Attributed to Jan Muller (Dutch, 1540-1617)
after Lucas van Leyden (Netherlandish, c. 1494-1533)
Emperor Maximilian I
INV-9902
Attributed to Jan Muller (Dutch, 1540-1617)
after Lucas van Leyden (Netherlandish, c. 1494-1533)c. 1590-1620
Emperor Maximilian I
Attributed to Jan Muller (Dutch, 1540-1617) after Lucas van Leyden (Netherlandish, c. 1494-1533) →engravingprint
Date
c. 1590-1620
Medium
Engraving in black on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Image/sheet, trimmed within platemark: 25.6 × 19.3 cm (10 1/8 × 7 5/8 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Elizabeth Hammond Stickney Collection
When Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I formed the first Landsknecht company in 1487, he intentionally exempted the soldiers from harsh laws regulating consumption on clothing and food. Because their lives tended to be “brutish and short,” the emperor urged them to wear distinctively outlandish garb. Not only did slashed sleeves and bold colors unify the troops, but the attire made the Landsknechte an ostentatious and recognizable force fighting in the emperor’s name.