Celestial Map of the Northern Sky, 1515
Celestial Map of the Northern Sky, 1515
Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528)
Woodcut; 16 3/4 x 16 3/4 in. (42.7 x 42.7 cm)
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1951 (51.537.1)
This woodcut of the northern sky is based on maps of the stars drawn by an anonymous artist living in Nuremberg in 1503. Recalculated to reflect the stellar positions of 1515, Dürer's celestial maps were the first ever published and attest to the role that Nuremberg played as a center for printing, as well as for the manufacture of scientific instruments.
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