The Empire of Imagination and Science of Rudolf II

One of the more controversial members of the House of Habsburg, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (1552-1612) has historically been considered a failed ruler – or worse, a manic-depressive follower of the occult whose political ineptitude led to the Thirty Years' War. However, his unfortunate reputation has improved somewhat in more recent years, with historians highlighting Rudolf's patronage of the arts and academia. The owner of an extensive collection of curiosities, he supported Mannerist artists including Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Bartholomeus Spranger and Adrian de Vries, as well as astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler. The Bunkamura museum's extensive look at the imperial collection includes both artistic masterpieces and scientific paraphernalia procured by Rudolf himself.