A Message Concerning the White King's Marriage
1401 to 1500
Medium
woodcut on laid paper
Dimensions
sheet: 22 × 19.9 cm (8 11/16 × 7 13/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Dr. Paul J. Sachs
Accession Number
1941.2.11
Art Historical Context
**A Message Concerning the White Marriage** is a captivating woodcut by Hans Burgkmair, a leading German artist of the late 15th century (ca. 1473–1531). Created between 1401 and 1500 on laid paper (sheet: 22 × 19.9 cm), this exemplifies the Renaissance-era explosion of woodcut techniques in the Holy Roman Empire, particularly in Augsburg where Burgkmair worked As one of the first artists to experiment with colored woodcuts, he bridged late Gothic traditions with emerging Italian Renaissance influences, producing intricate, narrative-driven images that could be mass-reproduced affordably. The...
About the Artist
Hans Burgkmair I
Hans Burgkmair I (1473–1531) was one of the most accomplished and versatile German artists of the Renaissance, a master of painting, woodcut design, and manuscript illumination who worked primarily in Augsburg and played a central role in bringing Italian Renaissance ideas north of the Alps. The son of the painter Thomas Burgkmair, he received his earliest training in his father's workshop before ...