Michael Wolgemut's woodcut, “Die Walachey”, 1493

(Workshop of) Michael Wolgemut (1434–1519) in collaboration with his stepson, Wilhelm Pleydenwurff (c1458–1494)

“Die Walachey”, 1493, woodcut illustration (p. 565) to Hartmann Schedel’s (1440-1514) "Liber Cronicarum" (Book of Chronicles) (aka “World Chronicle”; “The Wallachia”; “Die Schedelsche Weltchronik” [Schedel's World History]; “Nuremberg Chronicle”) with German translation, as shown in the title for this impression, by George Alt (1450–1510), published and printed by Anton Koberger (1445–1513)—with help from his apprentice and godson, Albrecht Dürer—in Nuremberg in 1493.

Note this publication is held by the Boston Public Library and may be viewed online and downloaded free of charge at archive.org: https://archive.org/details/buchdercronikenv00sche/page/n563

Woodcut on fine laid paper (with letterpress German text verso) trimmed with margins around the image borderline and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 25.2 x 23.9 cm; (image borderline) 3.8 x 22.7 cm

Lettered with letterpress text above the image borderline: (centre) “Diewalachey”.

Lifetime impression from the first German edition of the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493).

Condition: excellent impression with only the fortified wall at left showing signs of wear to the printing plate. The sheet has several replenished and inconspicuous worm holes and it has been trimmed slightly unevenly with small margins around the image borderline. Beyond these issues the sheet is in superb, museum quality condition for its age and is backed with a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper.

I am selling this remarkable and extremely rare woodcut of a fortified city set within a mountainous landscape and executed when Michelangelo was a mere teenager of just 18 and Albrecht Dürer, who possibly worked on this plate (seeing that he was apprenticed to the workshop at the time), was 22, for AU$240 in total (currently US$172.77/EUR151.54/GBP136.45 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world (but not, of course, any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries).

If you are interested in purchasing this magnificent early landscape woodcut from one of the first printed books where text and illustration were successfully integrated, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold