Skip to main content

Primary sourceArtifact1512-1515

Triumphal Arch

Wolf Traut · 1512-1515

A huge multi-sheet woodcut made as imperial propaganda for Maximilian I, with the majority of its woodblocks designed by Dürer.

Dürer designed most of the woodblocks for this massive imperial propaganda print, working alongside other court artists.

Ask Albrecht Dürer about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Black and white engraved print of a large ornate triumphal arch with a central gate, flanking towers, a dome on top, and many framed scenes and inscriptions, with a text panel along the bottom edge.
Designed chiefly by Albrecht Dürer with others, Triumphal Arch, 1512-1515. National Gallery of Art.

About this source

What it is

This is a monumental woodcut print, about 295 x 357 centimetres, printed from 195 separate wood blocks on 36 sheets of paper. It was commissioned by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and designed between 1512 and 1515. Albrecht Dürer and his pupils, including Hans Springinklee and Wolf Traut, created most of the detailed drawings, with the architectural design by Jörg Kölderer and the scheme devised by Johannes Stabius. It is held in the National Gallery of Art's print collection.

Why it matters

The Arch was meant to be pasted onto walls of city halls or palaces as a giant piece of propaganda, celebrating Maximilian's ancestry, conquests and virtues through imagined architecture modelled on ancient Roman triumphal arches. Dürer designed 192 of the woodblocks, showing his central role and the trust powerful patrons placed in him.

Look closer

  • Why would an emperor want a 'triumphal arch' made of paper instead of stone?
  • What do the family tree and historical scenes suggest Maximilian wanted people to believe about him?
  • How many different artists' hands can you imagine were needed for a print this large?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Albrecht Dürer on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Albrecht Dürer sources

Meet the AI Albrecht Dürer →
Oil painting of a man with long, curly reddish-brown hair and a beard, wearing a rust-orange robe trimmed with brown fur. He faces the viewer with a steady gaze, his right hand raised near his chest against a dark background. Gold inscriptions with a monogram and date appear at the upper left and right.Painting

Primary source

Self-Portrait with Fur-Trimmed Robe

Albrecht Dürer · 1500

Engraving of Adam and Eve, nude, standing on either side of a tree; Adam holds a branch and Eve takes fruit from a serpent. A parrot perches above, a tablet reads Albrecht Durer 1504, and a cat, rabbit, ox and stag appear.Painting

Primary source

Adam and Eve

Albrecht Dürer · 1504

Engraving 'Melencolia I' by Albrecht Dürer: a winged, pensive woman sits with a compass and book amid geometric solids, a sleeping dog, a sphere, a magic square, hourglass, bell, and a cherub, under a rainbow and banner.Painting

Primary source

Melencolia I

Albrecht Dürer · 1514

Black and white engraving of an armored knight on a horse riding through a forest path, accompanied by a dog. Behind him a grotesque horned devil and a skeletal figure with an hourglass. A skull lies on the ground.Painting

Primary source

Knight, Death and the Devil

Albrecht Dürer · 1513

Engraving of St. Jerome seated at a table in a sunlit study with a halo, writing. A sleeping lion lies on the floor, a small dog sleeps nearby, a skull sits on a window ledge, and an hourglass and hat hang on the wall.Painting

Primary source

St. Jerome in His Study

Albrecht Dürer · 1514

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Albrecht Dürer now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions