Art’s Rich HeritageJakob Fugger and his Legacy

12.12.2025- 12.04.2026 at Schaezlerpalais

The Fuggers have come to epitomize wealth and trading power – arguably more than any other merchant family of the Renaissance. Their commercial activities extended to every corner of the world then accessible from Europe, transforming Augsburg into a global trading hub. More than just prominent merchants, the Fuggers were major patrons of the arts, commissioning numerous distinguished artists of their era.

The 500th anniversary of the death of Jakob Fugger the Rich (1459–1525), who led the company to its first heyday, lends itself to tracing the Fuggers’ role as actors and promoters of art production. The Augsburg Art Collections & Museums (Kunstsammlungen & Museen Augsburg), in cooperation with the Princely and Countly Fugger Foundations (Fürstlich und Gräflich Fuggersche Stiftungen), are seizing the opportunity to present valuable art treasures once belonging to or associated with Jakob Fugger the Rich and his descendants.

The Art Collections’ own holdings are complemented by loans from the Fugger Foundations, the Bavarian State Painting Collections (Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen), and private collections.

The exhibition is under the patronage of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.