Charlemagne and Emperor Sigismund: portrait by Albrecht Durer, 1513
The famous Charlemagne portrait is part of a double panel, combined with Emperor Sigismund of Luxemburg. Both were commissioned for the City Hall (Rathaus) of Nurnberg, commemorating the return of the regalia to Nurnberg under the fifteenth-century emperor. This paring shows Durer's intent to link Charlemagne with his successors in the Holy Roman Empire. See a discussion of this portrait at the great Hungarian 'Web Gallery of Art' site here. Now at Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nurnberg.