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Englische Version: Because of its many illustrations, Bernhard von Breydenbach’s account of his travels through the Holy Land, published in 1486, drove the previously bestselling travel book written by Hans Tucher from the market. The success of Breydenbach’s book was further increased by its publication first in a Latin version, four months later in a German version, and two years later also in a Dutch edition. In order to document his journey, Breydenbach took an artist with him to record his impressions. The mention of the artist’s name, Erhard Reuwich, in the introduction to the first edition of the book is itself a novelty in the history of printing. As the colophon and the printer’s device indicate, Reuwich came from Utrecht and both illustrated and printed the work. In particular, the new realism of his large-format fold-out depictions of cities is remarkable. The largest such illustration was printed using four wooden blocks, each the size of a paper sheet, and shows a bird’s eye view of the picturesque southern approach to Venice from the Grand Canal and the islands of the lagoon. The Venetian architecture is shown almost true to life, allowing a ready recognition of the more prominent buildings, some of which, however, Reuwich has depicted in a state somewhat older than that which he himself can have seen. As recent research suggests, Reuwich’s concept for illustrating the travel book was profoundly influenced by his encounter with Venice and its art. For the depiction of the town, he probably used a drawing by the Venetian artist Jacopo Bellini (circa 1400–1470 or 1471), adapting it according to his own observations. The copy of Breydenbach’s book shown here is the German version of the work, translated by Martin Roet. It formerly was owned by Hartmann Schedel (1440–1514), who imitated some of Reuwich’s woodcuts in his Nuremberg Chronicle. // Autor: Marianne Reuter
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