasant life in southern Germany during the Renaissance.