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Primary sourcePainting1529

Weiditz Trachtenbuch: Hernán Cortés

Christoph Weiditz the Elder · 1529

A life drawing of Cortés made at the Spanish court in 1529, considered the most reliable surviving image of him.

This life drawing is considered the most accurate surviving portrait of Cortés made during his lifetime.

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Hand-colored drawing on aged paper of a bearded man with shoulder-length hair and a dark flat cap, wearing a long dark gown with puffed, slashed sleeves. He rests one hand on his hip and holds a red-ribboned shield bearing coats of arms with fleurs-de-lis and an eagle. Handwritten German text runs across the top. Green ground at bottom.
Christoph Weiditz, drawing of Hernán Cortés, 1529. Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg.

About this source

What it is

This hand-colored drawing by the German artist Christoph Weiditz shows Hernán Cortés as he appeared at the Spanish court in 1529. It forms part of Weiditz's Trachtenbuch, a costume book now held at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg.

Why it matters

Because Weiditz drew Cortés from life rather than from imagination, this image is considered historians' best guide to his actual appearance. It shows him dressed richly, holding a shield bearing coats of arms, reflecting the status and honors he had gained after the conquest.

Look closer

  • What does Cortés's clothing and posture suggest about how he wanted to be seen?
  • Why might an artist's firsthand sketch be more trustworthy than a later painting?
  • What does the shield in his hand tell us about his claimed status?

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

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Title page of a 1524 printed book in black-letter type, framed by woodcut decorative borders, with a red handwritten signature and a note reading 'Cum Gratia, & Priuilegio' near the bottom. The title text describes Cortés's narrative to Emperor Charles V.Letter

Primary source

Letters from Hernán Cortés to Charles V

Hernán Cortés · 1520 (printed 1524)

Woodcut-style map from 1524 showing the Gulf of Mexico coastline on the left and the island city of Tenochtitlan on the right, with canals, causeways, temple precinct, and a Latin inscription at top, colored by hand.Document

Primary source

1524 Nuremberg Map of Tenochtitlan

Unknown engraver, published by Friedrich Peypus · 1524

Lithograph portrait of Hernán Cortés, a bearded man with shoulder-length hair wearing ornate armor, shown from the chest up in three-quarter view, with the caption HERNAN CORTÉS below on a cream paper sheet.Painting

Secondary source

Engraving of Hernán Cortés

José Cebrián García · 1870

Open bound manuscript on a green cloth, showing two pages of handwritten text in columns with small painted illustrations of fish, a shell, a crab, and shrimp. Page headed 'Libro undecimo'.Book

Secondary source

Florentine Codex

Bernardino de Sahagún with Nahua collaborators · 1569

Engraved portrait print of Hernán Cortés, a man in a broad brimmed hat and fur-trimmed cloak over armor, with a caption cartouche below reading Hernan Cortes, Marques del Valle, Capitan Gral. de N. España. Handwritten numbers appear at the top corner.Painting

Secondary source

Engraving of Hernán Cortés after Juan Antonio Salvador Carmona

Antonio Carnicero Mancio, after Juan Antonio Salvador Carmona · 1805

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