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Secondary sourcePainting1493

Woodcut of Pope Leo I, Nuremberg Chronicle

Workshop of Michel Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff · 1493

A 1493 woodcut portrait of Pope Leo I from the Nuremberg Chronicle, an illustrated world history.

A stock image used to represent Pope Leo I in a widely circulated illustrated world chronicle.

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Black-and-white woodcut of a bearded pope seated in profile-facing pose, wearing a tall triple crown with a halo, holding a cross-topped staff in his right hand and a closed book with a diagram in his left. The title 'Leo primus' is printed above; faint text of the page shows behind the image.
Woodcut of Pope Leo I, from Liber Chronicarum (Nuremberg Chronicle), Nuremberg, 1493. Rijksmuseum.

About this source

What it is

This small woodcut shows Pope Leo I seated, wearing a tall triple crown and a halo, holding a staff topped with a cross and a closed book. It was printed in 1493 in the Liber Chronicarum, known as the Nuremberg Chronicle, made in the workshop of Michel Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff.

Why it matters

The Nuremberg Chronicle used the same standard image repeatedly for different popes, so this picture was not based on any real likeness of Leo. It shows how, in the 15th century, printed books could spread simplified images of historical and religious figures to a wide audience.

Look closer

  • Why might the same woodcut image have been reused for other popes in the book?
  • What symbols show that this man is both a pope and a saint?
  • What does the text beside the image tell us that the picture alone does not?

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

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The Meeting of Leo the Great and Attila

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