THE ROLE OF THE GERMAN RULERS IN THE TRANSMISSION OF THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE STYLES TO THE SACRAL ARCHITECTURE IN GERMANY - FIELD STUDY

Undoubtedly the building of the Jesuit College and St.Michael church are a turning point in the history of Bavaria as it contributed in emphasizing the position of the duke of Bavaria; AlbrechtIV, where it became his residency after uniting upper & lower Bavaria. In addition to that his studies in Italy made him understand the beauty of the renaissance art & the Humanism movement & to spread its ideas in Europe with the help of Gutenberg who improved the printing process. His journey was completed by his Son AlbrechtV & his Grandson WilhelmV by opening the Jesuit school & in parallel a new understanding of Christianity appeared to serve the ideas of the Italian culture & the Renaissance art which influenced the German culture which is obviously seen in St.Michael church whether in its interior or exterior designs.
The research problem is summarized in discovering the role of the German rulers in the transmission of the Italian renaissance style to the sacral Architecture in Germany through a field study and if St.Michael’s church execution was due to certain social, cultural & intellectual changes in the Bavarian society? Or was it to prove the strength & position of the rulers at this time? Also, whether the Italian renaissance taste has an impact on the German sacral buildings or it followed its own path?
Moreover, the research objective is to discover the role of the German rulers in the transmission of the Italian renaissance styles to the sacral architecture in Germany through a field study not only to unveil the reason of the late transmission of the renaissance art to Germany but also to high light the importance of the Artistic and intellectual position of Bavaria and how it was affected by the Italian renaissance art. Adding to that the effect of the protestant Reformation by Martin Luther on the late arrival of the renaissance art to Germany.
Moreover; the research followed the historical and descriptive methodology in the sixteenth century in Europe and particularly in Munich, Germany.
Finally, the conclusions show that the German renaissance art was influenced by the Italian renaissance art due to the relationships between the German & Italian rulers. As seen in St.Michael church with its triumphal arches which reminds us with the ancient Romans. Also, the settling of the Italian artist in Germany and the German artists that studied in Italy are two important reasons of the spreading of the Italian Renaissance art in Germany.
At last the research recommendations upon the conclusions are the importance of studying the German sacral art in details and to work on making Arabic references and make them available for the public and the Arabs living and visiting Germany. Finally, the researcher recommended the importance of completing the study of sacral art and architecture in different ages in Germany and to compare between them as a sort of historical and artistic documentation to be able to find out about the missing gaps in the history of these sacral buildings.