The German Renaissance

It was in 1450 that the first printing press was invented by the German printer Johannes Gutenberg which provided huge stimulus to printmakers during the German Renaissance period and resulted in the first ever printed book, the ‘Forty-Two-Line Bible’.

An illustrated book that caught my attention was The Book of Miracles, another illuminated manuscript created during the German Renaissance with beautifully vibrant illustrations. After recently being recovered and restored, this 1552 masterpiece displays gouache and watercolour illustrations to accompany the Latin text below. Each image depicts the end of the world featuring huge beasts, falling fire, devastating floods and natural disaster.