Michael Wolgemut
German, 1434 - 1519Wilhelm Pleydenwurff
German, 1460 - 1494Achaia (Achaea, Greece), 1493
Not on view
Woodcut on paper
DimensionsImage: 15 × 10 in. (38.1 × 25.4 cm)
Gift of Ruth and Cyril Leder, 2010.188
Published in Germany as an illustration in the Nuremberg Chronicle, this woodcut depicts a fantastical view of Achaea, Greece. Containing more than 650 images, including detailed views of towns, the Nuremberg Chronicle (also known as Weltchronik, or World Chronicle) was intended to be a history of the world. The text included events of the Bible, as well as more recent history.
Michael Wolgemut led a successful workshop in Nuremberg (which included his step-son Wilhelm Pleydenwurff), and this book was one of its most famous productions. The contract for the Weltchronik stipulated that Wolgemut and Pleydenwurff were responsible not only for the woodblocks that created the images but also to ensure that there were no defects in the printing of the entire book. Woodcut illustrations used the same printing process as movable type, so could be used on the same press.
