The professional profile and working conditions of an artist are determinated by his position within society. Whether master craftsman, journeyman or apprentice, whether imperial architect, court sculptor or honourable painter – the status of the artist fundamentally depends on his position within the appropriate hierarchy. Up until now, art historical research drew a firm line between the civic environment ant the courtly milieu. On the whole, an engagement at court was considered to be more prestigious than being a member of a guild. The finding presented in this volume of essays, however, reverse some of these general assumptions and emphasize the many-layered interactions between court and city. Not everybody sought employment at court; artists such as Titian and Jamnitzer consciously abstained from working for a princely patron and preferred to stay in their hometown. The increasing mobility of early-modern artists brought about change and contributed substantially to the transfer of ideas and to the lively exchange between diffrent centres of artistic production.