Nuremberg Chronicle — Folio LXXXIII (83), 1493 - Hartmann Schedel

An original hand-coloured leaf from the first Latin edition of Hartmann Schedel’s Nuremberg Chronicle, printed by Anton Koberger in 1493. Folio LXXXIII brings Roman consuls, Hellenistic kings and the histories of their kingdoms into the same printed leaf. The portraits come from the woodcut workshop of Michael Wohlgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff.

On the recto, two vertical runs of portraits accompany the account of the Roman Republic. The figures wear the clothes and headgear of the world familiar to a late medieval reader. The colour brings out the folds of the robes and the individual gestures, while the Latin lettering ties the figures to the account on the page.

On the reverse, the sequence passes to rulers of Syria and Pontus. Demetrius, Antiochus and Alexander are among the names. Crowns, sceptres and seated poses give these rulers a different bearing from the figures on the recto. Together the two sides show how the Chronicle used a shared visual vocabulary to tell the histories of distant places and periods.

The sheet measures 43 × 30.7 cm. It is in good condition, with a few stains and two small, old repairs to tears in the blank margin.