Constantinopolis

Title

Constantinopolis

General view of Constantinople, now Istanbul. Various figurative images on the reverse. The woodblock cutters were Michael Wolgemut, the well-known teacher of Albrecht Dürer, and his stepson Wilhelm Pleydenwurff. Wohlgemut was Albrecht Dürer's tutor between 1486-90 and recent scholarship has shown, Albrecht Dürer may also have collaborated, since some of the cuts bear a remarkably close resemblance to the Apocalypse illustrations. The offered woodcut is one of the oldest authentic plans of Istanbul and realistically the only large format 15th Century view obtainable to collectors.

ca. 1493

Artist

Schedel (1440-1515)

Hartmann Schedel (1440–1515) from Nuremberg is best known for the 1493 publication of the Schedel’s World Chronicle (Liber chronicarum), a universal history featuring 1,809 woodcuts—making it the most richly illustrated book of early printing. The chronicle, written in Latin by Schedel for merchants Sebald Schreyer and Sebastian Kammermeister, was translated into German by Georg Alt and printed by Anton Koberger. The illustrations came from the workshop of Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff. The work covers world history up to 1492/93, divided into eight ages of the world, and draws on numerous sources, including Jacobus Foresta and Enea Silvio Piccolomini. Notably, it features highly accurate city views, many depicted in detail for the first time. Pleydenwurff introduced a new perspective by portraying cities from a fixed viewpoint, emphasizing their unique architectural and landscape features. The project was funded in part by the patron Sebald Schreyer.

Historical Description

Constantinople was the capital city of the Roman and Byzantine (330 –1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin (1204–1261), and the Ottoman (1453–1922) empires. It was reinaugurated in 324 AD at ancient Byzantium, as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great, after whom it was named, and dedicated on 11 May 330.In the 12th century, the city was the largest and wealthiest European city and it was instrumental in the advancement of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times. After the loss of its territory, the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire was reduced to just its capital city and its environs, eventually falling to the Ottomans in 1453. Following the Muslim conquest, the former bastion of Christianity in the east, Constantinople, was turned into the Islamic capital of the Ottoman Empire, under which it prospered and flourished again. After the founding of the modern Republic of Turkey the successor state of the Ottoman Empire the city was renamed Istanbul in 1923. Istanbul is probably the Turkish modification of the ancient Greek. This interpretation seems conclusive, because those who spoke colloquially "the city" in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages in the Eastern Roman Empire generally meant Constantinople, which, with its five hundred thousand inhabitants and its mighty walls, could not be compared to any other city in a wide area .