(Germany) 1600-1640.

Leather binding from the 18th century century; 8vo [162x94mm]; 111 (of 139) pages; 91 numbers Sheet, with 70 (47 colored) hand-painted portraits in an ornamental decorative frame and band above (gouache and pen), handwritten text. The first 47 portraits are painted in colored gouache and watercolors, the first 14 of them on parchment and the rest on paper. 3 or 5 portrait panels on parchment are missing. Each portrait panel originally had 4 blank pages attached for text. Since only a small proportion of these pages are actually written on, it cannot be clearly determined to what extent the missing pages contained text. The sheets were probably lost when the portraits were removed. The manuscript was created in three different periods. The 14 colored portraits on parchment were created around 1600, the 33 colored portraits on paper date from approx. 1620 and the 20 monochrome pen drawings can be dated to after 1636. Highly interesting and important portrait manuscript from the late 16th century. and early 17th century. The anonymous, talented illustrator copied the portraits exclusively from printed models. In numerous portraits he has transferred text passages from the originals so that they can be identified precisely. The majority of the drawings were made from contemporary broadsheet prints, which often only survive in one copy. However, we were unable to find any copies in libraries for 15; they are probably lost. This manuscript is probably the only source for the Latin eulogies of 9 of these broadsheets. Their authors include Johannes Hartmann (1568-1631), Balthasar Mentzer the Elder. (1565-1627), Johannes Major (1564-1654), Heinrich Salmuth (1522-1576), Heinrich Meibom (1555-1625), Friedrich Taubmann (1565-1613) and the monogrammist BCLB. Occasionally the illustrator added further biographical texts about the person depicted, each citing the source. All text passages can be attributed to the artist's hand. Only the portrait of Johannes Brenz contains handwritten biographical notes from the 18th century. Century added. (probably by JO Nuck, see provenance) The copyist apparently had an anthology for the colored portraits, which mainly contained broadsheet prints. For some of these portraits we were only able to identify the books by Reusner (1587), Schnellboltz (1562) and Boissard (1597/99) as models. It can But it may be that the author also used now-lost broadsheet prints as templates for these drawings. It is known that Schnellboltz, Reusner and Boissard used broadsheet prints as models for their own portrait woodcuts. For the monochrome portraits that he created a little later, the illustrator also used book illustrations in addition to one-sheet prints. Printed portrait sequences had been around since the 16th century. Widely used for centuries. The focus of the publications was initially on extensive cycles of rulers and scholars. Later, portrait books also functioned as denominational and national sources of fame. Martin Luther is obviously the starting point for the selection of people in this collection. His portrait was probably on one of the missing panels. Unfortunately, it is not possible to determine which portraits are still missing. There are portraits of important followers and comrades-in-arms of Luther, as well as composers, song writers, scientists, lawyers and polymaths. For some people, the original is the only surviving portrait. There are none of the common portraits of rulers in the collection. Hand-painted portrait sequences are extremely rare. Portrait drawings occasionally appear in family books, but here too they are an exception. This may be because it requires a lot of effort and skill to draw portraits while achieving a visible resemblance to the person depicted. In most cases, the portraits used in family books are prints, while the drawings usually depict coats of arms, landscapes, animals, plants or everyday scenes