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Details / Information for The Emblem

Series Title: Nuremberg Chronicle

The Emblem

1493

Michael Wolgemut

(German, 1434–1519)
Culture
Germany
Medium
woodcut
Measurements
Platemark: 37.6 x 23.9 cm (14 13/16 x 9 7/16 in.); Sheet: 45.8 x 32.2 cm (18 1/16 x 12 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Prasse Collection 1966.410
Catalogue raisonné
Schreiber V.248.5203
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

In Christian belief, God speaks the world into existence, creating it and ruling over it. This woodcut is one of over 1,000 images in the Nuremberg Chronicle, an early printed book narrating the history of the Christian world. Amid creeping vines and pillars of cloud, God sits enthroned, lips parted and hand upraised in a gesture of speaking. He holds an orb as a sign of his authority over the universe. The scroll above him reads: “For he [God] spoke and they were made: he commanded and they were created. Psalm 22.” Here, God is eternally powerful.
A vertically oriented print in black ink depicts an enthroned, bearded man with light skin tone, with a halo, facing our right, bracing an orb in his lap, and raising his right hand, two fingers extended. A frilly border circles him, and a swirling banner with an inscription above his head (see "Description"). Above, nude babies climb among branches. At the bottom, two hairy figures hold blank shields flanking a blank banner. Columns flank the scene.

The Emblem

1493

Michael Wolgemut

(German, 1434–1519)
Germany

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