CHAPTER XThe Houses, Wells, and Bridges

Dat vitrum vitreo Jonæ vitrum ipse LutherusUt vitro fragili similem se noscat uterque.

Then, beautifully written and illuminated, there is a breviary (1350?) of an English Queen with the inscription:—

La Liver du Roy de France CharlesDone a Madame la Roigne D’engleterre.

Among the early printed books is a copy of the “Rationale Durandi” (1459, Mainz), of “Boccaccio” (1472, Mantoni), and of the “Florentine Homer” (1488).

Matthäus Landauer’s Almshouse—Landauer’sche Zwölfbrüderhaus (east end of Ægidien Platz) has frequently been mentioned. The almshouse has now been turned into a school of technical design, but the chapel (1502) will repay a visit. The roof, supported by two spiral columns, has the cone-shaped pendants of the contemporary English style, very exceptional in Germany. It was for this church that Durer painted his All Saints’ picture, now at Vienna.

There were many foundations, in the old days, for the relief of the sick and needy. Amongst others were two houses for waifs and strays, founded no one knows by whom. They were transferred later to the Barfüsser Kloster. In connection with this institution a charming annual procession takes place. One charitable lady, Elizabetha Krauss, left in 1639 a sum of money to provide the children with a good dinner on St. John’s Day. In grateful memory the children always go on that occasion to the St. Rochus Churchyard. On their way they must pass the corner house near the Karlsbrücke. On that house is the statue of a youth, busily engaged in pounding with pestle and mortar. People say this figure represents the apprentice of an apothecary who once lived there. And because the apprentice ran away from his work to gaze at the procession of children, who clad in red andwhite, and, roses themselves, crowned with garlands of roses were wending their way hand in hand to the tomb of their benefactress, his master grew so angry that he killed the lad.

It is in the churchyard of

St. Rochus

that Peter Vischer (90) lies buried (Rothenburger Strasse). In the church itself are some paintings after Durer, some altar-pieces by Veit Stoss (?), and some glass by Veit Hirschvogel. But the chief burial-place of Nuremberg from the sixteenth century, and one of the most peculiar and impressive spots of the town, is theChurchyard of St. John. For this has been the burial-place of the Nuremberg patricians from generation unto generation, ever since in 1517 the Council decreed that everybody, with the exception of the clergy, must be buried in St. John’s Churchyard, and no longer in the churches within the town. Such a wise measure of compulsory extramural interment must have been almost without parallel at that time.

The route to this churchyard the reader already knows, for it lies along Burgschmietstrasse, along that road to Calvary marked by Ketzel’s pious Stations of the Cross (see p.200).

A low walk and pillared gateway, over whose broken pediment the willow bends mournfully, mark this place of tombs. The churchyard is sprinkled with trees: to the south, the shadows of a thicker fringe of branches deepen the natural solemnity of the place. It is here that the mighty dead of the White City are sleeping the sleep that knows no waking; but, as we seek the graves of Durer, Sachs, or Pirkheimer, we pass along the rows of flat tombstones quietly, with hushed voices and reverent steps, as if dreading to disturbeven the silence of their inviolable repose.[64]On every side of us are emblems of the past glory and pride of Nuremberg. There are no headstones to the tombs, but every slab, in high relief of imperishable bronze fashioned by the skill of the most distinguished artists,[65]bears the coats-of-arms and devices of the civic noble who moulders beneath. What pomp of funeral processions must have ascended the steep from the city, year by year, through that gateway, to convey another, and yet another, wealthy burgher from the busy scenes of commerce and office, to the silent abodes of the dead! Poets and artists, too, as well as patricians, lie here; and the indistinguishable dust of the famous and infamous, of rich and poor, known and unknown, old and young mingles in this still churchyard of St. John.

“Golden lads and girls all must,As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.”

We feel the pathos, the pity of it, as we stand here and read the message of the tombstones; but even more clearly does St. John’s Churchyard suggest that other mood:—

“Hark! how the sacred calm that breathes aroundBids ev’ry fierce tumultuous passion cease;In still small accents whispering from the groundA grateful earnest of eternal peace.”

EVERY other house in Nuremberg, whether in the narrow and crooked side streets, or in the busy thoroughfares, is, as it were, a leaf from some mediæval chronicle. Here, in the Hirschelgasse or the Ægidien Platz, we read the story of some rich merchant prince, returning from Venice or from Palestine, eager to spend some of the fruits of his emprise in the decoration of his house, according to the style of the country which had fascinated him in his travels. There, in the Tetzel-or the Schild-Gasse, we read in the overhanging upper stories the desire of the architect in this crowded mediæval city to utilise every foot of available space, and the device is revealed to us which he adopted when the Council forbade the projection of the ground floor into the street. And those statues of Saints and Madonnas, which still stand in their niches at the corners of so many houses, those reliefs by Adam Krafft or other artists, which adorn the mansions of the great with the story of Christ and His followers, are they not eloquent, in the very lack of variety displayed in the choice of subjects, of the simple child-like faith of the Middle Ages, ever ready to hear once more the story of the Redeemer’s suffering for the sake of man who had sinned?

From the varying height, breadth, and styles of the houses the streets of Nuremberg gain the mediæval charm of irregularity. There is the usual happy

HOUSE ON THE PEGNITZHOUSE ON THE PEGNITZ

avoidance of the straight lines which render modern towns so unattractive. The general character of the red-tiled houses here is lofty, with high-peaked gables and frequently with oriel windows. The ornamentation is lavish and smacks of the Renaissance. Especially is this noticeable in the courts within. For even where the front of a house may seem narrow and almost insignificant, on entering it you frequently find a large quadrangle, with open winding staircases andbroad, projecting balconies, highly ornamented, which carry back to the street behind.

I mention here a few of the more notable houses, to some of which reference has already been made.

