Cologne Bible 1478/1479

Cologne Bible 1478/1479

This manuscript is a milestone both in the development of the German language and the development of the art of printing and engraving. It is one of the first printed Bibles furnished with woodcuts that are as artistically refined as the contemporary miniatures of the period. The splendid, lively woodcuts are embedded into the relevant texts and characters are often labelled to for the ease of the reader. Four of the text pages are adorned by highly detailed historiated frames with dense tendrils. Heinrich Quentell (d. 1501) and Bartholomäus von Unckel (active 1247–84) are credited with printing the well adorned Bible in the “Zum Pallas” publishing house in Cologne.

The Splendor of Creation

One of the most beautiful woodcuts in an early Bible print is the Creation image, which was copied and colored by Anton Koberger for his Bible of 1483. The picture shows the entire cosmos according to the Ptolemaic, medieval world view: God the creator and sustainer of the world rules the universe. Without the problems of space and time, the medieval artist depicts God on the one hand as the Blessing One, pouring out His Spirit, and on the other hand as the Creator in Paradise, where He separates the androgyne, Adam as an asexual being, into Adam and Eve, giving rise to sexuality. This is commonly understood as the subordinate creation of woman from Adam's rib, which is depicted in the miniature.
Furthermore, the woodcut shows the idea of the still prehistoric earth as a disc swimming in the primeval ocean populated by strange creatures. Above it rises the firmament with the sun, moon, and stars around which in the spiritual sky the 24 elders (Rev. 4:4) are turned toward and worship almighty God. The circle, symbol of perfection, is embedded in a square into which four winds blow – a sign of earthly, but limited perfection also symbolizing the limitations of trying to visually conceive of the infinite.