Die Schutzheiligen von Österreich

The cross-format woodcut, “Die Der heightens von Österreich,” designed from 1515, was widely used in various versions: while Bartsch only knew the second condition with eight saints and the characterizing signatures, Heller already mentions in 1827 the “first, very rare imprints” with only six saints. In addition, he refers to a poem printed below, which is mostly cut off. (Cf. Heller Dürer 1827 II.677.1880) The original woodcut designed by Dürer shows the saints Quirin, Maximilian, Florian, Severin, Koloman and Leopold standing close to each other. The Latin text below the names of figures is a prayer by Johannes Stabius to the patron saints of Austria (see Schoch II.386). In 1517 the series of saints was expanded by Poppo and Otto by adding a wooden stick, probably designed by Dürer’s disciple Hans Springinklee. The attitude of the added saints to each other isolates them visually from the others. In this version, the text of Stabius was printed in three columns instead of two, but remained the same. The Nuremberg collector, Hans Albrecht von Derschau (1755-1824), with whom Heller was in real correspondence (cf. JH.Comm.lighted.4 and 5 of the State Library Bamberg), possessed the printing form that is now in the Berlin copper engraving cabinet (Coll. Derschau No. 40, cf. Schoch II.387).