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Lot Essay
This is the second of eight woodcut illustrations for a book of collected writings by Roswitha von Gandersheim, published by Conrad Celtis in Nuremberg in 1501. The text consists of eight Lives of Saints, written in verse, as well as a poem glorifying the Emperor Otto. Celtis claimed to have found this medieval manuscript, supposedly written by Roswitha circa 962 AD, in the library of the monastery of Sankt Emmeram in Regensburg. Most of the Nuremberg humanists, whose aim was not only to spread the knowledge of the classical texts but also to re-discover a uniquely German literary tradition, were involved in the publication, including Willibald Pirckheimer and possibly his sister Caritas.
The book contained illustrations by various hands, and Dürer provided the two introductory plates. The first shows Conrad Celtis, Dürer's humanist friend and the publisher of the book, as he presents it to Frederick III of Saxony. The present subject is the second woodcut, and depicts Roswitha presenting her poem celebrating Otto I to the Emperor himself.
The book contained illustrations by various hands, and Dürer provided the two introductory plates. The first shows Conrad Celtis, Dürer's humanist friend and the publisher of the book, as he presents it to Frederick III of Saxony. The present subject is the second woodcut, and depicts Roswitha presenting her poem celebrating Otto I to the Emperor himself.