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Emblem with Blank Heraldic Shield, folio 156 from the Anthologia Gnomonica

A work made of woodcut and letterpress in black on cream laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of woodcut and letterpress in black on cream laid paper.

Date:

1579, assembled into portfolio 1937

Artist:

Jost Amman (Swiss, 1539-1591)
printed by Sigmund Feyerabend (German, 1527-1590)
original text by Henri Estienne (French, 1528/31-1598)
portfolio text by Max Geisberg (Swiss, 1875-1943)

About this artwork

When is a book illustration not a book illustration? These leaves (1938.86.27 and 1938.88.52) were removed from their original texts in the early twentieth century and grouped into portfolios celebrating fifteenth and sixteenth-century book illustrations. Yet the Saint Otilia bears an early owner’s mark from her previous life, and this viewer or another early user has augmented the saint’s halo; the border of the altar showing Christ’s Resurrection; and the muscles on the soul escaping the mouth of hell in Otilia’s vision. In contrast, Jost Amman’s book boasted many woodcuts with spaces intentionally left blank for viewers to complete with their personal coats of arms, an option not realized on this particular sheet.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Jost Amman

Title

Emblem with Blank Heraldic Shield, folio 156 from the Anthologia Gnomonica

Place

Switzerland (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1579

Medium

Woodcut and letterpress in black on cream laid paper

Dimensions

Image: 7.8 × 11 cm (3 1/8 × 4 3/8 in.); Image/text: 8 × 13 cm (3 3/16 × 5 1/8 in.); Sheet: 10 × 15.5 cm (3 15/16 × 6 1/8 in.)

Credit Line

Print Sales Miscellaneous Fund

Reference Number

1938.88.52

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/132197/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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