Plan for the fireworks display in honor of Emperor Leopold, Nuremberg, November 15, 1686 1686 - 1700

This is G.I. Schneider’s ‘Plan for the fireworks display in honor of Emperor Leopold,’ made in Nuremberg in 1686. It was a print, an accessible medium that democratized imagery. The image captures a moment of civic performance. Fireworks, like other public displays, served as propaganda, reinforcing social hierarchies. The symbols “L,” “R,” and “V” stand for Leopoldvs Restitvtor Vngariae, or Leopold, Restorer of Hungary; Nuremberg was celebrating Leopold’s military victories against the Ottoman Empire. But were these fireworks about national unity or stark reminders of power? Consider the social conditions of 17th-century Nuremberg. The city was a Protestant enclave within the Holy Roman Empire, so displays of loyalty to the Catholic Emperor Leopold could also signify internal political tensions. Understanding this print requires historical methods. Archival documents would reveal the costs, organization, and reception of such displays, painting a fuller picture of art's role in shaping social life.