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Annegrit Schmitt, Der Meister des Musterbuchs von Weimar
with photos by Engelbert Seehuber
Animal drawings from the time of, or just before, 1400 were in the
past mostly taken to be by Pisanello, because he was the most well-known
describer of animals at the time of the change from Late Gothic
to Early Renaissance, and classic scholars of his days made sure
in their hymns of praise that Pisanello's reputation as an extraordinary,
soulful-poetical describer of animals remained unforgotten. However,
instead of being creations by Pisanello they were quite frequently
works by the generation prior to his. This is also valid for the
ten parchment pages attributed to Pisanello, originating in a Lombardian
sample book from the early 15th Century, which have now found homes
in three different places, being spread between the Art Collections
of Weimar, the British Museum and the Pierpont Morgan Library. Whereas
research had already recognised the Lombardian origins and the historical
importance of the four London and New York pages sixty years ago,
so far no interest had been shown in the six Weimar pages. As there
are more pages in Weimar than in New York and London together, and
the name of the Lombardian creator of these works is not known,
his works are here presented under the name "The Master of the Sample
Book from Weimar". Influenced by the view of art and language of
Giovannino de´Grassi and his workshop, the Master of the Sample
Book from Weimar understood the representation of animals as an
important field of artistic form and for the use in his own workshop
he created a sample book of the most varied animals, both from his
homeland and from exotic parts. This now give a base for new perceptions
about a number of cross-connections within the tradition of animal
sample books, from Giovannino de´Grassi until far into the 15th
Century.
»... eine kleine bibliophile Kostbarkeit ...«
Süddeutsche Zeitung 5./6. Juli 1997
»…ein rarer Glücksfall, daß die einstige Zusammengehörigkeit der
10 Blätter des Weimarer Tiermusterbuches nun wieder rekonsruiert
werden konnte. Nicht zultzt die hervorragenden Photographien von
Engelbrecht Seehuber haben dabei geholfen, daß aus diesem kunsthistorischen
Fund eine … bibliophile Kostbarkeit geworden ist.«
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
1997
78 pages 37 colored figures 21 x 24,5 cm, cloth-bound recorded delivery
ISBN 3-930609-14-2
EUR 25,-
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