Artwork
King Arthur, Charlemagne and Godfrey of Boulogne
King Arthur, Charlemagne and Godfrey of Boulogne is an ink drawing by the Renaissance artist Primary Master of the Strassburg Chronicle. It dates from 1492 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:extensive fifteenth-century text in brown ink
About this work
Overview
Created in 1492, this pen drawing depicts the legendary figures King Arthur, Charlemagne and Godfrey of Boulogne. Executed by the anonymous Primary Master of the Strassburg Chronicle, the work combines ink lines with underlying black chalk marks on a ruled sheet of laid paper, offering a compact visual narrative of three medieval heroes.
Technique & Style
The artist employed black ink over faint traces of black chalk, allowing the preliminary sketch to inform the final line work. The paper, laid and ruled with leadpoint, provides a subtle grid that structures the composition. The drawing’s linear precision and restrained shading reflect the manuscript illumination practices of late‑15th‑century northern Europe.
History & Provenance
Attributed to the Primary Master of the Strassburg Chronicle, a figure associated with the production of the Strasbourg city chronicle, the piece originates from the same workshop that produced illuminated histories. Though its early ownership is undocumented, the drawing has been catalogued among late medieval Germanic manuscript illustrations and remains a testament to the period’s narrative art.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Primary Master of the Strassburg Chronicle
Primary Master of the Strassburg Chronicle (1492–1493) was an artist.
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