In the early 15th century, the remarkable oil paintings of Flemish artist Jan van Eyck transformed a lowly craft into the supreme art and began an image revolution that would change art forever. His work launched an artistic renaissance in Northern Europe that rivals the achievements of his Italian contemporaries and remains uncannily relevant to us today.

German painter Albrecht Dürer harnessed the new medium of printing to become the first world famous artist. A pioneer in many mediums, Dürer was obsessed with how the public and posterity would view him.

The bizarre images of the Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch, the destruction of works at the hands of Protestant iconoclasts and the birth of secular art with the first artist of the modern age, Pieter Bruegel.