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Unknown Artist German, 15th century

The Vintage of the Grapes of the Vine, from the Blockbook Apocalypse

1465–70
Hand-colored woodcut on cream laid paper
12.9 × 19.8 cm (5.1 × 7.8 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Blockbooks were hand-printed from wooden blocks with hand-carved text. This woodcut is the lower half of a page representing visions from the Book of Revelations . The upper half showed a grain harvest; this half demonstrates the production of wine. Both were highly symbolic substances for the sacrament of the Eucharist. This stencil-colored sheet is almost identical to other surviving impressions. Although part of a book, only one side was printed, due to high embossing created by the process. In this impression, an owner has used the verso as scrap paper, taking copious notes on Latin vocabulary starting with the letter c.

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