Der aller durchleuchtigisten und grosmächtigen Kayser ... Königen ... Herren vom Adel ... Bildtnussen und kurtz Beschreibungen ihrer so wol in Fridts- als Kriegszzeiten verrichten fürnembsten Thaten und Handlungen : deren Waffen und Rüstungen ... auss allen Landen der Welt ... in dem Schloss Ombrass ... zu ewiger Gedächtnuss auffbehalten werden ...
Dimensions
126 engraved plates, Height: 19 5/16 in. (49 cm)
Department
The Libraries
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Accession Number
U820.A9 S34 1603 F
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
In the opulent world of Renaissance Europe, *Der aller durchleuchtisten und grosmächtigen Kayser* (1603) stands as a magnificent engraved catalog celebrating the Habsburg collections at Schloss Ambras, the famed Austrian castle-turned-museum of Archduke Ferdinand II. lavish volume, with its 126 meticulously engraved plates measuring 19 5/16 inches in height, immortalizes portraits of emperors, kings, and nobles alongside vivid depictions of their heroic deeds in peace and war, plus armors and weapons gathered from across the globe. Compiled by Jacob Schrenck von Notzing and illustrated by master engravers like Giovanni Battista Fontana, Daniel Baur, and Dominicus Custos, it served as both a dynastic boast and an early inventory of one of Europe's premier kunstkammern—princely cabinets of wonder. The book's artistic significance lies in its virtuoso copper engravings, a technique that allowed for intricate details in faces, armor filigree, and symbolic motifs, blending Northern Renaissance precision with Italianate elegance. Produced at the dawn of the Baroque era, it reflects the era's obsession with legacy and spectacle, preserving these treasures "for eternal memory" amid the Thirty Years' War's looming shadows. Today, housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Libraries, this rare work offers visitors a window into how 17th-century elites curated history, bridging art, heraldry, and power in a single, sumptuous tome.
About the Artist
Jacob Schrenck von Nozing|Johann Engelbert Noyse von Campenhouten|Giovanni Battista Fontana|Daniel Baur|Dominicus Custos ( | |Italian| |German) · 1539 |1603 |1524 | |1550 –1612 |1603 |1587 |1639 |1612
German, Bavaria 1539–1612|active 1603|Italian, ca. 1524–1587|died 1639|German, Antwerp after 1550–1612 Augsburg