Large Triumphal Carriage

The Large Triumphal Carriage or Great Triumphal Car (in German, Triumphwagen) is a large 16th-century woodcut print by Albrecht Dürer, commissioned by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. The work was originally intended to be the central part of a 54 metres (177 ft) long print of a Triumphal Procession or Triumph of Maximilian, depicting Maximilian and his court entourage in a procession.

The work is one of three huge prints created for Maximilian, the other being a Triumphal Arch (1512–15, 192 woodcut panels, 3.0 metres (10 ft) high and 3.7 metres (12 ft) wide) also designed by Albrecht Dürer, and the Triumphal Procession (1516–18, 137 woodcut panels, 54 metres (177 ft) long). The monumental projects reflect Maximilian's position as Holy Roman Emperor, and link him to the triumphal arches and triumphs of Ancient Rome. Only the Triumphal Arch was completed before Maximilian's death in 1519, and distributed as Imperial propaganda as he intended.

The completed Large Triumphal Carriage is a composite image printed from 8 separate wood blocks created by Willibald Pirckheimer. It measures approximately 0.46 metres (1.5 ft) high 2.4 metres (8 ft) long. Two blocks depict a large carriage or chariot in which Maximilian sits alone, holding a sceptre and a palm and wearing the imperial robes and the crown of the Holy Roman Empire and surrounded by the four cardinal virtues - Iustitia (justice), Fortitudo (fortitude), Prudentia (prudence) and Temperantia (temperance). The emperor sits under the crown held aloft by a Victory, whose feathered wings bear the names of Maximilian's military campaigns: "Gallis" (France), "Ungaris" (Hungary), "Bohemis" (Bohemia), "Elvetiis" (Switzerland), "Germanis" (Germany) and "Venetis" (Venice). The other six plates each show a pair of horses with luxurious harnesses, pulling the carriage along. Many parts of the print are labelled to explain the complex iconography: the wheels are marked "Magnificentia" (magnificence), "Dignitas" (dignity), "Gloria" (glory) and "Honor" (honour); one rein is marked "Nobilitas" (nobility) and the other "Potentia" (power). The driver of the carriage is "Ratio" (reason). Each horse is attended by a female figure carrying a wreath: from rear to front, "Providentia" (providence) and "Moderatio" (moderation), "Alacritas" (quickness) and "Opportunitas" (opportunity), "Velocitas" (speed) and "Firmitudo" (firmness), "Acrimonia" (sharpness/keen-ness/vigor) and "Virilitas" (virility), "Audacia" (audacity) and "Magnanimitas" (magananiminty), and "Experientia" (experience) and "Solertia" (skill). The carriage is also attended by four female figures: "Gravitas" (gravity), "Perserverantia" (perseverance), "Fidentia" (fidelity) and "Securitas" (security). Lettering above explains the iconography, and the front pair of horses are accompanied by a text recording the commission from Maximilian to Pirckheimer dated Innsbruck, 1518.

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