Albrecht Dürer Haus, corner of Albrecht Dürer Strasse.Albrecht Dürer Birthplace, 20 Winklerstrasse.Anton Koberger Haus, Ægidien Platz. Opposite the statue of Melanchthon.Martin Behaim Haus, next door to the above. Here the famous globe of the navigator is kept.Peller (now Fuchs) Haus, Ægidien Platz. Recently restored.Willibald Pirkheimer, 35 Ægidien Platz.Hans Sachs Haus, Hans Sachs Gasse.Hieronymus Paumgärtner Haus, 23 Theresien Strasse. The relief, St. George and the dragon, is probably an early work by Adam Krafft.Krafft (formerly Pfinzing) Haus, 7 Theresien Strasse.Fembo Haus, Burgstrasse. (Opposite the Library.)Scheurl Haus, Burgstrasse. This house contains the room in which Maximilian I. stayed, carefully preserved.Topler, now Petersen Haus, Panierplatz.Tucher Haus, 9 Hirschelgasse.Rupprecht Haus, next to the above.Volkamer Haus, 19 Hauptmarkt.Grundherr (Zum goldenen Schild) Haus, Schildgasse. Where the Golden Bull was drawn up.Nassauer Haus, corner of Karolinenstrasse.Peter Vischer Haus, Peter Vischer Strasse.Palm Haus, 29 Winklerstrasse. This is the house of the bookseller Palm, who was shot by Bonaparte for publishing a pamphlet against him.Imhoff Haus, Tucherstrasse.Ketzel Haus (Pilatushaus), Thiergärtnerthorplatz.Glossner Haus, Adlerstrasse.Grundherr Haus, 1585 (now the Bairischer Hof Karlsstrasse).

Albrecht Dürer Haus, corner of Albrecht Dürer Strasse.

Albrecht Dürer Birthplace, 20 Winklerstrasse.

Anton Koberger Haus, Ægidien Platz. Opposite the statue of Melanchthon.

Martin Behaim Haus, next door to the above. Here the famous globe of the navigator is kept.

Peller (now Fuchs) Haus, Ægidien Platz. Recently restored.

Willibald Pirkheimer, 35 Ægidien Platz.

Hans Sachs Haus, Hans Sachs Gasse.

Hieronymus Paumgärtner Haus, 23 Theresien Strasse. The relief, St. George and the dragon, is probably an early work by Adam Krafft.

Krafft (formerly Pfinzing) Haus, 7 Theresien Strasse.

Fembo Haus, Burgstrasse. (Opposite the Library.)

Scheurl Haus, Burgstrasse. This house contains the room in which Maximilian I. stayed, carefully preserved.

Topler, now Petersen Haus, Panierplatz.

Tucher Haus, 9 Hirschelgasse.

Rupprecht Haus, next to the above.

Volkamer Haus, 19 Hauptmarkt.

Grundherr (Zum goldenen Schild) Haus, Schildgasse. Where the Golden Bull was drawn up.

Nassauer Haus, corner of Karolinenstrasse.

Peter Vischer Haus, Peter Vischer Strasse.

Palm Haus, 29 Winklerstrasse. This is the house of the bookseller Palm, who was shot by Bonaparte for publishing a pamphlet against him.

Imhoff Haus, Tucherstrasse.

Ketzel Haus (Pilatushaus), Thiergärtnerthorplatz.

Glossner Haus, Adlerstrasse.

Grundherr Haus, 1585 (now the Bairischer Hof Karlsstrasse).

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“Manch edles Brünnlein strömt darinAus goldnen Röhren schnell dahin.”

So wrote Hans Sachs in his poem in praise of his native town. And indeed the wells and fountains here are as characteristic though not of course so beautiful as the well-heads of Venice. Far the most important of them is the so-called Beautiful Fountain (Der Schöne Brunnen) in the corner of the Haupt Markt, near the Rathaus. It is in the shape of an octagonal Gothic spire. The construction of it is usually spoken of as contemporaneous with that of the Frauenkirche and the design is likewise attributed to Sebald Schonhofer. But recent researches have shown that it was not built till the years 1385-1396, and that one Heinrich der Palier, or der Parlierer, as he is commonly named in the City Accounts, had the building of it. No doubt he was very much under the influence of Schonhofer, and very likely he may have been his pupil. So much may be gathered from the similarity of the ornamentation on the Frauenkirche and the Beautiful Fountain. In old days, as we have seen, the well was richly painted and gilded. But this is no longer the case. It was carefully restored in great part in 1824 and again at this moment further restoration is in contemplation.

The iron railing which surrounds the fountain was made by Paul Köhn (1586). Curious funnels on levers are used for drawing the water, and they remind one irresistibly of thatreductio ad absurdumof the Meistersingers’ Guilds, Harsdörfer’s “Nuremberg funnel” for pouring in poetry (p. 218).

FLEISCHBRÜCKEFLEISCHBRÜCKE

The Beautiful Fountain is a niched and tabernacled monument of stone, over 60 feet high, tapering at intervals to a pinnacle. The niches in the pillars of the lower compartment contain statues of the seven Electors and of nine heroes, the Christian Charlemagne, Godfrey of Bouillon and Cloris, the Jewish Judas Maccabæus, Joshua and David, and the Pagan Julius Cæsar, Alexander the Great and Hector. Above, in the second division, are Moses and the seven Prophets.

The water of this well has the reputation of being remarkably good. Formerly, even more than at present, the Beautiful Fountain was the very centre of Nuremberg life. At the well, as in the days of Abraham, lovers met and the gossips talked, waiting their turn to fill their long, copper pitchers. To-day, too, the Beautiful Fountain is a household word, and parents explain to their too inquisitive children, when they ask how their new baby brother arrived—“Es ist ein Geschenk von dem Schönen Brunnen!”

Of the other fountains we may enumerate the “Gänsemännchen” in the Obstmarkt and the dainty well in the Town Hall courtyard by Pankraz Labenwolf (1553). The son-in-law of Labenwolf, Benedict Wurzelbauer designed the Tugend Brunnen, or Virtue Fountain, which stands at the north-west corner of the St. Lorenzkirche. This was in 1589 when German art was already becoming decadent and mannered. Then in 1687, to celebrate the victory over the Turks at Siklos the “Wasserspeier” was erected in the Maxplatz. It was copied by Bromig from Bernini’s original at Rome. Lastly in the Plärrer, opposite the Spittler Thor, is the “Kunstbrunnen”—which commemorates the opening of the first railway in Germany, between Nuremberg and Fürth.

