Elevation of a Gothic Pinnacle with a Hexagonal Plan

Elevation of a Gothic Pinnacle with a Hexagonal Plan

Wenzel von Olmutz

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Little is known about Wenzel von Olmütz, who is thought to have principally been active as a goldsmith in Central Europe. He is best known for his printed oeuvre which includes reproductions after the most important masters of his day, among which works after Martin Schongauer and the young Albrecht Dürer. The current, very rare impression of a gothic baldachin and its plan is one of four known designs of this kind, reproducing designs found in the archives of the late-gothic building lodge of the minster church in Ulm. Alongside prints by the master mason Alart Du Hameel, the Master W with the Key and two booklets published by Mathes Roriczer and Hanns Schmuttermayer, this series is one of the first important projects dedicated to furthering architectural knowledge through the medium of print.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Elevation of a Gothic Pinnacle with a Hexagonal PlanElevation of a Gothic Pinnacle with a Hexagonal PlanElevation of a Gothic Pinnacle with a Hexagonal PlanElevation of a Gothic Pinnacle with a Hexagonal PlanElevation of a Gothic Pinnacle with a Hexagonal Plan

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.