Art Institute of Chicago

The Vintage of the Grapes of the Vine, from the Blockbook Apocalypse

Unknown Artist

Date

1465–70

Medium

Hand-colored woodcut on cream laid paper

Culture

Germany

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Blockbooks were hand-printed from wooden blocks with hand-carved text. This woodcut is the lower half of a page representing visions from the Book of Revelations . The upper half showed a grain harvest; this half demonstrates the production of wine. Both were highly symbolic substances for the sacrament of the Eucharist. This stencil-colored sheet is almost identical to other surviving impressions. Although part of a book, only one side was printed, due to high embossing created by the process. In this impression, an owner has used the verso as scrap paper, taking copious notes on Latin vocabulary starting with the letter c.

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