with non-specific figures. The present portrait collection impresses with its extraordinary selection of people based on mostly very rare or lost models and is therefore an important source for the reception of Reformation images and ideas from the early 17th century. century. Bibliographical information on the individual portraits: Colored portraits on parchment in gouache (around 1600) (mostly after broadsheets and Reusner) 1) Jan Hus (c.1370-1415) (reformer, theologian, preacher) (after Schnellboltz 1562) 2) Hieronymus of Prague (c.1379-1416) (reformer, scholar) (after Boissard 1597/1599? or broadsheet?) 3) Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498) (Dominican, church reformer) (according to broadsheet? Image mix after Tobias Stimmer and Reusner 1587) 4) Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560) (humanist, luth. Theologian, philosopher, classical philologist) (according to Schnellboltz 1562 or Reusner 1587) 5) Johannes Bugenhagen (1485-1558) (reformer, companion of Luther) (lost according to one-sheet printing? Text as in the one-sheet print by Gregor Bruno, but the image is mirror-inverted. Image is similar to Reusner 1587) 6) Heinrich Hesshusen (1556-1597) (superintendent in Gräfentonna and Hildesheim) (probably lost after the one-sheet print? only the portrait is preserved in the ÖNB) 7) Justus Jonas the Elder (1493-1555) (hymn poet, humanist, lawyer, luth. theologian) (after Reusner 1587) 8) Konrad Becker (?-1588) (Luth. theologian) (lost according to the flyer!) (different and mirror-inverted to the only known portrait in the ÖNB) 9) Veit Dietrich (1506-1549) (reformer, theologian, writer) (according to the flyer with lat. Text by Philipp Melanchthon with Gregor Bruno around 1570) (ÖNB) 10) Nikolaus Selnecker (1530-1592) (reformer, composer, hymn writer, theologian) (probably based on a single-sheet print? only portrait preserved in the ÖNB) (slightly different hand position) 11) Johann Forster (1496-1556) (Luth. theologian, linguist) (according to Reusner 1587) 12) Johannes Mathesius (1504-1565) (reformer, pastor) (according to Reusner 1587) 13) Caspar Cruciger the Elder (1504-1548) (reformer, luth. theologian) (according to Reusner Icones 1587) 14) Paul Eber (1511-1569) (reformer, hymn writer, Lutheran Theologian) (after Reusner Icones 1587) Colored portraits on paper in gouache and watercolors (around 1620) (probably exclusively from broadsheet prints) 15) Johannes Tauler (1300-1361) (mystic, theologian) (after broadsheet print with Latin. Eulogy missing?) 16) Anton Corvinus (1501-1553) (Reformer, Luther. Theologian) (based on a broadsheet with text by Balthasar Mentzer the Elder. (ÖNB)) 17) Leonhard Thurneysser (1531-1596) (alchemist, goldsmith, metallurgist, scholar, personal physician) (according to a broadsheet with Latin. Text by Jacob Coler (GNM)) 18) Jacob Coler (1537-1612) (Luth. Theologian, Provost v. Berlin, Superintendent v. Güstrow) (based on a broadsheet with text by Friedrich Taubmann) (ÖNB) 19) Lorenz Rhodomann (1546-1606) (Luth. Theologian, educator, philologist) (based on a single-sheet print by Sabinus Kauffmann around 1602) (Halberstadt, Gleimhaus) 20) Adam Siber (1516-1584) (humanist, educator) (based on a single-sheet print with text by Adam Theodor Siber from 1608) (HAB) 21) Jacob Meiland (1542-1577) (composer) (based on a single-sheet print with Latin Praise poem by Sabinus Kauffmann / Wittenberg lost!!) 22) Christoph Silbermann (1562-1610) (court preacher and Pastor in Celle) (according to a one-sheet print with eulogy by Johannes Hartmann (1568-1631) lost!!!) 23) Johannes Major (1564-1654) (Luth. Theologian) (based on a broadsheet by Martin Bruno) (LUB; HAB; GNM) 24) Friedrich Myconius (1490-1546) (Reformer, Luther. theologian) (based on a broadsheet with text by Balthasar Mentzer the Elder) (GNM; HAB) 25) David Voit (1530-1589) (luth. theologian) (based on a flyer with text by Balthasar Mentzer the Elder. lost!!!) 