Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/8-1543) was one of the greatest portrait painters of the Renaissance. The son of Hans Holbein the Elder, the renowned painter from Augsburg, began his career in Basel, where he quickly made a name for himself, producing bold cartoons for stained glass, monumental decorations for building facades, and panel paintings. One of his masterpieces is the Virgin of Mercy of Jakob Meyer zum Hase, the focus of this exhibition.

Since 19 May 2016, this masterpiece from the Würth Collection appears in a modified special exhibition, where visitors will have the chance to see the work in dialogue with other 15th century depictions of the Madonna. This will feature the “Dangolsheim Madonna" (c. 1460-65) by Niclaus Gerhaert of Leyden and Michel Erhart's “Ravensburg Madonna of Mercy" (c. 1480) – two works that number among the most outstanding examples of late Gothic sculpture. A reproduction from the Gemäldegalerie of Filippo Lippi's “Virgin of Mercy" (the original has been missing since 1945) serves as a fitting finishing touch to this special exhibition and its overall theme of “protection".