Name/Title
CE 1550 Sebastian Münster, Monstra Marina et Terrestria (Marine and Terrestrial Monsters), Hand-Colored Woodcut from CosmographiaDescription
SEBASTIAN MÜNSTER (1488–1552)
Monstra marina et terrestria (Marine and Terrestrial Monsters)
Basel, 1550
Woodcut with hand coloring
From Cosmographia, German edition
Published by Heinrich Petri
Design attributed to Hans Rudolf Manuel Deutsch (1525–1571)
This woodcut depicts marine and terrestrial creatures described in Sebastian Münster’s Cosmographia, an influential sixteenth-century work combining geography, history, ethnography, and natural history. The lettered figures correspond to descriptions in Münster’s text and include recognizable animals alongside creatures derived from travelers’ reports, earlier natural histories, and traditions concerning marine monsters.
Much of the marine imagery derives from Olaus Magnus’s Carta Marina (1539), a large map of Scandinavia and the northern seas. Münster adapted and rearranged Olaus’s creatures into a concentrated representation of northern marine life. The resulting image reflects the ways sixteenth-century geographical and natural-historical works incorporated direct observation, received knowledge, travelers’ accounts, and reports of unfamiliar or extraordinary animals.
The lower portion is dominated by a large green marine creature, while other figures include a sea serpent attacking a vessel, a large crustacean, several fish and cetacean-like creatures, and hybrid forms. A separate landscape across the top depicts terrestrial animals and a hunter. The woodcut is associated with Swiss artist Hans Rudolf Manuel Deutsch, whose monogram appears in the block.
Verso: German text concluding a discussion of animals and marine creatures, followed by the heading Germania and Zum ersten von Ungerland. Cap. xxxvi (“First, concerning Hungary, Chapter 36”). Below is a woodcut map showing Hungary and surrounding regions, including Transylvania, Moldavia, Wallachia, and Bulgaria.
Cataloguing note: Identification as an impression from the 1550 German edition is provisional, based on comparison of the typography, text, chapter sequence, and verso map with published and digitized examples. The exact edition, dimensions, paper, condition, and date of the hand coloring will be reassessed after physical examination.Create Date
September 3, 2026Update Date
October 4, 2026