The bridges, of which over a dozen span the Pegnitz in its course through the town, must once have addedgreatly to the picturesqueness of the place. But the Pegnitz is liable to sudden and violent spates which have continually swept away the old bridges. The modern ones cannot boast of any great inherent beauty. The Fleischbrücke, indeed, was built by Peter Carl it is said on the model of the Rialto. But it requires a kindly imagination or a bad memory to admit any comparison between the two.

Over a gateway near this bridge will be found the figure of a large bull, with the inscription—

[66]“Omnia habent ortus suaque incrementa, sed, ecce!Quem cernis numquam bos fuit hic vitulus.”

Town mottoes of this kind were common enough in the old days. A quaint example is that which was inscribed over an entrance of the city of Arras in Belgium. Originally it ran—Les François prendront Arras, lorsque ce chat prendra le rat. When the French had taken the town in 1640 they erased the letterpinprendrontand thus cunningly caused the inscription to read in their favour.

(Entrance in the Vordere Karthäusergasse. Open 10-1A.M.and 2-4.30P.M.summer, 2-4P.M.winter. Fee, 1 mark. Free Sundays, and in winter also on Wednesdays. Sticks, etc., must be left in the entrance hall (10 pfennige). Full catalogue (German) 50 pfennige. Certain sections of the Museum, including the collections of prints, seals, medals, tapestry, records and the Library, are reserved for the use of students and artists. The visitor who wishes to study any of these magnificent collections must apply to the director of the particular department.)

THE Museum, which owes its inception to the generosity of Freiherr Hans von Aufsess, and its development to the imperial and municipal co-operation of united Germany, has found a home in the old Carthusian Monastery and Church.

It was in 1380 that Marquard Mendel, a scion of a rich and distinguished Nuremberg patrician family, founded a monastery for the most severe of the ecclesiastical orders on a spot outside the then town-wall. The foundation stone of the Carthusian Church, was laid in the presence of King Wenzel in the following year.

The pious founder took the vows of the order he had thus encouraged, and he lived in a cell of the monastery. The services in the church were so popular that to accommodate the crowds of people who thronged there Konrad Mendel, brother of Marquard, founded an additional chapel—the MendelChapel, in 1387. It is now used as a fire-station. Opposite this chapel Konrad also founded an almshouse for twelve destitute citizens. It is still marked by the statue of one of the former inmates.

The prior and most of the monks adopted the Evangelical creed in 1525 and the rich monastery became the property of the town. Both the church and the monastery were for a long while used for very profane purposes until at last in 1856 they were utilised as a storehouse for the Museum. Then in 1873 the old Augustinian Monastery was removed and re-erected as an additional part of the Museum.

So vast and varied is the collection of interesting objects here and so careful and elaborate is the German catalogue that it is at once impossible and unnecessary for me to give an exhaustive account.

The following notes are intended to serve rather as an index than as a complete guide to the treasures of the Museum; but they make more particular mention of things that may prove interesting to those who care for the “Story of Nuremberg.”

The various sections of the Museum though called after their original architectural purpose—Saal, Halle, Kreuzgang, Kirche, Lichthofgang, etc., are usually numbered consecutively as if they were all rooms of the same type.The entrance hall leads into the cloisters of the old monastery (walls decorated with Nuremberg heraldry). The first portion of the cloister contains an historical collection of monuments (mostly casts) arranged chronologically.

The entrance hall leads into the cloisters of the old monastery (walls decorated with Nuremberg heraldry). The first portion of the cloister contains an historical collection of monuments (mostly casts) arranged chronologically.

ROOM1 (on left).

Ceiling ornamented with the arms of the towns which under the old Empire belonged to princes and bishops. Weapons and implements of the stone age.

ROOM2.

Bronze weapons and implements. Coins.

ROOMS3-7.

Roman antiquities found in Germany and German antiquities from fourth to tenth centuries. The exquisite German gold and metal-work of the Charlemagne period seems to foreshadow the work of the great Nuremberg goldsmiths.

ROOM8.

Latest acquisitions of the Museum.

ROOMS10-13.

A very fine collection of characteristic stoves and tiles. The latter, used for covering the walls and floors, took the place of mosaics and are ornamented with leaf-work, stars, rosettes, coats-of-arms or grotesques. The tiles of the stoves, which should be compared with those in the Castle and the Rathaus, were made, in the fifteenth century, to represent chiefly mythological subjects, whilst the seventeenth-century ones betray, as we should expect, Italian influence. A green stove with concave plates (Room 12) and an eighteenth-century rococco specimen (Room 13), from the house of the Löffelholz family are remarkable.

ROOMS14, 15.

contain some beautiful examples of the locksmith’s art; locks, keys, hinges, knockers, and knocker plates, exquisite in workmanship and in design. We have here a real lesson in ironwork, a perfect education in hinges.

ROOM16.

is the Wilhelms-halle, so-called after Emperor Wilhelm I. It contains a window given by him in 1860, when he was still only King of Prussia. Passing by this and the Hohenzollern-halle opposite and going down the Ludwigsgang, built by the aid of Ludwig of Bavaria (1870) we come to the Reichs-hof, a court (left) in which stands a gigantic cast of the Roland in the market-place of Bremen. Rooms 18-25 are called the Victoria and Friedrich Wilhelm buildings. (More tombs and casts.) On the right of the corridor (Room 26) there now begins a very interesting collection of stained glass which is arranged chronologically. (Twelfth to sixteenth-century glass here.)

ROOMS27, 28.

