Astronomical Images : The fourth day of Creation (celestial orbs and spheres)

Hartmann Schedel

Astronomical Images

The Liber chronicarum (better known as the Nuremberg Chronicle) was compiled by Hartmann Schedel (1440-1514), a physician and humanist from Nuremberg and a graduate of the University of Padua. It was published in both Latin and German versions, and comprises a survey of the six ages of the World from Creation to the Last Judgement. Whilst the text relies heavily on earlier sources, especially the Supplementum chronicarum of Jacob Philip Foresti of Bergamo (Venice, 1483), the work is famous for its many illustrations (over 1800), and for its series of panoramic views of Europe's major cities. The woodcuts were designed by the artists Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff. Art historians have suggested that Albrecht Duerer (the godson of Anton Koberger who printed the text) may also have been involved in the creation of several images whilst serving his apprenticeship under Wolgemut. The process of the production of this volume is unusually well documented. Schedel's own copy of the Liber chronicarum has survived at the Bavarian State Library, Munich. The original sketches, layout design and contracts between the work's sponsors and its artists are also extant. The opening sequence of woodcuts illustrates the seven days of Creation, with an arresting series of images of increasing concentric circles which draw heavily on contemporary visual representations of the Universe, in particular those in printed editions of Sacrobsosco's Sphaera mundi. A similar series can be found Foresti's Supplementum chronicarum. Many copies - but not this one - were coloured by hand. This image represents the fourth day of Creation, when God created the Sun, Moon and stars. It draws on contemporary depictions of the celestial spheres. An inverted Earth at the centre of the figure is surrounded concentrically by the spheres of Water, Air and Fire. Together, these comprised the elemental region. Next comes the sphere of the Moon, clearly indicated by the crescent Moon in its last quarter, with a human face. The next two planetary spheres are indicated by single star-shapes; the fourth sphere of the Sun again shows a human visage. The remaining three planetary spheres precede an extraneous eighth planetary sphere, followed by the sphere of the fixed stars (or firmament), which is indicated by numerous star-shapes. Outside this is an empty sphere, which probably represents the primum mobile. The hand of God is represented in the upper left corner. It is raised in benefaction, signifying His blessing.