16 - Hans Burgkmair the Elder – The Elephant and the People of Calicut – The Triumph of Emperor Maximilian I

Hans Burgkmair the Elder – The Elephant and the People of Calicut – The Triumph of Emperor Maximilian I Description: A monumental elephant ridden by a man from Calicut, followed by five figures representing the people of Calicut. The rider, almost naked and wearing a laurel wreath, holds a large tablet intended for an inscription. One of the most striking and exotic compositions from the celebrated Triumphal Procession of Emperor Maximilian I (Triumphzug Kaiser Maximilians I). Woodcut after the design by Hans Burgkmair the Elder (1473–1531), created for Emperor Maximilian I's extraordinary Triumphal Procession, one of the most ambitious woodcut projects of the German Renaissance. The designs and blocks were produced during the early sixteenth century as part of Maximilian's vast programme of artistic commissions intended to perpetuate the glory of the emperor and the Habsburg dynasty. Early impressions are very rare. This impression was printed from the rediscovered original early sixteenth-century woodblock used for this edition. The subject represents the exotic peoples associated with Calicut on the Malabar Coast of India, incorporated into Maximilian's imaginary triumphal procession. Burgkmair's monumental elephant and the accompanying figures make this one of the most remarkable ethnographic and exotic subjects in the entire series. An impressive impression from the original rediscovered early sixteenth-century woodblock. Dimensions: 37,00 x 37,50 cm Condition: Very good impression on strong laid paper, with the full plate border, with wide margins, without visible watermark. verso clean. Overall in excellent condition. Literature: Bartsch 122; Schestag 129; Meder 387; Hollstein 552–618 Medium: Woodcut Date: 1516-1518