Object Details
Artist
Michael Wolgemut
Date
early 1490s
Medium
Hand-colored woodcut
Dimensions
8 3/8 x 8 3/4 inches (21.3 x 22.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Harold L. Bache, Class of 1916, and Alice K. Bache
Object
Number
62.0447
In 1493, Wolgemut produced one of the first major series of woodcuts in the form of the Nuremberg Ch(…)
In 1493, Wolgemut produced one of the first major series of woodcuts in the form of the Nuremberg Chronicle. This version of the creation of Adam from the book of Genesis was included in this landmark in printing history. The figures in Wolgemut’s image show the trend in early woodcuts to create highly stylized figures rather than to strive for naturalism, a development that came about in the work of his apprentice, Albrecht Dürer. The woodcut itself is hand-colored with watercolor, the method commonly used before cutting and printing separate blocks for each color became the standard practice in the nineteenth century. (“Imprint/ In Print,” curated by Nancy E. Green with assistance from Christian Waibel ’17 and presented at the Johnson Museum August 8 – December 20, 2015)
