16thCentury German Northern Renaissance Woodcut Print Adam & Eve Baron Von Lanna by Hans Burgkmair the Elder, 1525

A rare and important monumental woodcut on paper, Adam and Eve by Hans Burgkmair the Elder ( 1473-1531 Augsburg, Germany ), circa 1525. From the collection of Baron Adalbert von Lanna, (1836-1909). This incredibly rare and important Northern Renaissance woodcut is of monumental size and is created by eight joined woodblocks. Due to its immense size, Burgkmair could not print it on a single sheet of paper. He carved the image across eight distinct woodblocks, printed the blocks onto eight separate sheets, and then carefully pasted them together to form a seamless image. Depicting Adam & Eve ( frequently titled "The Fall of Adam and Eve" ), this is the second state, an olive leaf was added over the woodblock to cover Eve’s nudity, due to religious sensitivities during the Reformation. Burgkmair's initials are shown to the base, "H.B." set within a cartouche. Because these massive multi-sheet woodcuts were intended to be pasted directly onto the walls of churches or private homes like posters, very few survived the centuries. There are a few in world class institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The sheet has some pencil annotations to the verso with Burgkmair's name, it also has a collector's stamp, a winged paddle in black ink, the mark for Baron Adalbert von Lanna. Baron von Lanna was a famous connoisseur of Renaissance drawings and engravings, in the mid to late 19th century, he had one of the most important collections in Europe. This woodcut possibly produced by the Austrian art historian and engraver: Adam von Bartsch in 1796, using the original woodblocks, which at that time were preserved in the Imperial Library in Vienna. Condition is very good indeed, this incredible and monumental woodcut is ready to hang! Hans Burgkmair was a contemporary and colleague of Albrecht Dürer, their relationship was one of mutual professional respect, artistic competition, and loose friendship. They were the two most prominent pioneers of the Northern Renaissance, with Dürer working in Nuremberg and Burgkmair based in neighboring Augsburg. At Sight Height 37.3" Width 25.7"