The old Refectory of the monks serves now as the home for a collection of German and Italian pottery, majolica andfaience, porcelain, glass and stoneware. (German faience, first half of sixteenth century. Augustin Hirschvogel and Nuremberg work, Room 27, cabinets 9 and 16.) Pewter work, end of sixteenth century, by Kaspar Endterlein (Room 28, cabinets 4, 5). English Wedgewood (cabinet 6).

ROOM29 (Cloister).

Bronze epitaphs from Nuremberg tombstones (cf.St. John’s Churchyard).

ROOM32 (Kirche)

is the old monastic church. It is filled with mediæval church utensils (ninth to fifteenth century), amongst which we may mention the silver casket in which the Imperial insignia used (p. 51) to be hung in the Spital-kirche, and with 150 original examples of plastic work, carvings and sculptures (thirteenth to sixteenth century). The majority of these have no great artistic merit though they have great interest for the student of German art. They represent the period when painting was not yet regarded as a separate art but as the accessory, the handmaiden of sculpture. In the beginning images of Madonnas and Saints were carved and painted; then, first of all on the wings of altar-pieces, and afterwards throughout, the painter took the place of the carver or sculptor. The process is clearly demonstrated in this collection.I can only call attention to the following:—Cabinet 6, six apostles in a sitting posture, excellent examples of Nuremberg plastic work (burnt clay) at the end of the fourteenth century.Over the north-west door St. Anna, Madonna and Child, by Michel Wolgemut (1510?). The Nuremberg landscape background is noteworthy. The picture has the appearance of having been recently retouched. Various works of the Nuremberg School and the Pacher School of carving (late fifteenth century), are ranged along the south and north walls. The large fresco Visit of Emperor Otho III. to the tomb of Charlemagne, is by W. von Kaulbach, and was bequeathed by that painter to the Museum. But the gem of the whole collection is the

I can only call attention to the following:—Cabinet 6, six apostles in a sitting posture, excellent examples of Nuremberg plastic work (burnt clay) at the end of the fourteenth century.

Over the north-west door St. Anna, Madonna and Child, by Michel Wolgemut (1510?). The Nuremberg landscape background is noteworthy. The picture has the appearance of having been recently retouched. Various works of the Nuremberg School and the Pacher School of carving (late fifteenth century), are ranged along the south and north walls. The large fresco Visit of Emperor Otho III. to the tomb of Charlemagne, is by W. von Kaulbach, and was bequeathed by that painter to the Museum. But the gem of the whole collection is the

Nuremberg Madonna.

It stands at the back of an early sixteenth-century altar-piece of the Swabian School, facing the tombstone (1592) of Georg Ludwig von Seinsheim. No second glance is required to assure us that we have here not only thechef d’æuvreof

NUREMBERG MADONNANUREMBERG MADONNA

Nuremberg carving, but also one of the works of art of all time. And yet the name of the master is unknown, and the very date of the work is a matter of dispute. Clearly the beautiful female figure of this sorrowing Mary, this praying Madonna, as she is called (trauende, betende Maria), once formed one of a group, and stood facing St. John at the foot of the Cross, gazing upwards in that bitter grief which is beyond the expression and abandonment of tears. Who can that artist have been who could select that pose of the head, that poise of the limbs, who could carve those robes, which in purity and flow have never been surpassed in German art, and who could express in the suppliant hands such poignant emotion?Man weiss nicht!And whose touch was so delicate, that with his chisel he could stamp on the upturned face those mingled feelings of sorrow so supreme, yearning so intense, love so human, hope so divine? For all this we can read there still, even through the grey-green coat of paint which certainly had no place in the original intentions of the artist.Man weiss nicht!But this much one may hazard—that it was some German artist, touched by the spirit of the Italian Renaissance till he rose to heights of artistic performance elsewhere never attained by him, and scarcely ever approached by his fellows.[67]At the end of the choir is the High Altar-piece from Hersbruck, with figures of Mary and the four Fathers of the Church, from the workshop of Wolgemut, who painted the wings once attached to it. This is a good example of Nuremberg work of the kind, with its good and bad points, towards the end of the fifteenth century. On the reverse of this altar-piece is a sadly-faded church banner, richly painted. Figures of Christ, SS. Peter, and Sebald, in a rich Renaissance border, attributed to Albert Durer.

At the end of the choir is the High Altar-piece from Hersbruck, with figures of Mary and the four Fathers of the Church, from the workshop of Wolgemut, who painted the wings once attached to it. This is a good example of Nuremberg work of the kind, with its good and bad points, towards the end of the fifteenth century. On the reverse of this altar-piece is a sadly-faded church banner, richly painted. Figures of Christ, SS. Peter, and Sebald, in a rich Renaissance border, attributed to Albert Durer.

ROOM33 (Kapelle)

is the old Sacristy on the north side of the church. There are several interesting carvings here, chief of which is the ROSARY (Rosenkranztafel), Judgment-scene, and crowning of Mary, attributed to Veit Stoss. Amongst other important works attributed to, or actually by him, is the frame of Durer’s great Allerheiligen picture (see p.193).There is also here the original wood model of Labenwolf’s familiar “Gooseman” fountain, and a picture of a meeting of the Meistersingers (with Hans Sachs). Winding steps lead up from this chapel to the Volkamer Chapel above.

There is also here the original wood model of Labenwolf’s familiar “Gooseman” fountain, and a picture of a meeting of the Meistersingers (with Hans Sachs). Winding steps lead up from this chapel to the Volkamer Chapel above.

ROOM34

is the chapel on the south side of the church. Church utensils, etc., and in the choir arch an iron painted chandelier, dedicated by the son of Martin Behaim, the navigator, in memory of his father.

ROOM35.

Mediæval furniture, household articles, beds, and doors with splendid ironwork and hinges. Turn (left) down corridor 26 till you come to (right)

ROOM36.

The coloured portal is a remarkable piece of late romanesque work, and was once the doorway of the Refectory of the monastery at Heilsbronn. More stoves and furniture.

ROOMS37-45.

Carved woodwork. Room 45, cabinets and tapestry. Goldsmiths’ works. Magnificent bedstead of ebony and alabaster (Nuremberg). Turn (left) down corridors 46-48. Historical collection of tombs and stained glass continued.

