Schön Neues Modelbuch (Page 10 recto)
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Overall: 6 1/8 x 7 13/16 in. (15.5 x 19.8 cm)
Classification
Books|Prints|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1920
Accession Number
20.16(10r)
Tags
Art Historical Context
This page from *Schön Neues Modelbuch* (Beautiful New Model Book), published in 1597, exemplifies the popular pattern books that circulated across Europe during the late Renaissance. Created through etching by Johann Sibmacher and published by Balthasar Caymox, the small print measures just over six by seven inches and was designed as a practical resource for artisans. Such volumes offered repeatable motifs for embroidery, lace, and textile decoration, democratizing elegant designs beyond the workshops of court artists. The floral patterns shown here reflect the era’s fascination with nature ...
About the Artist
Johann Sibmacher|Balthasar Caymox · 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...