26) Simon Grynaeus (1564-1628) (reformer, humanist, Lutheran Theologian) (lost according to the one-sheet print?) (Image resembles Boissard text like Hendrik Hondius)) 27) Paracelsus (Theophrast Bombast von Hohenheim) (1493-1541) (alchemist, doctor, natural philosopher) (from the one-sheet print with lat. Eulogy from FIHM) (ÖNB) 28) Justus Lipsius (1547-1606) (philosopher, philologist) (according to a leaflet printed by Gregor Bruno with Latin. Eulogy by S. Glaser) (GNM) 29) Nicodemus Frischlin (1547-1590) (philologist, poet, neo-Latin. playwright) (according to a single-sheet print with Latin. Text) (ÖNB) 30) Gregor Bersman (1538-1611) (philologist, neo-Latin. Poet) (lost after a broadsheet with text by Johannes Major!!!) 31) Urban Pierius (1546-1616) (Luth. Theologian, professor, court preacher in Dresden) (according to a broadsheet with Latin. Text from BCLB lost! Portrait similar to the broadsheet print by Georg Bruno (GNM)) 32) Christoph Schleupner (1566-1635) (Luth. theologian) (probably based on a broadsheet) (portrait preserved in the ÖNB) 33) Johannes Fleischer the Elder (1539-1593) (Humanist, Luther. theologian) (according to the broadsheet with Latin. Text by Sabinus Kauffmann / Wittenberg) (GNM) 34) Lucas Pollio (1536-1583) (Luth. Theologian) (based on a broadsheet by Martin Bruno) (HAB; ÖNB) 35) Esaias Heidenreich (1532-1589) (Luth. theologian) (according to the broadsheet with Latin. Text by Johann Stephan Strobelberger lost!) (Text later used by Simon Passe 1625) 36) Johann Pfeffinger (1493-1573) (Reformer, Lutheran theologian) (according to the broadsheet with Latin. Text by Heinrich Salmuth lost!) (see CGBoerner auction 4-6. May 1927 Lot 744) 37) Caspar Bartholin (1585-1629) (theologian, physician) (based on a broadsheet? with Latin Text lost?) (Text used in 1625 by Simon Passe) (Portrait is similar to that of the book engraving from 1622 in the ÖNB) 38) Matthias Wesenbeck (1531-1586) (Important Flemish lawyer) (based on a broadsheet with text by Heinrich Bolschenius at Sabinus Kauffmann) (HAB; GNM; SB) 39) Caspar Peucer (15025-1602) (mathematician, physician, astronomer, Church reformer) (according to the broadsheet with Latin. Text by MHS) (GNM) 40) Joachim Mynsinger von Frundeck (1514-1588) (lawyer, neo-Lat. poet) (based on a single-leaf woodcut with Latin. Text by Heinrich Meibom lost!!! only woodcut preserved in Wolfenbüttel) 41) Andreas Wenzel (1549-1613) (historian, theologian) (based on a broadsheet printed by Martin Bruno) (GNM) (the only known portrait) 42) Michael Sachs (1542-1618) (luth. theologian, Protestant Pastor) (according to the leaflet with Latin. Text by Henning Bögel) (HAB) 43) Martin Heinrich (?-1584) (Luth. Theologian, university teacher, court preacher) (according to a broadsheet? with Latin Text by Friedrich Taubmann lost!) (only portrait preserved in the UBL) (the only known portrait) 44) Lorenz Drabitzsch (1557-1602) (luth. Theologian, court preacher, superintendent in Chemnitz) (based on the broadsheet by Martin Bruno) (HAB) (the only known portrait) 45) Georg Major (1502-1574) (Luth. theologian) (based on the broadsheet from Wittenberg from 1558) (ÖNB) 46) Christoph Barbarossa (1562-1623) (Luth. Theologian, Rosicrucian, superintendent in Hadeln) (after undated broadsheet from 1614) (HAB) (or woodcut with the same text) 47) Johann Streitberger (1517-1602) (theologian, rector, superintendent in Hof) (after broadsheet from 1571? with long lat. Eulogy lost!!!) (see Chronicle of Court 1955) Monochrome portraits in pen drawing (after 1636) (mostly based on book engravings and broadsheet prints) 48) George III of Anhalt-Plötzkau (1507-1553) (reformer, priest, prince) (after the broadsheet print by Lucas Cranach the Younger around 1551/1562) (GNM) 49) Sebastian Fröschel (1497-1570) (Luth. theologian) (probably text not copied from the one-sheet print) (several similar portraits in the 16th century. Century) 50) Jesper Rasmussen Brochmand (1585-1652) (Luth. theologian) (after copperplate engraving with Latin. Inscription by Simon Passe from 1632) 51) Heinrich Salmuth (1522-1576) (Luth. Theologian, superintendent in Leipzig) (Latinized by the draftsman after a woodcut portrait around 1579) (Latinized on the reverse). Biography) 52) Konrad Schlüsselburg (1543-1619) (Lutheran Theologian, superintendent in Ratzeburg) (according to a leaflet with Latin. Text by Lorenz Zirckmann Laurentius from 1603) (GNM; HAB) 53) Leonhard Hutter (1563-1619) (Luth. Theologian, professor and rector in Wittenberg) (based on woodcut by HTA from 1600/1619) 54) Johann Arndt (1555-1621) (Luth. Theologian, author, pastor) (based on copperplate frontispiece from Libri Quatuor from 1625) 55) Basilius Sattler (1549-1624) (Lutheran Theologian, professor, superintendent, court preacher) (based on a broadsheet printed by Elias Holwein/Wolfenbüttel from 1620) (HAUM) 56) Daniel Cramer (1568-1637) (Luth. Theologian, author, chronicler) (based on book engraving from 1619 with text) 57) Johannes Brenz (1499-1570) (Reformer, Lutheran theologian) (according to the broadsheet with Latin. Text by Martin Crusius around 1600) (GNM; LUB; SB) 58) Adrian Metius (1571-1635) (mathematician, astronomer, surveyor) (after book engraving from 1608) 59) Sethus Calvisius (1556-1615) (composer, music theorist, cantor) (after engraving with lat. Inscription after 1615) 60) Johann van den Driesche (Drusius) (1550-1616) (Luth. Theologian, Orientalist, Hebrewist) (after the portrait in Meursius Athanae Batavae 1625) 61) Gerhard Johannes Vossius (1577-1649) (scholar, humanist, theologian) (after the portrait in Meursius Athanae Batavae 1625) 62) Johannes Schöner (1477-1547) (mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, Geographer, printer) (after woodcut by Lucas Cranach the Younger or Schnellboltz 1562) 63) Erasmus Sarcerius (1501-1559) (Reformer, Lutheran theologian) (after Martin Brosamer 1558 or Schellboltz 1562) 64) Helius Eobanus Hessus (1488-1540) (humanist, neo-Lat. poet) (after a woodcut from the 16th century century originally Albrecht Dürer) 65) Petrus Cunaeus (1586-1638) (philologist, legal scholar) (based on the portrait in Meursius Athanae Batavae 1625) 66) Jakob Milich (1501-1559) (mathematician, physician) (based on a broadsheet printed by Gregor Bruno, Wittenberg) (GNM) 67) Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) (political philosopher, Lutheran Theologian, legal scholar) (after the portrait in Meursius Athanae Batavae 1625) 68) Martin Moller (1547-1607) (mystic, hymn poet, author) (after the frontispiece of Praxis Evangeliorum Lüneburg 1636 (incl. Border)) 69) Nikolaus von Amsdorf (1483-1565) (Reformer, Luther. theologian, luth. Bishop of Naumburg) (based on a broadsheet by Peter Gottland with Latin. Inscription v. 1558) 70) Justus Lipsius (1547-1606) (philosopher, philologist) (after the portrait in Meursius Athanae Batavae 1625) Condition: cover rubbed and bumped, spine with a loss, slightly loosened at the beginning due to the removal of the panels, the parchment in the first three portraits wavy, some with small paint chips Provenance: JO Nuck(?) (handwritten entry from the 18th century Century); JDC powder (handwritten. ownership note from 1818 on the portrait of Hironymus of Prague); Southern German private collection Literature: Nicolaus Reusner Icones sive imagines virorum literis illustrium. Strasbourg, 1587; Jean Jacques Boissard Icones quinquaginta virorum illustrium. Frankfurt, 1597-1599; Johann Agricola Warhaffte portrait of several gelard men. Wittenberg, Gabriel Schnellboltz, 1562; J. Meursius Athenae Batavae. Leiden, 1625; Digital Portrait Index Abbreviations: ÖNB = Austrian National Library; GNM = Germanic National Museum; LUB = Leipzig University Library; HAB Herzog August Library, Wolfenbüttel; SB = Berlin State Library; HAUM = Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Braunschweig

Order number: 193375