ROOMS49-51, and 52 (above).

Guns and weapons from eleventh century. Chased armour.

ROOM53 (above).

Costumes. Heraldic ceiling.Hence down the open spiral staircase, past the bear-pit, to

Costumes. Heraldic ceiling.

Hence down the open spiral staircase, past the bear-pit, to

ROOM54.

Cannons, fourteenth to nineteenth century.

ROOM55.

Torture instruments and guillotine (end of eighteenth century).From this point a small staircase in the corner of the cloisters (Room 55) leads to Room 56, containing some interesting examples of early book-bindings. Passing through this room, and turning to the left, we arrive at

Torture instruments and guillotine (end of eighteenth century).

From this point a small staircase in the corner of the cloisters (Room 55) leads to Room 56, containing some interesting examples of early book-bindings. Passing through this room, and turning to the left, we arrive at

ROOMS57-58,

where we have before our eyes the development of manuscripts, engraving and printing from the beginning of the eighth century. The first room contains many documents and charters, manuscripts, autographs, and illuminations. Besides these there are many sketches, architectural drawings and designs, chiefly heraldic, for works of art. Here, too, is a noticeable collection of wood-engravings, including manyfine leaves by Durer (Apocalypse, Passions, Life of Mary), Lucas Cranach, Hans Burgkmair, Grien, Schäuffelein, etc., and of copper-engravings[68]by Durer, Lucas van Leyden, Aldegrever, Altdorfer, Augustin Hirschvogel, etc.In the next room we enter the region of printed books, and find a well-arranged and delightful collection. In case i., among other examples of the early “Block books” (books printed wholly from carved blocks of wood, from which undoubtedly the idea of moveable type arose), we note theArs Moriendiand theKalendar of Ludwig von Basel(1460?). Of Block books at Nuremberg, we may note that Hans Sporer produced here an edition of theEndkrist(1472), of theArs Moriendi, 1473, and of theBiblia Pauperum(1475).The first two books to be printed from moveable type were two Latin Bibles (circ.1453). Of these, one is known as the thirty-six line, or Bamberg Bible. It was printed by Gutenberg, and is represented in the Museum by two leaves only (case i.). The other is known as the Forty-two line, or Mazarine Bible. It was printed by Gutenberg, in partnership with Fust and Schöffer, and is represented here by one leaf (case ii.). One leaf, too, is all there is here to tell of the 1457Psalter, with the wonderful capital letters printed by Fust and Schöffer. The extraordinary beauty and perfection of printing in its infancy can never fail to arrest attention. The explanation is obvious. It was not till the scribes, with whom printers had at first to compete in the multiplication of books, had ceased to exist that printers could afford to be careless in their work and indifferent in their choice of types.Then there are the three books ascribed to Gutenberg’s press about the year 1460—(1) TheTractatus racionis et conscientiæof Matthæus de Cracovia;(2) TheSumma de articulis fideiof Thomas Aquinas; and(3) TheCatholicon.TheCatholicontype appears again in the Latin-German dictionary known as theVocabularius ex quo, the second edition of which, published by Nikolaus Bechtermünze at Eltvil, is here represented.Copies of the first fourteen German Bibles (1466, etc.), with the exception of the second and seventh, will befound in the various cases (iv., v., vii., ix., etc.), and the original editions of Luther’s Bible (1523-4) and other writings of his in case xxii. The first German Bible to be printed in Nuremberg (actually the fourth German Bible) was published by Frisner and Sensenschmid, 1473(?), case vii. Illustrations, it will be observed, are introduced into the large initial letters. It was Johann Sensenschmid (“the type-cutter”) who, with the aid of Heinrich Keffer of Mainz, a pupil of Gutenberg, first introduced the art of printing into the town (Franciscus de Retza,Comestorium vitiorium, 1470, case vii.). Then in 1471 Johann Müller, or Regiomontanus, as he called himself, came with the object of establishing a private printing press, in order to issue his own works here. He printed his German and Latin Calendar from blocks, and various mathematical works from moveable types. But Anton Koberger[69](1473-1513) was the greatest printer of Nuremberg. To the zeal with which he produced woodcut illustrations for his great works, theSchatzbehalterand theHartmann Schedels Weltchronik(cases xiii., xiv.), the growth of the Nuremberg school of engraving is due. Another famous Nuremberg printer closely connected in business with Koberger[70]was Friedrich Creussner, who printed the first German edition of “Marcho Polo, das puch von mangerley wunder der landt vnd lewt” in 1477 (case xii.). In case xix. we find a unique copy of Hans Schmuttermeyer von Nürnberg,Fialenbüchlein, and also theNürnberger Heiligtumsbüchlein, published by Hans Mair, 1493. TheQuatuor libri amorumof Conrad Celtes, poet and humanist, was published at Nuremberg, 1502, with woodcuts after Durer (case xxi.). Durer’s writings on theProportions of the Human Frame, onPerspective,MeasurementsandFortificationfigure in case xxiii., in which also the large coloured woodcuts of the “Abbildung der dreiundzwanzig vom schwäbischen Bunde im Jahre 1523 verbrannten fränkischen Raubschlösser,” published at Nuremberg by Hans Wandereisen, are conspicuous. To Nuremberg also was vouchsafed the honourof publishing Melchior Pfinzing’sTheuerdank(1517),[71]although it would appear to have been printed by Hans Schönsperger at Augsburg from the handsome type (scarcely improved by the tremendous flourishes) specially cut by Jost Dienecker of Antwerp. It was adorned with over a hundred illustrations—hunting scenes and knightly conflicts—by Hans Schäuffelein, Burgkmair and others. A copy of the second, 1519, edition may be seen in case xxii.After the death of Koberger, illustrated books in Nuremberg came chiefly from the presses of Jobst Gutknecht and Peypus. Other printers here were:—Conrad Zeninger, 1480-1482.Fratres Vitæ Communis, 1479-1491.Georg Stuchs, 1484-1515.Johann Petrejus, 1526-1550.Alexander Kaufmann (Greek types).Konrad Bauer, 1601.Polyglot Bible.Leonhard Heussler, 1596. Joachim Lochner’sChronicle.Endter, 1668. Fugger’sÖsterreichischer Ehrenspiegel(case xxviii.).In this case also is Grimmelshausen’sSimplicissimus(Nuremberg, 1685). In the next case (xxix.) is a copy of the pamphlet “Deutschland in seiner tiefen Erniederung,” 1806, which occasioned the execution of the publisher Palm (see p.269), “who fell a victim to the tyranny of Napoleon.”Near this case are two old printing presses, and in case xxx. are the bust, some manuscripts, and the collected works of Hans Sachs the cobbler-poet.

