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Liber Cronicarum

Woodcut
1493 (published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This page is bound into a collection of images of Adam and Eve compiled by a former owner. It was removed from a book entitled Liber Chronicarum, or 'Nuremberg Chronicle', published in 1493 by printer Anton Koberger. One of the most ambitious books produced in the 15th century with over 1000 woodcut illustrations, the 'Nuremberg Chronicle' was also one of the earliest books with illustrations designed by artists rather than blockcutters. Koberger commissioned Michael Wolgemut, who ran a large art workshop, to design the illustrations and layout between 1487 and 1491. Wolgemut was helped by his stepson Wilhelm Pleydenwurff

Woodcut images could be printed on the same page as text because the type used to print the words and the woodcut image were both in relief, so they could be set together in the same frame (called a ‘forme’) and printed simultaneously.

In common with practice at the time, not all of the images in the Chronicle were original designs, some being copies after artists like Martin Schongauer, and some being used more than once in the same book. But where earlier woodcut book illustrations were simple outlines the use of light and tone shows how differently an artist responded to the potential of the woodcut medium. Books like this led to artists such as Albrecht Dürer considering the potential of the woodcut as a medium of expression. Dürer trained under Wolgemut between 1486 and 1489 at around the time when Wolgemut received the commission for this book.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Liber Cronicarum (manufacturer's title)
  • Nuremberg Chronicle (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Woodcut and letterpress on paper in bound volume
Brief description
Cutting from Nuremberg Chronicle (liber Chronicarum), with woodcut illustration by Wolgemut depicting Adam and Eve; published 1493, Nuremberg, by Anton Koberger, compiled by Hartmann Schedel.
Physical description
Cutting from the Nuremberg Chonicle featuring a woodcut illustration showing God pulling Eve from Adam's chest as he sleeps. In a rocky landscape setting. In the background to the left can be seen a landscape of rolling hill. This is folio VI from the book and text and decorative initials are still intact.
Dimensions
  • Sheet height: 51.875in
  • Sheet width: 10in
  • Woodcut height: 15.325in
  • Woodcut width: 9.875in
Contained in one of three volumes measuring 17 inches by 13 inches, containing 364 engravings
Style
Credit line
Bequeathed by Eustace F. Bosanquet
Summary
This page is bound into a collection of images of Adam and Eve compiled by a former owner. It was removed from a book entitled Liber Chronicarum, or 'Nuremberg Chronicle', published in 1493 by printer Anton Koberger. One of the most ambitious books produced in the 15th century with over 1000 woodcut illustrations, the 'Nuremberg Chronicle' was also one of the earliest books with illustrations designed by artists rather than blockcutters. Koberger commissioned Michael Wolgemut, who ran a large art workshop, to design the illustrations and layout between 1487 and 1491. Wolgemut was helped by his stepson Wilhelm Pleydenwurff

Woodcut images could be printed on the same page as text because the type used to print the words and the woodcut image were both in relief, so they could be set together in the same frame (called a ‘forme’) and printed simultaneously.

In common with practice at the time, not all of the images in the Chronicle were original designs, some being copies after artists like Martin Schongauer, and some being used more than once in the same book. But where earlier woodcut book illustrations were simple outlines the use of light and tone shows how differently an artist responded to the potential of the woodcut medium. Books like this led to artists such as Albrecht Dürer considering the potential of the woodcut as a medium of expression. Dürer trained under Wolgemut between 1486 and 1489 at around the time when Wolgemut received the commission for this book.
Bibliographic references
  • Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1941, London: HMSO, 1954.
  • Smith, Jeffrey Chipps. Nuremberg: a Renaissance City, 1500-1618. University of Texas, 1983., p. 92ff.
  • Bartrum, Giulia. German Renaissance Prints, 1490-1550. London: British Museum Press, 1995.
Collection
Accession number
E.19-1941

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
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