Leaf Ornament

c. 1480/1490

Martin Schongauer

Associated Names
Martin Schongauer

Artist, German, c. 1450 - 1491

The image displays long, flowing lines in an intricate pattern. The abstract design resembles curling tendrils or swirling waves. The black lines against the light background create a sense of movement. The delicate curves and loops can be likened to the exaggerated curls of smoke rising and twisting.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 10.9 × 6.9 cm (4 5/16 × 2 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.92

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Hollstein, no. 114, State only

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

D. G. de Arozarena, Paris (Lugt 109); Count Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg [1805-1865], Klein-Oels, Silésie (Lugt 2669); (sale 176, C.G. Boerner, Leipzig, 2 May 1932, no. 113); (Charles Sessler, Philadelphia); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], 1937; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1953

  • Nuremberg and the German World, 1460-1530: Prints and books from the Kress and Rosenwald Collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1953, no catalogue.

1967

  • Fifteenth Century Engravings of Northern Europe from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., NGA, 1967-1968, no. 108, repro.

Bibliography

1908

  • Lehrs, Max. Geschichte und kritischer Katalog des deutschen, niederlandischen und franzosischen Kupferstichs im XV. Jahrhundert. 9 vols. and 1 plate vol. Vienna: Gesellschaft fur vervielfaltigende Kunst, 1908-1934.

1949

  • Hollstein, F.W.H. et al. German engravings, etchings and woodcuts ca. 1400-1700. 8 vols. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberger, 1954-1868. Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts, ca. 1450-1700. Vols. I-XV, XVIII, XIX. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberge

1967

  • Shestack, Alan. Fifteenth Century Engravings of Northern Europe from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.. Exh. cat. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1967: no. 108.

Wikidata ID

Q64960315

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