In the next room we enter the region of printed books, and find a well-arranged and delightful collection. In case i., among other examples of the early “Block books” (books printed wholly from carved blocks of wood, from which undoubtedly the idea of moveable type arose), we note theArs Moriendiand theKalendar of Ludwig von Basel(1460?). Of Block books at Nuremberg, we may note that Hans Sporer produced here an edition of theEndkrist(1472), of theArs Moriendi, 1473, and of theBiblia Pauperum(1475).

The first two books to be printed from moveable type were two Latin Bibles (circ.1453). Of these, one is known as the thirty-six line, or Bamberg Bible. It was printed by Gutenberg, and is represented in the Museum by two leaves only (case i.). The other is known as the Forty-two line, or Mazarine Bible. It was printed by Gutenberg, in partnership with Fust and Schöffer, and is represented here by one leaf (case ii.). One leaf, too, is all there is here to tell of the 1457Psalter, with the wonderful capital letters printed by Fust and Schöffer. The extraordinary beauty and perfection of printing in its infancy can never fail to arrest attention. The explanation is obvious. It was not till the scribes, with whom printers had at first to compete in the multiplication of books, had ceased to exist that printers could afford to be careless in their work and indifferent in their choice of types.

Then there are the three books ascribed to Gutenberg’s press about the year 1460—

(1) TheTractatus racionis et conscientiæof Matthæus de Cracovia;(2) TheSumma de articulis fideiof Thomas Aquinas; and(3) TheCatholicon.

(1) TheTractatus racionis et conscientiæof Matthæus de Cracovia;

(2) TheSumma de articulis fideiof Thomas Aquinas; and

(3) TheCatholicon.

TheCatholicontype appears again in the Latin-German dictionary known as theVocabularius ex quo, the second edition of which, published by Nikolaus Bechtermünze at Eltvil, is here represented.

Copies of the first fourteen German Bibles (1466, etc.), with the exception of the second and seventh, will befound in the various cases (iv., v., vii., ix., etc.), and the original editions of Luther’s Bible (1523-4) and other writings of his in case xxii. The first German Bible to be printed in Nuremberg (actually the fourth German Bible) was published by Frisner and Sensenschmid, 1473(?), case vii. Illustrations, it will be observed, are introduced into the large initial letters. It was Johann Sensenschmid (“the type-cutter”) who, with the aid of Heinrich Keffer of Mainz, a pupil of Gutenberg, first introduced the art of printing into the town (Franciscus de Retza,Comestorium vitiorium, 1470, case vii.). Then in 1471 Johann Müller, or Regiomontanus, as he called himself, came with the object of establishing a private printing press, in order to issue his own works here. He printed his German and Latin Calendar from blocks, and various mathematical works from moveable types. But Anton Koberger[69](1473-1513) was the greatest printer of Nuremberg. To the zeal with which he produced woodcut illustrations for his great works, theSchatzbehalterand theHartmann Schedels Weltchronik(cases xiii., xiv.), the growth of the Nuremberg school of engraving is due. Another famous Nuremberg printer closely connected in business with Koberger[70]was Friedrich Creussner, who printed the first German edition of “Marcho Polo, das puch von mangerley wunder der landt vnd lewt” in 1477 (case xii.). In case xix. we find a unique copy of Hans Schmuttermeyer von Nürnberg,Fialenbüchlein, and also theNürnberger Heiligtumsbüchlein, published by Hans Mair, 1493. TheQuatuor libri amorumof Conrad Celtes, poet and humanist, was published at Nuremberg, 1502, with woodcuts after Durer (case xxi.). Durer’s writings on theProportions of the Human Frame, onPerspective,MeasurementsandFortificationfigure in case xxiii., in which also the large coloured woodcuts of the “Abbildung der dreiundzwanzig vom schwäbischen Bunde im Jahre 1523 verbrannten fränkischen Raubschlösser,” published at Nuremberg by Hans Wandereisen, are conspicuous. To Nuremberg also was vouchsafed the honourof publishing Melchior Pfinzing’sTheuerdank(1517),[71]although it would appear to have been printed by Hans Schönsperger at Augsburg from the handsome type (scarcely improved by the tremendous flourishes) specially cut by Jost Dienecker of Antwerp. It was adorned with over a hundred illustrations—hunting scenes and knightly conflicts—by Hans Schäuffelein, Burgkmair and others. A copy of the second, 1519, edition may be seen in case xxii.

After the death of Koberger, illustrated books in Nuremberg came chiefly from the presses of Jobst Gutknecht and Peypus. Other printers here were:—

In this case also is Grimmelshausen’sSimplicissimus(Nuremberg, 1685). In the next case (xxix.) is a copy of the pamphlet “Deutschland in seiner tiefen Erniederung,” 1806, which occasioned the execution of the publisher Palm (see p.269), “who fell a victim to the tyranny of Napoleon.”

Near this case are two old printing presses, and in case xxx. are the bust, some manuscripts, and the collected works of Hans Sachs the cobbler-poet.

ROOM59.

Ship models, etc.

ROOM60 (gallery of the Church).

Old weights and scales.

ROOM61.

Scientific instruments, dials, early watches and watch-cocks. Durer’s Reissfeder. Regiomontanus’ astronomical instruments.

