Moresca Dancers, Relief from the "Goldenes Dachl" in Innsbruck

Around 1495/1500, Maximilian I commissioned in Innsbruck a magnificent Late Gothic balcony, its roof embellished with 2,657 fire-gilded copper shingles. The “Goldenes Dachl” (Golden Roof) is now the city’s most iconic landmark. The photos show its current appearance. The reliefs depict the ruler with his two wives. Figures performing acrobatic contortions allude to the popular Moresca dance, which originated from Moorish and Arabic cultures. In style the reliefs are somewhere between medieval and Renaissance art: Rather than religious themes they explore court life. And the complex movements of the almost fully sculptural dancers reveal the awakening interest in human anatomy.

Images