Module I addresses mural paintings in the context of Early Modern courts. The conceptual and aesthetic parameters of profane painting developed for the great residential palaces had a crucial and wide-ranging impact on the art patronage of the court society, and more specifically on the architecture and interior decoration: from stately homes to hunting lodges and places of leisure. Court chapels and palace churches will also be included in this section.

The art-historical, historical, and political relevance of these monuments will determine the sequence and depth of research:  Starting with a focus on the courts of the Electors of the Holy Roman Empire, the corpus will proceed with the smaller territories in Germany.