The Virtues of Christ and the Wickedness of His Enemies Symbolized by Diverse Birds and Beasts (verso); The Last Supper (recto), pages 66 and 65 from the Treasury (Schatzbehalter)

Prints and Drawings

1491

Michael Wolgemut and Workshop (German, 1434/37–1519)
published by Anton Koberger (German, 1440–1513)

This curious allegory of Christ shows him in a wood surrounded by a wide variety of creatures embodying his virtues and the vices of his enemies. At his feet appear his foes—as a lion, bear, dog, fox, wolf and unicorn—while his intrinsic goodness causes an elephant, lamb, dove, pelican, eagle and owl, among other birds to emerge from behind his halo.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Prints and Drawings

Artist: Michel Wolgemut
Title: The Virtues of Christ and the Wickedness of His Enemies Symbolized by Diverse Birds and Beasts (verso); The Last Supper (recto), pages 66 and 65 from the Treasury (Schatzbehalter)
Place: Germany (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.: 1491
Medium: Woodcut on ivory laid paper
Dimensions: Image/block, verso: 25.3 × 17.7 cm (10 × 7 in.); Sheet: 25.9 × 18.1 cm (10 1/4 × 7 3/16 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Potter Palmer, Jr.
Reference Number: 1937.90a-b
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/23397/manifest.json

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The Virtues of Christ and the Wickedness of His Enemies Symbolized by Diverse Birds and Beasts (verso); The Last Supper (recto), pages 66 and 65 from the Treasury (Schatzbehalter)

Currently Off View

Date:

Artist:

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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.

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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.

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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.