ROOMS62-66.

Old drugs and drug-stores, etc. The old apothecary’s shop, decorated with crocodiles and so forth, suggests the familiar scene in Romeo and Juliet.

ROOMS67-68.

Technical models, globes, maps, etc.

ROOM70.

Banners of old Nuremberg guilds, signs of inns, trade-marks, etc.

ROOM70A.

Early Nuremberg toys, dolls’ houses, etc. We now come to the

Picture Gallery,

which, if not of great size or of first-rate importance, is eminently interesting to those who care to study the development of Nuremberg art. The pictures are unfortunately numbered and arranged in a somewhat eccentric fashion.In the small room on the right, as we enter Room 71, are some early pictures which would seem to be the forerunners of the system of epitaphs which obtained so largely in the later Middle Ages. Besides these there are two Byzantine pictures.The first two sections of Room 71 are taken up with some examples of the Rhenish and old Netherland School up to the end of the sixteenth century.To Meister Wilhelm of Cologne is attributed the charming Madonna with the pea-blossom (No. 7). Of the same school are Nos. 9, 10, and 17.Stephan Lockner, Nos. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.Rogier van der Weyden (copy), No. 20.Hugo van der Goes. Cardinal Bourbon. No. 19.The “Master of the Life of Mary.” Nos. 24, 25, 26.Jan Scorel. Two portraits. Nos. 50, 51.The “Master of the Death of Mary.” Nos. 63, 64, 65.Bartholomew Bruyns. No. 72.With the third section of this room begins the collection of Franconian and Nuremberg paintings. As I have already on more than one occasion sketched the characteristics of this school, it would be superfluous to add anything here. But perhaps one may be allowed to express the conviction that no one who studies these pictures will fail to be impressed by the comparative merits of Wolgemut, or go away without ranking the master of Durer higher in his estimation than he was wont to do before he came.The scenes from the Passion (No. 87), 1400, may be taken to represent the beginnings of the Franconian School of painting. No. 96 is the reverse of that Imhoff altar-piece in the Lorenzkirche with which we have already dealt at somelength (p. 249). No. 95—from the Frauenkirche—is an important picture of the same date (1430-40).The workshop of Pleydenwurff and Wolgemut is very well represented here. The admirable portrait of Kanonikus Schönborn (101), whose figure appears again in the Crucifixion (100) painted for him by the master, and SS. Thomas Aquinas and Dominicus (102, 103) are good examples of Hans Pleydenwurff at his best. Of the numerous pictures by Michel Wolgemut it will suffice to mention in particular the two portraits of old men so full of individuality (Hans Perckmeister and another, 119, 119A), and the Hallersche Epitaph (115), besides his masterpiece, the

In the small room on the right, as we enter Room 71, are some early pictures which would seem to be the forerunners of the system of epitaphs which obtained so largely in the later Middle Ages. Besides these there are two Byzantine pictures.

The first two sections of Room 71 are taken up with some examples of the Rhenish and old Netherland School up to the end of the sixteenth century.

To Meister Wilhelm of Cologne is attributed the charming Madonna with the pea-blossom (No. 7). Of the same school are Nos. 9, 10, and 17.

Stephan Lockner, Nos. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.

Rogier van der Weyden (copy), No. 20.

Hugo van der Goes. Cardinal Bourbon. No. 19.

The “Master of the Life of Mary.” Nos. 24, 25, 26.

Jan Scorel. Two portraits. Nos. 50, 51.

The “Master of the Death of Mary.” Nos. 63, 64, 65.

Bartholomew Bruyns. No. 72.

With the third section of this room begins the collection of Franconian and Nuremberg paintings. As I have already on more than one occasion sketched the characteristics of this school, it would be superfluous to add anything here. But perhaps one may be allowed to express the conviction that no one who studies these pictures will fail to be impressed by the comparative merits of Wolgemut, or go away without ranking the master of Durer higher in his estimation than he was wont to do before he came.

The scenes from the Passion (No. 87), 1400, may be taken to represent the beginnings of the Franconian School of painting. No. 96 is the reverse of that Imhoff altar-piece in the Lorenzkirche with which we have already dealt at somelength (p. 249). No. 95—from the Frauenkirche—is an important picture of the same date (1430-40).

The workshop of Pleydenwurff and Wolgemut is very well represented here. The admirable portrait of Kanonikus Schönborn (101), whose figure appears again in the Crucifixion (100) painted for him by the master, and SS. Thomas Aquinas and Dominicus (102, 103) are good examples of Hans Pleydenwurff at his best. Of the numerous pictures by Michel Wolgemut it will suffice to mention in particular the two portraits of old men so full of individuality (Hans Perckmeister and another, 119, 119A), and the Hallersche Epitaph (115), besides his masterpiece, the

