Hans Burgkmair
Standards of Carinthia, Carniola and Swabia, c1516-18
Woodcut
40.2 x 43.5 cm
15 7/8 x 17 1/8 in
15 7/8 x 17 1/8 in
An C18th impression
The son of a painter, Burgkmair trained under his father and then, from 1488-90, with Martin Schongauer. In 1491 Burgkmair was employed by Erhard Ratdolt and for the rest of...
The son of a painter, Burgkmair trained under his father and then, from 1488-90, with Martin Schongauer. In 1491 Burgkmair was employed by Erhard Ratdolt and for the rest of his life continued to design woodcuts. He established contact with Maximilian I in 1500, and the Emperor became his main patron from c1508. Burgkmair was chief designer of Maximilian’s ambitious print projects, and "The Triumph of Maximilian I" was a woodcut frieze printed from multiple blocks, celebrating the Emperor’s achievements. It was incomplete when the Emperor died in 1519, with 139 blocks finished of which this is from Block 58. A very small, rarely found, edition, was published in 1526, then laid aside. Rediscovered in 1777, they were published anew. Further editions followed in 1796 and 1883. When assembled sequentially, the 139 blocks measure 177 feet in length.
A Buyer's Guide to Prints