Artwork
Panoramic View of Nuremberg: Right Portion
Panoramic View of Nuremberg: Right Portion is a print by the Renaissance artist Hanns Lautensack. It dates from 1552 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Created in 1552, this copperplate etching presents a wide‑angle view of Nuremberg’s outskirts and skyline.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1552, this copperplate etching presents a wide‑angle view of Nuremberg’s outskirts and skyline. The lower half is occupied by a cultivated field arranged in orderly furrows, where figures attend to agricultural tasks, while the upper portion reveals the city’s towers and rooftops receding into the distance.
Subject & Meaning
The composition juxtaposes rural labor with urban architecture, reflecting the coexistence of agrarian life and burgeoning municipal prosperity in mid‑sixteenth‑century Nuremberg. By depicting both the productive landscape and the fortified town, the image conveys a sense of civic pride and the interdependence of countryside and city.
Technique & Style
Executed with fine lines and a nuanced range of gray tones, the etching achieves depth through careful hatching and cross‑hatching. The meticulous rendering of individual figures, buildings, and terrain details exemplifies the Northern Renaissance’s emphasis on realism and observational precision in printmaking.
History & Provenance
The work is signed with the monogram of Hanns Lautensack, a Bamberg‑born etcher who spent much of his career in Nuremberg before relocating to Vienna, possibly at the invitation of Emperor Ferdinand I to record antiquities. The piece forms part of a larger panoramic series of the city.
Artist & collection
Artist
Hanns Lautensack (sometimes erroneously referred to as Hans Sebald Lautensack) (1524 – c.
![View of Nuremberg from the West [center section], by Hanns Lautensack](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/hanns-lautensack--view-of-nuremberg-from-the-west-center-section--12422dca269411c0-w320.webp)
![View of Nuremberg from the West [right section], by Hanns Lautensack](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/hanns-lautensack--view-of-nuremberg-from-the-west-right-section--8f7bb033ee717b8e-w320.webp)
![View of Nuremberg from the East [right section], by Hanns Lautensack](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/hanns-lautensack--view-of-nuremberg-from-the-east-right-section--cd9d20af411c0891-w320.webp)
![View of Nuremberg from the East [left section], by Hanns Lautensack](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/hanns-lautensack--view-of-nuremberg-from-the-east-left-section--53a897f84943df87-w320.webp)
![View of Nuremberg from the East [center section], by Hanns Lautensack](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/hanns-lautensack--view-of-nuremberg-from-the-east-center-section--7aaed3dd23c167ee-w320.webp)