This woodcut was originally intended as the centerpiece of an ambitious Triumphal Procession of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. Of approximately 200 planned, 137 woodcuts were executed. The Procession’s program was devised by Albrecht Dürer’s learned patrician friend, Willibald Pirckheimer, whose text is used as captions on the final woodcuts. Most of the Procession was produced by artists from Augsburg, led by Hans Burgkmair. This particular segment, however, transformed an earlier watercolor design by Dürer depicting the emperor’s family in a carriage into a complex standalone allegory. The emperor’s chariot is driven by the allegorical figure of Reason, accompanied by Victory, and surrounded by the four Cardinal Virtues (Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude, and Justice) joined in a dance of laurel wreaths. The Chariot was issued after Maximilian’s death in 1519 as a testimonial to the emperor and his office.