Art Institute of Chicago

Equestrian Portrait of the Emperor Maximilian I

Hans Burgkmair the Elder

Date

1508

Medium

Woodcut from two blocks in black and gold on vellum

Culture

Germany

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This unique woodcut is printed in black and powdered gold inks on vellum. It may be the most opulent result of the Emperor Maximilian’s competition with Elector Frederick the Wise of Saxony and his court artist, Lucas Cranach. That contest produced an early form of chiaroscuro printing, a technique using black line blocks and colored tone or blocks for lighting effects. Indeed, as the only known impression of the Equestrian Portrait printed in black and gold on vellum, the Chicago print may well be the dedication impression sent to Frederick.

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