The Journey to Constantinople

Art Historical Context

Pieter Coecke van Aelst’s monumental woodcut *The Journey to Constantinople*, published in 1553, stands as a remarkable example of Renaissance printmaking. Created from ten separate blocks and assembled from seventeen sheets, the work forms an expansive panoramic scene. As a Flemish artist renowned for his designs in tapestry and print, Coecke van Aelst brought a keen eye for detail and procession to this ambitious project, transforming the woodcut medium into a sweeping visual narrative. The technical achievement of joining multiple blocks into one cohesive image highlights the growing sophistication of print production in the mid-sixteenth century. Such large-scale woodcuts allowed artists to reach wider audiences beyond the elite collectors of paintings, disseminating views of distant lands and cultures across Europe. Housed in the National Gallery of Art’s Rosenwald Collection, this print exemplifies how printmakers used scale and repetition to evoke movement and grandeur. Visitors can appreciate the work’s role in bridging artistic traditions, blending Flemish precision with an interest in exotic subjects. Its impressive size and intricate carving invite close looking, revealing the labor and skill required to produce such a complex composition from wood.

About the Artist

Pieter Coecke van Aelst · 1502–1550

Pieter Coecke van Aelst (1502–1550) was a leading Flemish artist of the Renaissance, renowned for his multifaceted talents as a painter, sculptor, architect, and designer of tapestries, stained glass, woodcuts, and metalwork. Born in Aalst, in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium), he likely studied under Bernaert van Orley, a prominent Antwerp painter, before becoming a master in the city...