Bookplate of Scheurl and Tucher
1401 to 1500
Medium
woodcut
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of W.G. Russell Allen
Accession Number
1941.1.87
Art Historical Context
Behold the *Bookplate of Scheurl Tucher*, a delicate woodcut by Lucas Cranach the Elder one of the Northern Renaissance's most versatile masters. Created between 1401 and 1500—likely in the late 15th—this print served as an elegant *ex libris*, or bookplate, marking ownership for the prominent Nuremberg families of Scheurl and Tucher. Cranach, renowned for his vivid paintings and engravings from his Wittenberg workshop, here showcases his skill in graphic design, blending intricate detail with symbolic heraldry. Woodcuts like this were revolutionary in the Renaissance, enabling affordable rep...
About the Artist
Lucas Cranach the Elder · 1472–1553
Lucas Cranach the Elder (c. 1472-1553) was one of the most prominent German Renaissance painters and a key artistic figure of the Protestant Reformation. Born in Kronach, Franconia, to the painter Hans Maler, Cranach began his career in Vienna around 1502, where he became one of the founders of the Danube School, a movement characterized by expressive landscape painting and emotional force. His ea...