German Soldier Standing with Flag (recto) and German Soldier Marching with Flag (verso) from Wappen des heiligen römischen Reichs Teutscher Nation, plate 47 from Woodcuts from Books of the XVI Century
1545, assembled into portfolio 1937
Medium
Woodcut in black on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Image, recto: 21.9 × 14.4 cm (8 5/8 × 5 11/16 in.); Image, verso: 21.8 × 14.4 cm (8 5/8 × 5 11/16 in.); Sheet: 30 × 19.3 cm (11 13/16 × 7 5/8 in.)
Classification
woodcut
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
132192
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Ostentatious heraldry could be a lifesaver on the battlefield, assuming the standard bearer kept his brightly colored and easily identifiable flag high enough to create a rallying point for the regiment. This husky foot soldier firmly grasps the pole while keeping his sword close at hand. The blank flag unfurled here also reappeared with a rampant lion for the Palatine region of Southwestern Germany in a 1579 edition of the same book in the collection of Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek, Munich.