Zes fantasie-vruchten 1573 - 1610

Christoph Jamnitzer made this print of six fantasy fruits sometime between 1576 and 1618. It’s a study in ornament, a display of the artist's imagination and skill, and a demonstration of his awareness of contemporary trends in design. Prints like this circulated widely in Europe at the time. They allowed artists and artisans to keep up with new styles and incorporate them into their own work. Germany, where Jamnitzer was based, was a center for this kind of printmaking, and the dissemination of these patterns helped to shape a shared visual culture across the continent. These images offered a repertoire of forms for craftsmen producing luxury goods, such as the finely worked silver and gold that Jamnitzer himself specialized in. We know about this culture through surviving examples, but also through inventories, guild records, and pattern books. By studying such resources, we can learn a great deal about the circulation of images and the social life of art in the early modern period.