Triomf van Keizer Maximiliaan I

About this artwork

Vijf valkeniers te paard maken deel uit van een triomftocht van keizer Maximiliaan. De valkeniers zijn weergegeven op een rij, vier van hen houden een valk vast en de ruiter achteraan draagt een uil op zijn hand. De ruiter op de voorgrond draagt een lange stok waarop de vogels tijdens de jacht kunnen neerstrijken.

Art Historical Context

This woodcut on paper by Hans Burgkmair the Elder captures a vivid moment from Emperor Maximilian I’s imagined triumphal procession. Created in the early sixteenth century, the print forms part of a vast collaborative project commissioned by Maximilian to celebrate his reign through an elaborate sequence of woodcuts. Burgkmair, a leading German artist of the Renaissance, contributed many designs to the series, blending courtly spectacle with precise observation of daily court life. The scene shows five falconers on horseback, four holding falcons while the rearmost rider carries an owl—an unusual but practical addition for hunting at dusk. The foreground figure bears a long perch staff, allowing the birds to rest between flights. Such details highlight the aristocratic pastime of falconry, which Maximilian prized as both sport and symbol of noble status. Printed on paper and measuring roughly 40 by 35 centimeters, the work exemplifies the innovative use of woodcut for large-scale narrative art. Intended to be joined into an enormous frieze, these prints allowed the emperor’s glory to reach a wide audience long before the age of photography.