A re-encounter with old acquaintances such as rarely displayed discoveries in the Alte Pinakothek! The presentation of works from the collection of Early German, Early Netherlandish and Flemish paintings of the 16th and early 17th century promises a surprise or two. Different facets of a theme that is one of the core tasks of painting are examined: namely storytelling. How and by whom are stories told and what do they relate? What aims have artists and patrons pursued at different times, and what audiences do they address? And is this always obvious at all or are those looking at a work sometimes even deliberately misled? These and other questions are raised in this presentation in which often nothing appears to be as it seems at first glance.