1493
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
The Emblem is a 1493 by Michael Wolgemut, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This is a woodcut of God on a throne, surrounded by swirling clouds and vines. He holds a globe in one hand and points with the other, as if speaking the world into being. It’s one of over 1,000 images in the *Nuremberg Chronicle*, an early printed book telling the story of Christianity. The lines are bold and simple—woodcuts had to be carved by hand, so every mark mattered. To see more works like this, look up the subject: germany.
In Christian belief, God speaks the world into existence, creating it and ruling over it. This woodcut is one of over 1,000 images in the Nuremberg Chronicle , an early printed book narrating the history of the Christian world. Amid creeping vines and pillars of cloud, God sits enthroned, lips parted and hand upraised in a gesture of speaking. He holds an orb as a sign of his authority over the universe. The scroll above him reads: “For he [God] spoke and they were made: he commanded and they were created. Psalm 22.” Here, God is eternally powerful.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Michael Wolgemut (formerly spelt Wohlgemuth; 1434 – 30 November 1519) was a German painter and printmaker, who ran a workshop in Nuremberg.
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