Getty Museum

Genealogy of the Derrer Family

Date

about 1626–1711

Medium

Tempera colors with gold and silver highlights

Culture

German

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

This imposing and grandiose manuscript is an extraordinary genealogical work dedicated to documenting the Derrer family, whose roots were established by Friedrich and Anthony Derrer in the 13th century. Their descendants are recorded across centuries, with each generation represented in a full-page illustration depicting the patriarch alongside his wife. Vines bearing coats of arms sprout from each woman’s figure, symbolizing the family’s noble offspring and creating literal family trees within the manuscript. The manuscript is one of few examples of the traditional practice of writing and illuminating texts by hand during an age when the printed book had become the standard for literature, both religious and secular. Although taking roughly a century to complete as later generations were added to the collection, the illustrations within retain traditional characteristics of medieval manuscripts, including the incorporation of decorated initials, painted figures, and heraldry.

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