Colorized version of the Georg Kress engraving 'Nachricht von 300 Hexen und ihrem Pakt mit dem Teufel' (1591).
Georg Kress was a late 16th/early 17th-century German printer and engraver. Two of his engravings, 'Nachricht von 300 Hexen und ihrem Pakt mit dem Teufel' ("Report about 300 Witches and their Pact with the Devil", 1591) and 'Neuigkeiten aus Schlesien: Missetat einiger Totengräber, die am 20 September 1606 hingerichtet wurden' ("News from Silesia: Crime of a Gravedigger, Executed on 20 September 1606"), are notable for their use of sequentially illustrated narratives. Together with Hans Burgkmair the Elder, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Jeremias Gath, Hans Holbein the Elder, Hans Holbein the Younger, Bartholomäus Käppeler, Caspar Krebs, Hans Rogel the Elder, Hans Rogel the Younger, Erhard Schön, Johann Schubert, Hans Schultes the Elder, Lukas Schultes and Elias Wellhöfer, he is one of the earliest German prototypical comic artists who left us with a signature.
Life and work
Not much is known about the life of Georg Kress, except that he made several wood engravings depicting then-current events. Between the 16th and 18th century such woodcut engravings, named 'Geschichtsblätter' ("Pages about Events"), were forerunners of today's newspapers. They portrayed battles, massacres, public executions, natural disasters and other atrocities. Kress was just one of many artists who made such drawings. Other creators include Johannes van den Aveele, Jeremias Gath, Frans Hogenberg, Romeyn de Hooghe, Bartholomäus Käppeler, Caspar Krebs, Der Prager Meister von 1609, Hans Rogel the Elder, Hans Rogel the Younger, Erhard Schön, Johann Schubert, Hans Schultes the Elder, Lukas Schultes and Elias Wellhöfer. Like most art from that era, the historical accuracy of these graphic "news reports" should be taken with a grain of salt. No eyewitnesses were consulted and all information was based on descriptions from messengers, travelers or hearsay. Unavoidably, anecdotes were sensationalized and used for propaganda purposes. The printers couldn't print opinions that could get them in trouble with the authorities. Audiences wanted to be awed as well. As a result, huge public festivities were made more bombastic, and scenes of death and despair were heavily dramatized. The prints were distributed all over Europe. Once the events became old news, the drawings were bundled and compiled into collectable picture albums.
'Erscheinung am Himmel über Augsburg' (1591).
Georg Kress depicted several news events of his time. In 'Erscheinung am Himmel über Augsburg' (1591) he visualized a strange sky phenomenon observed above the town Augsburg on 8 September 1591. A similar event, seen on 17 April 1621, was visualized in 'Erscheinung am Himmel über Augsburg am 17 April 1621' (1621). An unexplained religious vision in an abandoned church in Plan, Bohemia, which occurred on 24 July 1614, also took his interest. He depicted it in 'Erscheinung in einer verlassenen Kirche in Plan (Böhmen) am 24 Juli 1614'. Kress additionally reported more common tragedies, such as a city fire in Augsburg on 21 January 1620 ('Feuersbrunst in Augsburg am 21 January 1620'). The artist also had attention for more positive events. He glorified the coronation of emperor Matthias II of the Holy Roman Empire ('Krönung des Kaisers Matthias II am 24 Juni 1612') and the royal visit of Gustav Adolf II of Sweden to Augsburg ('Der Einzug Königs Gustav Adolf von Schweden in Augsburg am 14 und 24 April 1632').
'Nachricht von 300 Hexen und ihrem Pakt mit dem Teufel' (1591).
Prototypical comics
In 'Nachricht von 300 Hexen und ihrem Pakt mit dem Teufel' ("Report about 300 Witches and their Pact with the Devil", 1591), Kress visualizes a mass burning of 300 women accused of witchcraft in the German town Jülich, on 6 May 1591. The narrative should be read clockwise, starting with the scene depicted in the left lower corner, where the Devil summons various women. In the scene above, the Prince of Darkness gives the witches the power to take change themselves into werewolves. The next scenes show how the witches/werewolves create havoc in the countryside. They spare nobody, not even children. In the center image, the possessed women are burned at the stake.
'Neuigkeiten aus Schlesien: Missetat einiger Totengräber, die am 20 September 1606 hingerichtet wurden' ("News from Silesia: Crime of a Gravedigger, executed on 20 September 1606") informs the reader about another real-life incident, this time from the Silesia region in present-day Poland. Some gravediggers robbed a church and murdered and tortured several people, as shown in the first two panels. In the third and fourth panel, the criminals are tortured themselves, whereupon their corpses are burned on a stake. Compared with 'Nachricht von 300 Hexen', the narrative in 'Neuigkeiten aus Schlesien' is easier to follow, since Kress separates each chronological event with clearly bordered panels.
'Neuigkeiten aus Schlesien: Missetat einiger Totengräber, die am 20 September 1606 hingerichtet wurden'.