Newes Modelbuch in Kupffer (Page 18r)
1604
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Overall: 5 11/16 x 7 1/16 x 3/4 in. (14.5 x 18 x 1.9 cm)
Classification
Books|Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Charles R. Richards, 1929
Accession Number
29.59.3(18r)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Johann Sibmacher’s *Newes Modelbuch in Kupffer* (1604) is a finely etched pattern book whose open page offers a delicate arrangement of scrolling vines, stylized flowers, and geometric motifs. As a German engraver active around 1600, Sibmacher specialized in such model books, producing repeatable designs that could be transferred directly onto fabric or other surfaces. The copperplate etching technique allowed him to render crisp lines and subtle shading, qualities that made the patterns both practical and visually appealing for craftsmen. In the early seventeenth century, printed model books...
About the Artist
Johann Sibmacher · 1590–1611
Johann Sibmacher (c. 1561–1611), also rendered as Johann Ambrosius Siebmacher, was a German copperplate engraver, etcher, and publisher based in Nuremberg whose contributions to heraldic art and decorative pattern design left a legacy that outlasted him by centuries. Active from around 1590 until his death in 1611, Sibmacher worked at the heart of Nuremberg's flourishing book and print trade, a ci...