Vitruvius Teutsch nembliuchen des allern namhafftigsten und hocherfarnesten römischen architecti und kunstereichen werck oder bawmeisters, Marci Vitruvij Pollionis zehen bucher von der architectur und künstleichen bawen
During the sixteenth century, the architectural treatise by Vitruvius was translated into various languages, catering to a growing international readership. A notable example is Rivius’s richly illustrated German edition, published in Gothic script. The text and illustrations in chapter 2 of book 10 are dedicated to hoisting mechanisms like windlasses, pulleys, wheels, and ropes that would have been used to lift heavy building materials for constructing temples and public structures. In the foreground of the image, we see scattered instruments of the architectural trade used for hewing, hammering, and chopping.
Artwork Details
- Title: Vitruvius Teutsch nembliuchen des allern namhafftigsten und hocherfarnesten römischen architecti und kunstereichen werck oder bawmeisters, Marci Vitruvij Pollionis zehen bucher von der architectur und künstleichen bawen
- Author: Marcus Pollio Vitruvius (Roman, active late 1st century BCE)
- Translator: Gualther Hermenius Rivius (German, ca. 1500–after 1545)
- Illustrator: Peter Flötner (German, Thurgau 1485–1546 Nuremberg)
- Illustrator: Hans Brosamer (German, active by 1536, probably died 1552)
- Illustrator: Virgil Solis (German, (?) 1514–1562 Nuremberg)
- Illustrator: Illustrated by Georg Pencz (German, Wroclaw ca. 1500–1550 Leipzig)
- Illustrator: Initial letters after Hans Springinklee (German, ca. 1495–after 1522)
- Illustrator: Dürer portrait after Ludwig Krug (German, Nuremberg ca. 1488–1532 Nuremberg)
- Printer: Johann Petreius (1524–1550)
- Date: 1548
- Medium: Printed book with woodcut illustrations
- Dimensions: 11 7/8 x 8 3/8 x 2 3/16 in. (30.2 x 21.2 x 5.5 cm)
Box: 12 1/4 x 8 7/8 x 2 7/16 in. (31.1 x 22.6 x 6.2 cm) - Classifications: Books, Ornament & Architecture
- Credit Line: Bequest of W. Gedney Beatty, 1941
- Object Number: 41.100.213
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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