Danube school time. Among its members were: Lucas Cranach the Elder was a major influence on, and is occasionally considered a member of, the Danube school. Danube school The Danube School or Donau School (German: "Donauschule" or "Donaustil") was a circle of painters of the first third of the 16th century in Bavaria and Austria (mainly along the Danube valley). Many also were innovative printmakers, usually in etching. They were among the first painters to regularly use pure landscape painting, and their figures, influenced by Matthias Grünewald, are often highly expressive, if not expressionist. They show little Italian influence, and also represent
Army of the Danube for the defense of the Republic. The Swiss passes commanded access to northern Italy; consequently, the army that held those passes could move troops to and from northern and southern theaters quickly. The river was a formidable barrier to what the French perceived as Austrian aggression, and the state that controlled its crossings controlled the river itself. Finally, control of the Upper Danube would allow France to move its troops from Italy to the North Sea, or any point in between, offering immense strategic value. Toward this end, in the early November 1798, Jourdan arrived in Hüningen, near the Swiss