Kallenberg, Jacob/Cristini, Luca S. The flags of the Holy Roman Empire 1545

The frontispiece of this book, a beautiful example, shows the imperial coat of arms as it appeared in 1545, the year to which the consulted copy refers, during the reign of Charles V of Habsburg. For a long time, it was believed that the work was by Jakob Köbel (14621533). The woodcuts are indeed signed IK, which probably misled scholars. More recently, however, it has been suggested and in a way confirmed that the artist was Jacob Kallenberg (15001565), a Bernese master who was considered equal to Holbein in his day! As you will see when leafing through the book, the more than 140 plates that make up the entire work attributed to Köbel/Kallenberg are true works of art. Each one shows a flag bearer, or more precisely a standard-bearer, dressed in the fashion of 16th-century German mercenaries, waving a painted, embroidered or sewn flag bearing a coat of arms, again against an urban backdrop. Each flag refers to the heraldry of electors, princes, counts, barons, cities and historical regions and is unfurled in the wind so that its coat of arms is clearly visible. Each figure depicted in the work has a distinctive appearance, particularly in the colours of the banners and clothing. The flag bearer is always armed with a sword or dagger, which is prominently displayed in the foreground and attached to his belt; all wear headgear that is more or less decorated with feathers. There are even rarer depictions of flag bearers in armour.