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Schöner, Johann, 1477-1547, [Celestial globe], [ca. 1522]
- Title(s):
- [Celestial globe]
- Additional Title(s):
- Brixen globes
- Published/Created:
- [Germany], [ca. 1522]
- Physical Description:
- 1 globe : paint and gesso over hollow wood sphere, brass (stand) ; 368 mm in diameter
- Holdings:
- Rare Books and ManuscriptsGlobes Brixen CelestialYale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon CollectionView by request in the Study Room [Request]
Note: The Study Room is open by appointment. Please visit the Study Room page on our website for more details. - Copyright Status:
- Public Domain
- Full Orbis Record:
- http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/11416653
- Classification:
- Maps & Atlases (manuscript)
- Notes:
- Restricted fragile material. Use requires permission of the Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts.
Provenance: Franz Ritter von Hauslab; the Princes of Liechtenstein; Paul Mellon.
Prints and the pursuit of knowledge in early modern Europe, 17
Wood, C.S. "Print technology and the Brixen Globes" In Kunsthistoriker: Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Kunsthistorikerverbandes, 15/16 (1999/2000), p. 15-20
Mokre, J. Franz Ritter von Hauslab, pages 219-247
Oberhummer, E. "Die Brixener Globen von 1522 der Sammlung Hauslab-Liechtenstein", In Akademie der wissenschaften in Wien. Philosophisch-historische klasse. Denkschriften. 67. bd., 3. abh (1926)
Selected exhibitions: "Prints and the Pursuit of Knowledge in Early Modern Europe" (Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University, September 6, 2011-December 10, 2011).
One of two hand-painted globes--the other terrestrial--known collectively as the "Brixen globes." Both are hollow, built up of wood, and covered with gesso. The celestial globe differs slightly in construction, having a layer of felt or heavy paper between the wood and the gesso. Both are mounted in original (?) three-footed brass stands (bases mended), with horizon and movable meridian.
The pair of globes were probably made circa 1522. An inscription on the celestial globe notes that it was commissioned as a gift from Nikolaus Leopold to Sebastian Sperantius, Bishop of Brixen, in 1522. It may be deduced from this that Leopold gave the celestial globe to Sperancius as a mate to the terrestrial globe already owned by him, or that the terrestrial globe was made later as a mate to the celestial. That the globes are a pair is also strongly suggested by their identical measurements.
The globes have been previously attributed to Johann Schöner. Recent scholarship now suggests the text on the globe is not in Schöner's hand, based on analysis of Schöner's handwriting in his annotated copy of the 1482 edition of Ptolemy's Geography and his 1520 manuscript globe.
The inscription on the celestial globe reads (in translation): "Nikolaus Leopold of Innsbruck, Canon of Brixen, had this globe of [constellation-] figures made as a present for ... Sebastianus Sperantius, Bishop of Brixen, to whom he gave it in the year of salvation 1522." The constellation figures are after designs by Albrecht Dürer (the first state of these woodcuts were engraved in 1515).
The celestial globe is painted in deep blue, in accordance with the directions of the Almagest of Ptolemy; the constellation figures are in shades of white upon this dark background. The axis of the globe corresponds to that of the Earth; from the poles radiate four gold lines dividing the sphere into four quarters, with a corresponding equator, graduated in degrees. A secondary axis is represented based upon the ecliptic line, with gold lines of celestial longitude radiating from the poles, dividing the sphere into the twelve zodiacal sections. The ecliptic is in gold, graduated in degrees. The stars are shown as is viewed from a point in infinite space, looking Earthwards, i.e. reversed left-right viewed from the Earth, as is generally found on such globes.
None of the new constellations found and depicted by Vespucci (e.g., the Southern Cross) are shown. Names of stars are given in Arabic form, but the constellation figures are purely classical in inspiration.
A table of magnitudes (1st-6th) is given, in the empty space in the southern hemisphere, with signs also for "Occulte" and "Tenebrose." Also on that hemisphere is the presentation inscription quoted above.
That the Sperantius celestial globe was prepared from the earliest state of the Dürer designs, whether in woodcut or from original drawings, is proven by the form of the constellation Lepus (the Hare), whose forefeet are shown parallel, instead of crossed. If the earliest state of the woodcut is a proof, the connection of the globe with the atelier of Dürer becomes very close indeed, and may even indicate that its figures were executed by some person in the studio of Dürer. The actual globe construction and placement of the stars would probably not have been done there. - Subject Terms:
- Astronomy -- Charts, diagrams, etc. -- Early works to 1800.Celestial globes -- Early works to 1800.Sperantius, Sebastian, -1525.
- Form/Genre:
- Celestial globes.
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