[The great triumphal chariot of Maximilian I]

Title from Bartsch, 1001.339.
Signed with monogram and dated "1522" on plate. Probably completed in 1518.
The fifth edition of the Triumphal Carriage is on a Venetian paper watermarked with an escutcheon and the initials S and G. The paper is also a fine white paper like the earlier editions, but it is slightly lighter in weight.
Meder, 252.
Bartsch, 1001.339.
Coll. mark on verso (Lugt ??).
George Lothrop Bradley Collection.
Scans made from four 4x5 color transparencies documenting conservation treatment.
Gift, George Lothrop Bradley, 1906. (or Bequest, 1919?)
Early in the 1500s, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I chose the woodcut as a vehicle to mount a public relations campaign aimed at an upper-class audience of leading nobles and imperial officials throughout his empire. The Triumph of Maximilian I was a graphic arts program comprising three gigantic woodcut assemblages: the Triumph Arch, the Triumphal Procession, and the Large Triumphal Carriage a work which art historian, Hyatt Mayor called "Maximilian's program of paper grandeur." The design and execution of this project materialized over 14 years, between 1512 and 1526, and resulted in the production of 192, 137, and 8 woodcuts for the Arch, Procession, and Carriage respectively. The truly monumental scale of these compositions was unprecedented, and reflected the reputation of Maximilian I, the House of Hapsburg, and the Holy Roman Empire. Intended to represent Maximilian as a latter-day Roman Emperor, the ambitious project engaged the inspiration of a philosopher, an architect, and an historian/astronomer, in collaboration with artists and block cutters who were supervised by Albrecht Dürer. (Source: Library of Congress, Preservation Directorate, "Bach to Baseball," http://www.loc.gov/preserv/bachbase/bbcprint.html)
Published in: Stiber, Linda S., Elmer Eusman, and Sylvia Albro. "The Triumphal Arch ..." Book and Paper Annual, 14 (1995), http://aic.stanford.edu/sg/bpg/annual/v14/bp14-07.html
DCRM(G) example 1B8 - Title from another source