In the Reformation Year 2017, the State Gallery dedicated a comprehensive monographic exhibition to the Master of Meßkirch for the first time. The Master of Meßkirch is one of the most important German painters of the early modern period. Although the artist, who worked exclusively in the Upper Swabian region, has not yet been reliably identified as a historically authenticated person, his rank as an outstanding colorist has long been undisputed. His altarpieces claim the highest historical interest, since they document the regional adherence to the Old Believers' confession - contrary to the Reformation, which was gaining almost universal acceptance in Württemberg.
A large part of his panel paintings and drawings, which are now scattered in museums and private collections in Europe and the USA, were shown together in the exhibition. Presented in revealing constellations with works of Protestant orientation created at approximately the same time, a differentiated impression of the artistic forms of expression in the age of the Reformation could thus be conveyed.
Under the patronage of W. Kretschmann, Minister President of the State of Baden-Württemberg