Das Mittelalterliche Hausbuch / The Medieval Housebook →
“Medieval Housebook” is the common name of a vellum manuscript written in ca. 1480 and preserved now in the Kupferstichkabinett (copperplate cabinet) of Wolfegg, Germany. According to Waldburg-Wolfegg1, the MH rather presents the Renaissance than medieval times. And it is less a “housebook” but more an extended “armourer-guide-book” (“Büchsenmeisterbuch”)2.
It shows illustrations of civilan life too. Like a couple in love, the boy and the death, buffoons, the effects of planets on man’s fate, and so on.
But most detailed are the representations of production sites, armour, technical tools and the use of this all in a war campaign. The chances of motives and the mood of the artist seemed to be more responsible for the collection choice than anything else. The artist obviouly was in love with technology.
Portrait of Giuliano da San Gallo, Architect and Sculptor
Year
c. 1482
Artist
Technique
Oil on panel
Dimensions
47,5 x 33,5 cm
The Florentine architect Guiliano de San Gallo is pictured against the background of a hilly landscape. The tools of his trade, a compass and a quill, lie on the balustrade in front of him. Details of his appearance, such as the wrinkles around his eyes, his silvery locks and the floral cloth of his sleeve have been rendered with great care. Yet this does not distract the attention from the personality of the architect: reserved, yet self-assured. Giuliano da San Gallo was a successful architect; he even became master builder to the Pope in Rome. Piero di Cosimo painted his portrait in around 1482.
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