Exhibition

The Triumph of Maximilian

17 Nov 2007 – 16 Feb 2008

Event times

10am ' 5pm Monday to Saturday

Cost of entry

Free

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Hans Burgkmair and others

About

The Triumph of Maximilian has been described as 'one of the world's richest and most unusual monuments of art'. This sequence of woodcuts was commissioned in 1512 by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (1459-1519) and depicts a grand procession promoting the achievements and aspirations of his reign.

Maximilian of Habsburg ' a contemporary of the Tudor king Henry VII - became Holy Roman Emperor in 1496. He expanded his empire, which covered present day Germany, Austria and much of Eastern Europe, through war and marriage. An advocate of the arts and science, his reign saw the first flourishing of the German Renaissance. Maximilian spent huge amounts on artistic projects in an attempt to secure his legacy, believing that '…the money I spend for the perpetuation of my memory is not lost; in fact, in such a matter to be sparing of money is to suppress my future memory'.

The woodcut was an ideal medium for widespread distribution of the Emperor's carefully constructed image. By the late fifteenth century, it had developed from a basic method of mass-producing simple line drawings to a highly-skilled technique enabling sophisticated reproductions of complex imagery.
Over half of the woodcuts were made by leading painter and draughtsman Hans Burgkmair of Augsburg (1473-1531). Burgkmair spent much of his time working on commissions for Maximilian until the Emperor's death in 1519. Burgkmair's initials can be found in many of the prints, occasionally rivalling the Emperor's own monogram. Other sections are attributed to several leading artists, including Albrecht Dürer, Albrecht Altdorfer and Leonhard Beck.
Maximilian himself dictated the imagery of the Triumph, which shows different aspects of his pursuits, including pastimes, wars, kingdoms, treasures, musicians, armies and peoples. Although incomplete at the time of his death, the Triumph remains an epic artistic achievement and an important first-hand historical document.

We would like to acknowledge the support of the Newcastle University Conservation Fund and the work of Jean Brown from the Conservation of Fine Art Department, School of Art and Social Sciences, Northumbria University.

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