Newes Modelbuch in Kupffer (Page 45r)
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(45r)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the intricate world of Renaissance ornamentation with *Newes Modelbuch in Kup (Page 45r)* by Johann Sibmacher, a pattern designer from Nuremberg, Germany. Published in 1604, this etching hails from one of the earliest copperplate-printed model books (*Modelbücher*), designed as practical guides for artisans crafting lace, embroidery, weaving, and metalwork. At just 5 11/16 x 7 1/16 inches, this page exemplifies the precision of etching—a technique that allowed Sibmacher to render delicate, repeating motifs with unprecedented clarity and reproducibility. Sibmacher's work revolutioniz...
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...