The Northern Celestial Hemisphere

Image file

The Northern Celestial Hemisphere — Albrecht Dürer, 1515

Caption

Albrecht Dürer, 1515. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection, accession 1954.12.233. Public Domain.

Catalog notes

Dürer placed the stars among finely drawn constellation figures and framed the chart with portraits of earlier astronomers. The design follows a tradition that reached Renaissance Europe through Arabic and classical sources. Its combination of measured positions, inherited imagery, and named authorities makes it a particularly useful map for exploring how scientific knowledge travels between cultures and how visual conventions help readers navigate unfamiliar space.

Original catalog record, source and attribution