Marion McNealy

Town and Country 1517 - 1550: Scenes of Everyday Life in Detail from Geisberg's German Single Sheet Woodcuts - Selections from Geisberg's German Woodcuts Marion McNealy

History is very good at recording wars, disasters and scandals, but does not usually record the ordinary details, such as how people went grocery shopping, everyday dramas and how the table was set for dinner. Little details like these are usually lost to the ravages of time and neglect, thought too unimportant and mundane to record. However, that is exactly what this collection of woodcuts focuses on, the scenes of the everyday lives in the town and country people in southern Germany in the early 16th century. These woodcuts provide a glimpse into the unrecorded days and lives of the people, from church festivals, shopping at the markets, wedding processions, interior scenes, and hunting trips to the Emperor coming to town, from the sacred to the profane, all in crisp black and white lines.