Peringsdörffer Altar-piece

(107-110, Room 73; 113 and 114, Room 71, SS. Cosmos Damian, Magdalena, and Lucia). We have seen how Wolgemut usually allowed his assistants to help him in his pictures. The Peringsdörffer masterpiece (1488) was no exception; but in this at any rate the master’s own share was very considerable.The outer sides of the altar contain four pairs of Saints, male and female, standing on Gothic brackets—SS. Catherine and Barbara, Rosalia and Margaret, George and Sebald, John the Baptist and Nicholas. Here we have the most animated of Wolgemut’s female figures, the most vigorous and life-like of his men. The most notable faces,—finer even than that of the St. Sebald who stands like some great architect holding the model of his Church, or of the St. Nicholas, with his refined and critical countenance, are those of SS. John and George. The former turns upon us his keen and spiritual gaze, so that his great brown eyes seem to pierce the veil that bounds our earthly vision and to penetrate into the hidden depths of futurity; whilst the latter stands rigid, his every feature—powerful nose, firmly closed mouth, thin but not sunken cheeks—eloquent of a bold and earnest resolution.Incidents from the life of St. Vitus (Veit) and other saints form the subjects of the inner sides of the picture. Here again there is an inequality both of style and of excellence. The simple countenance of Mary, who holds on her knee a very animated Child, represents a type halfway between that of Rogier and that of Schongauer. The St. Luke, the character of whose head is well worked out, is attractive through his expression of earnestness. But there is far more dramatic power and “soul” in the scene from the legend of St. Bernard, according to which Christ came downfrom the Cross to his ardent worshipper. There the countenance of St. Bernard is made to exhibit a depth of feeling rarely to be found in Wolgemut; as if the artist’s imagination had indeed been lit by something of the glow of the Saint’s adoration.The St. Christopher, who is walking through the stream with the Christ-child on his shoulder, is rough to the point of ugliness, whilst in the landscape, which is beautifully executed, there is a most intimate charm.In the martyrdom of St. Sebastian, the Saint wears that almost inane expression which often does duty, however unintentionally, for the look of deep suffering in Wolgemut’s work. The guard, however, are pleasingly and vividly portrayed. Evidently they are akin to the rabble which is found in the scenes of the Passion in Schongauer’s works.But it is when we come to the scenes from the legend of St. Vitus that we seem to trace only the faintest signs of Wolgemut’s style. The composition here bears only a distant resemblance to his, and in the execution the assistant employed must surely have been he who painted the scene of St. Vitus denouncing the idols in the Lorenzkirche (see p.254), and whose initials are R. F.The pictures by Albrecht Durer in the Museum we have already mentioned (pp.188,193-9).(1)Hercules and the Stymphalian Birds,205Room72(2)Kaiser Maximilian,209Room72(3)Pietà—Mourning over Christ’s Body,206Room73(4)Charlemagne,207Room73(5)Kaiser Sigismund,208Room73Besides these originals there are several copies of the master’s works, including the excellent copies of the Four Apostles (283, 284) by Johann Georg Fischer. The original inscriptions are retained. The Allerheiligen or Trinity picture, No. 210, is a bad copy in a worse frame.Among other works by contemporaries or followers of Durer are:—Bartholomew Zeitblom of Ulm,145Room 73178Room 73Bernhard Strigel,179, 181Room 71185, 186Room 72Martin Schwarz of Rothenburg,130, 133Room 71Hans Holbein the Elder,164, 167Room 71162, 163Room 72Hans Friess of Freiburg,Room 71, 72Hans Leonhard Schäuffelein,221, 223, 225Room 73226, etc.Hans von Kulmbach,212Room 71213, 214, 216Room 73Albrecht Altdorfer,245, 248Room 71, 72Mathias Grünewald,253Room 71Hans Baldung Grien,194-196Room 72Lucas Cranach,259Room 72262Martin Schaffner,191, 192Room 72Hans Burgkmair,171Room 72168-170Room 73Georg Pencz,272, 273Room 74In the following rooms the decline of German art is historically well represented. But in room 78, which is devoted mainly to painters of the Dutch School of the seventeenth century, mention should be made of the interior by Peter de Hooch (330) and an early portrait of Rembrandt by himself (325) and his powerful St. Paul (326). Johann Kupetzky is also well represented (371-378).

The outer sides of the altar contain four pairs of Saints, male and female, standing on Gothic brackets—SS. Catherine and Barbara, Rosalia and Margaret, George and Sebald, John the Baptist and Nicholas. Here we have the most animated of Wolgemut’s female figures, the most vigorous and life-like of his men. The most notable faces,—finer even than that of the St. Sebald who stands like some great architect holding the model of his Church, or of the St. Nicholas, with his refined and critical countenance, are those of SS. John and George. The former turns upon us his keen and spiritual gaze, so that his great brown eyes seem to pierce the veil that bounds our earthly vision and to penetrate into the hidden depths of futurity; whilst the latter stands rigid, his every feature—powerful nose, firmly closed mouth, thin but not sunken cheeks—eloquent of a bold and earnest resolution.

Incidents from the life of St. Vitus (Veit) and other saints form the subjects of the inner sides of the picture. Here again there is an inequality both of style and of excellence. The simple countenance of Mary, who holds on her knee a very animated Child, represents a type halfway between that of Rogier and that of Schongauer. The St. Luke, the character of whose head is well worked out, is attractive through his expression of earnestness. But there is far more dramatic power and “soul” in the scene from the legend of St. Bernard, according to which Christ came downfrom the Cross to his ardent worshipper. There the countenance of St. Bernard is made to exhibit a depth of feeling rarely to be found in Wolgemut; as if the artist’s imagination had indeed been lit by something of the glow of the Saint’s adoration.

The St. Christopher, who is walking through the stream with the Christ-child on his shoulder, is rough to the point of ugliness, whilst in the landscape, which is beautifully executed, there is a most intimate charm.

In the martyrdom of St. Sebastian, the Saint wears that almost inane expression which often does duty, however unintentionally, for the look of deep suffering in Wolgemut’s work. The guard, however, are pleasingly and vividly portrayed. Evidently they are akin to the rabble which is found in the scenes of the Passion in Schongauer’s works.

But it is when we come to the scenes from the legend of St. Vitus that we seem to trace only the faintest signs of Wolgemut’s style. The composition here bears only a distant resemblance to his, and in the execution the assistant employed must surely have been he who painted the scene of St. Vitus denouncing the idols in the Lorenzkirche (see p.254), and whose initials are R. F.

The pictures by Albrecht Durer in the Museum we have already mentioned (pp.188,193-9).

Besides these originals there are several copies of the master’s works, including the excellent copies of the Four Apostles (283, 284) by Johann Georg Fischer. The original inscriptions are retained. The Allerheiligen or Trinity picture, No. 210, is a bad copy in a worse frame.

Among other works by contemporaries or followers of Durer are:—

In the following rooms the decline of German art is historically well represented. But in room 78, which is devoted mainly to painters of the Dutch School of the seventeenth century, mention should be made of the interior by Peter de Hooch (330) and an early portrait of Rembrandt by himself (325) and his powerful St. Paul (326). Johann Kupetzky is also well represented (371-378).

ROOMS81, 82.

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