The White King
Der Weiss Kunig (The White King)
Title: Der Weiss Kunig (The White King)
Creator: Valdosta State University
Date: 1515
Description: Framed Medieval wood cut, hand colored. Showing hunters with crossbows and supporting serfs with spears. Produced: Hans Burgkmair. 8 5/8" x 7 3/4".
Source: Valdosta State University Archives and Special Collections. Tatler-Burgess Collection.
Subject: Wood-engraving; Antiques; Prints;
Identifier:
Format: image/jpeg
Resources from the Odum Library
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The triumph of the Emperor Maximilian I.--Triumph of the Emperor Maximilian I., with woodcutsThe triumph of the Emperor Maximilian I.--Triumph of the Emperor Maximilian I., with woodcuts, Burgkmair, Hans, 1473-1531.Burgkmair, Hans, 1473-1531. Reproduced by the Holbein society, 1875. vii. 177 [1] p., 1 l.2 illus.23 x 18 cm.
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Maximilian IFunk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia,2018
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Woodcuts from "Der Weisskunig"Louise S. Richards
The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Vol. 47, No. 7 (Sep., 1960), pp. 166-172 (7 pages)
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Maximilian I
by
Nineteenth-century German historians portrayed Maximilian I as a fascinating but enigmatic dignitary - the first modern ruler and the last medieval knight, the model humanist, a true Renaissance man. He has since been ridiculed as a spineless misadventurer, a Don Quixote whose head was full of magnificent fantasies and unattainable ambitions. Here, in this essay by the acclaimed British historian Hugh Trevor-Roper, is Maximilian's extraordinary story.
ISBN: 9781640190245Publication Date: 2017-02-01 -
The Humanist Interpretation of Hieroglyphs in the Allegorical Studies of the Renaissance
by
The Hieroglyphenkunde by Karl Giehlow published in 1915, described variously by critics as "a masterpiece", "magnificent", "monumental" and "incomparable", is here translated into English for the first time. Giehlow's work with an initial focus on the Hieroglyphica of Horapollo, the manuscript of which was discovered by Giehlow, was a pioneering attempt to introduce the thesis that Egyptian hieroglyphics had a fundamental influence on the Italian literature of allegory and symbolism and beyond that on the evolution of all Renaissance art. The present edition includes the illustrations of Albrecht Dürer from the Pirckheimer translation of the Horapollo from the early fifteenth century.
ISBN: 9004281738Publication Date: 2015-01-08
References
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art - The White King Learning to Conduct a Kitchen, from Der WeisskunigAn overview of "The White King" and how it was created and published.
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MFA Boston - Der Weisskunig (The White King)An overview of "The White King" and its creation, including images of initial drafts and woodcut Illustrations.
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The Cleveland Museum of Art - Der Weisskunig (The White King): The Siege of PaduaAn overview of "The White King," how it was created and the political agenda of the work in connection to a woodcut print from the work featuring a depiction of the Siege of Padua (1509).
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Victoria and Albert Museum - Der Weiss Kunig [The White King]An overview of "The White King," including the reasons for its production and how it was initially attempted to be produced before the project was abandoned.
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Encyclopedia Britannica - Maximilian IAn overview of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, the subject and patron of "The White King."
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Encyclopedia Britannica - Charles VAn overview of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and successor to Maximilian I.
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Encyclopedia Britannica - Philip IIAn overview of Philip II, King of Spain and Portugal, grandson of Maximilian I.
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The British Museum - Hans Burgkmair the ElderFacts about Hans Burgkmair, artist.
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The British Museum - Jost de NegkerFacts about Jost de Negker, wood-cutter and printer in charge of block-cutting and printing projects for Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor.
About The Wise/White King (circa 1515)
Known in German as Der Weisskunig, The White King (or otherwise translated as The Wise King due to the dual meaning of the German word weiss) was a biographical account of the life of Emperor Maximilian I that was embellished to exalt Maximilian’s lineage, intellect and achievements, as well as to promote him as a prophetic future “Emperor of Peace”. Considered by some sources to be more of a courtly romance novel than a true biography, the fictionalized biography depicts Maximlian I as a White King contesting the Blue King, representing Maximilian’s rival, the King of France.
Based on initial dictations by Maximilian I, the work is often credited to Maximillian’s secretary, Marx Treitz-Sauerwein as Maximilian died before the work could be completed. The initial proofs were completed in 1514 and 1516, but the book was not published until the original woodblocks were rediscovered in 1775 and printed by Hoffstätter in Vienna. Two hundred and thirty six woodcut illustrations make-up the work, credited to artists named Hans Burgkmair, Leonhard Beck, Hans Schäufelein, and Hans Springinklee. Some sources credit Jost de Negker, as the overall publisher of the work who was working to have the piece completed initially, before the project was canceled.
Interestingly, compared to the use of paintings and tapestry which might be expected of contemporary royal families of the time period for similar purposes, Maximilian’s attempt to use printing and woodcuts is notable for being a cheaper alternative. It is believed that Maximilian lacked the funding for more expensive alternatives at the time, and may have been interested in the ability of printing and woodcuts to quickly circulate numerous copies of the work to members of his court. The project of The White King helped to elevate the careers of the artists involved, along with other wood cut and printing projects initiated by Maximilian I to promote himself and his reign.
The woodcut print in the Tatler-Burgess Medieval Manuscript Collection depicts hunters with crossbows pursuing game with support from serfs using spears, and the woodcut is credited to Hans Burgkmair.
A member of the Hapsburg family, Maximilian I was instrumental in positioning himself and his family as a dominant force in European politics during the 16th century, extending his initial power beyond Austria and the Holy Roman Empire, to include control over the Netherlands, and Spain, with significant influence in Hungary and Bohemia. Maximilian I is known for his wars with France, often fought over holdings in Italy. Maximilian I would be succeeded by his grandson, Charles V, who famously abdicated as Holy Roman Emperor in 1556, and Philip II, the famous King of Spain who married Mary I, Queen of England, and sent the Spanish Armada against Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1588.
Hans Burgkmair the Elder (1473-1531)
By Lukas Furtenagel - Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Bilddatenbank., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4760895
A painter, printmaker, and woodcut designed. Burgkmair was considered one of the most desirable artists in Augsburg, Germany in the 16th century. Trained by his father, painter Thomas Burgkmair, and apprenticed to Martin Schongauer, he spent time in Colmar, in modern-day France, and Italy, but worked primarily for emperor Maximilian I from form around 1508 to 1519, during which he contributed to numerous projects including Genealogy of the Habsburgs (1509-1511), The White King (1514-1516), and the Triumphal Procession (1516-1518).
Burgkmair is notable for attempting to develop color printing methods with printer Jost de Negker.
Jost de Negker (1485-1548)
Lovers Surprised by Death by Hans Burgkmair cut by de Negker, 1510, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5641485
A publisher and woodcutter who is known to have worked in Antwerp, Belgium around the early 1500s. Negker moved to Augsburg and was put in charge of Emperor Maximilian I’s block-cutting publication projects.
