BURGKMAIR, HANS

Missale- Use of Passau

      MiSSALe PATAVIENSE - Augsburg 1505 / HANS BURGKMAIR (1473 - 1531) Missale Pataviense (Passau ??engl?). Augsburg, Erhard Ratdolt, 5. Januar 1505. Folio (Grösse…). Double column; gothic types. Printed in black and red. 2 full-page woodcut illustrations by Hans Burgkmair, the first facing the title page, all unsigned; numerous 5- and 6-line white on black woodcut initials; a few initial spaces left blan. 291 leaves, foliated (12), 1-224, (7), (2) leaves of music, (6), 225-263. Without the last blank leaf ???. Quire F with 9 instead of 10 leaves ( hier braucht e seine Erklärung). Bound in contemporary blindtooled brown South German calf over wooden boards, covers paneled with decorative roll tools, the front cover with the blindstamped word missal on the upper edge, the corner stamps showing flowers in black. Center metal clasps ?? and leather and metal fore-edge clasps missing. Literature: Weale/Bohatta 771 (3 copies, the Munich copy without the Canon); Schottenloher, Ratdolt, p. 51-56. The extremely rare sumptuous liturgical printing from the press of Erhard Ratdolt in an magnificent colored copy illustrated by Hans Burgkmair, bound in a contemporary blind stamped South German calf. The title woodcut showing the patron Saints of the diocese of Passau, Saints Stephanus, Valentin and Maximilian is printed in 4 colors, a black line block and color blocks in red, yellow and olivegreen ( Grösse ….). The 3 Patron Saints are seen standing with their attributes on a pedestal below a white- on- black foliated triple arc. Below the coat-of -arms of Wigelius Fröschl, bishop of Passau (see illustration Schottenloher p. 51) and one line in Typeface. This woodcut is one of the earliest color woodcuts ever produced (see Grasselli, Impressions in color, Washington 2005 p. ??). Published in 1494 for the first time it is printed from 4 separate blocks, an invention that is attributed to Erhard Ratdolt. He was the first printer to be able to print Typeface in color in 149? and in 149? produced his first book with a color woodcut illustration. Ratdolt is unparalleled in his outstanding elaborate licurgical book productions done in Augsburg between 1498 and 1510. All of these laborious, lavish books are very rare, for they were all specific commissions by the surrounding dioceses and very costly. The woodcut of the Patron Saints of Passau is one of the earliest know works of Hans Burgkmair. Albeit the traditional setup of the standing Saints in one line it shows unusual flow in the drawing line. Saint Stephen is shown elevated, turned slightly to the left, and lifting his right knee in a graceful movement. The figures three dimensionality is emphasized by the red coat of the Saint falling over his knee. The young Hans Burgkmair is thus creating a new artistic depiction with hitherto unseen expression. Falk states that title pages printed in colors are very rare, for they were usually colored by hand. The title pages with the patron Saints were not applicable into Missales of different dioceses. Printing in colors was laborious and uneconomical which explains the extreme rarity. Different was the situation with the major leaf of the Canon, the Cruxificion. Canon leaves could be reused in several different Missals and were often printed in at least two colors, mostly red and black. The practice of reusing existing Canon leaves is best seen in the 1494 edition of this present Missale Pataviense. There Burgkmair's revolutionary new color woodcut of the Patron Saints was combined with an old traditional gothic Canon woodcut. The edition of 1505 is indefinitely more desirable because the Canon leaf was replaced by Burgkmair's own cruxificion. It shows Christ on the Cross between Mary and Saint John. Dörnhöffer considered the figure of Mary in her gracious movement and contained expression of pain one of Burgkmair's greatest achievements. The artist's talent to show ceremonial atmosphere is clearly visible. This woodcut is considered Hans Burgkmair's most beautiful Canon leaf ( Falk no. 10). Opposite the Canon prayers start with the large 6-line white-on-black initial 'T' (by Hans Burgkmair). Magnificent fresh volume with generous large margins in sublime contemporary coloring. Minimal wormholes at the beginning also showing on the front cover, the back cover almost untouched. Covers partially abraised, the leather on the lower edges partially missing, spine fragile.