The Altzenbachs of Cologne

Early Modern German Print Publishers: Popular Prints of the Seventeenth Century

by John Roger Pass

Book cover: The Altzenbachs of Cologne

Extent: 1047 pages

Publisher: Harrassowitz Verlag

Subjects: Art & Art History, Early Modern & Renaissance Studies, German Studies

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(December 2020)

ISBN: 9783447114875

Price: $1019.00

In stock

This richly illustrated catalog brings together for the first time all of the known popular prints published by the Altzenbach firm in Cologne from approximately 1609 to 1680. Over 550 prints plus models and copies are drawn from more than 120 collections in Europe and North America. Working in the bastion of Catholicism on the Lower Rhine, the Altzenbachs specialized in devotional prints for the local market as well as for the large number of pilgrims who visited the religious sites in Cologne, Trier, and Aachen. At the same time, however, they published prints for a broad market on a variety of secular subjects: local history, natural events, executions, architecture, allegories, and moral satires. Some of their prints are the work of well-known artists such as Wenceslaus Hollar and Matthaus Merian, but most were executed by anonymous artists who looked to Flemish and Dutch printmakers for inspiration. This visual material is a multi-faceted primary resource that offers unique and telling insights into the cultural world of the seventeenth century.

  • By (author) John Roger Pass