Lot 306: DÜRER, Albrecht and his school The Triumphal Arch of Maximilian I. 1515-151

DÜRER, Albrecht and his school The Triumphal Arch of Maximilian I. 1515-1518 Woodcut, 63,4 x 16,2 cm, laid paper (browned, old repair at bottom left and upper margin). Stuck at corners under passe-partout. One of the woodcuts which formed the triumphal arch of Emperor Maximilian. This section shows two baluster columns with Ionic capitals on the right side of the central arch. Celebrated German artist Dürer and his team (Hans Springklee, Albrecht Altdorfer and Wolf Traut) designed this dense and spectacular image on 195 woodblocks which took three years to cut and print, between 1515 and 1518. It was commissioned by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (r. 1486–1519) who personally took a close interest in its production. At over 3.5 metres tall, the incredibly detailed arch is both elaborate and immense. Maximilian harnessed the superlative skills of German woodcut designers and printers to advertise his achievements and dynastic ambition for the Austrian Habsburg family. About 700 sets of impressions were printed in a first edition in 1517-18, and given by Maximilian as gifts, mostly to the cities and princes of the Holy Roman Empire. A second edition of about 300 copies was authorised by Archduke Ferdinand (Maximilian's grandson and later Holy Roman Emperor) in 1526–28, and a third edition by Archduke Charles (Ferdinand's son) in 1559. This impression is most likely of the third state of 1559. Ref. Meder 251- Bartsch 138. Prov. Van Loock (Coll. stamp. Lugt 3752).