Candlestick with Lighted Candle from: Insigne Ac Plane Novum Opus Cratero graphicum; Ein new kunnstbuch (...) von allerley trinnckgeschiren Credenntzen unnd Bechernn (...)

Candlestick with Lighted Candle from: Insigne Ac Plane Novum Opus Cratero graphicum; Ein new kunnstbuch (...) von allerley trinnckgeschiren Credenntzen unnd Bechernn (...)

Matthias Zündt

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mathias Zündt was one of a group of goldsmiths active in mid-sixteenth-century Germany who had come to understand the many possibilities of the printed image. On the title page to the series of cups, candlesticks, vases, and other types of vessels he published in 1551, he states that his illustrations were intended to inspire goldsmiths, sculptors, painters, and other artists in works of their own. We can assume, however, that Zündt’s effort was not entirely altruistic. By publishing these and many other designs, he ensured an increase in his own fame and drew attention to his own capabilities as a goldsmith in the hopes of attracting more commissions. The current print showing a candlestick, outfitted with a lighted candle is a unique example that shows the object as it would be put to use. The oval depicted around the flame might represent a mirror, which would have increased the intensity of the shining light.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Candlestick with Lighted Candle from: Insigne Ac Plane Novum Opus Cratero graphicum; Ein new kunnstbuch (...) von allerley trinnckgeschiren Credenntzen unnd Bechernn (...)Candlestick with Lighted Candle from: Insigne Ac Plane Novum Opus Cratero graphicum; Ein new kunnstbuch (...) von allerley trinnckgeschiren Credenntzen unnd Bechernn (...)Candlestick with Lighted Candle from: Insigne Ac Plane Novum Opus Cratero graphicum; Ein new kunnstbuch (...) von allerley trinnckgeschiren Credenntzen unnd Bechernn (...)Candlestick with Lighted Candle from: Insigne Ac Plane Novum Opus Cratero graphicum; Ein new kunnstbuch (...) von allerley trinnckgeschiren Credenntzen unnd Bechernn (...)Candlestick with Lighted Candle from: Insigne Ac Plane Novum Opus Cratero graphicum; Ein new kunnstbuch (...) von allerley trinnckgeschiren Credenntzen unnd Bechernn (...)

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.