Bookplate of Hildebrand von Brandenburg
c. 1470–80
Medium
Woodcut in black with hand coloring on cream laid paper, laid down on cream laid paper, with inscription in pen and brown ink, laid down on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Block: 6.7 × 6.5 cm (2 11/16 × 2 9/16 in.); Primary support: 7 × 6.8 cm (2 13/16 × 2 11/16 in.); Secondary support: 13.1 × 13.6 cm (5 3/16 × 5 3/8 in.); Tertiary support: 28.9 × 19.6 cm (11 7/16 × 7 3/4 in.)
Classification
woodcut
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
60691
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The earliest documented printed ex libris is this hand-colored woodcut arms of Hildebrand von Brandenburg. Hildebrand identified his entire personal library with this woodcut and a standardized inscription before giving it to the Carthusian monastery at Buxheim that he joined around 1480. 143 of his books have been identified, a large collection for a non-royal individual at the time. The inscription Libros historialem Pauli horosii likely refers to the fourth-century priest Paul Orosius’s Seven...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...