| Method | Woodcut |
| Artist | Johann Michael Funcke |
| Published | Nuremberg, 1773. |
| Dimensions | Image 140 x 84 mm, Sheet 193 x 115 mm |
| Notes |
A full length woodcut portrait of the explorer Christopher Columbus from the second edition of Georg Adam Dillinger's Bilder-Geographie published in 1773. The portrait shows Columbus standng leaning on a desk, upon which sits a globe. He looks off to the left, a pair of dividers seen in his left hand. Christopher Columbus (c. 1451-1506) was master navigator who made four voyages from Europe to the Americas between 1492 and 1500. Even though he was not technically the first European to set sail and travel to the Americas, his discoveries opened the door for European exploration and colonization of the area. His expeditions were sponsored by Ferdinand II and Isabella I of Spain, but his nationality has long been disputed between scholars, as little is known about his early life. He was the son of the Domenico Colombo, a wool merchant who was mainly active in Genoa, and Sussana Fontanarossa. Together with his brother Bartholomew, he started working as a chart maker for the Portuguese merchant navy in 1476. Columbus soon started going on trade expeditions in Europe with the marine. It was not until 1484 that Columbus would start looking to cross the Atlantic, and after several rejections of sponsorship, he was finally able to obtain the support of the Spanish monarchs in 1492. The intention was to find a sea route from Spain to China, India and the Spice Islands, to provide the empire with herbs and spices, gold, places to explore and conquer as well as people to convert to Christianity. In reality Columbus ended up exploring the Caribbean, including parts of the Bahamas, Cuba and Jamaica. Johann Michael Funcke (1678 - 1749) was a German printer and publisher. Born in Erfurt, the son of an innkeeper, Funcke learned the trade of publisher from his older half-brother Johann Christoph Stössel. When Stössel died in 1709, Funcke took over his business. Funcke went on to publish important works such as Elephantographia Curiosa by Georg Christoph Petri von Hartenfels and Botanica in Originali by Johann Hieronymus Kniphof. Condition: Spots of foxing to to sheet. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £150.00 |
| Stock ID | 52579 |