Pietro Santi Bartoli / Giovanni Pietro Bellori / Michel-Ange de La Chausse - Picturae Antiquae Cryptarum Romanarum or Paintings of Ancient Roman Crypts - 1738

BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATED FIRST EDITION about ancient paintings, sculptures, art and temples of Rome "Picturae Antiquae Cryptarum Romanarum or Paintings of Ancient Roman Crypts". The 75 engravings in large format height 390 x width 270 mm are by Pietro Santi Bartoli (1635-1700) and the text is by Giovanni Pietro Bellori (1613-1696). RARE FIRST EDITION and COMPLETE. "The collaboration between Bellori and Bartoli was of inestimable benefit for archaeological studies" (Stark 115). Rich iconographic set composed of numerous vignettes and illustrations, engraved in copper by Pietro Santi Bartoli, each engraving is accompanied by some descriptive pages, which explain the meaning, Roman history, lifestyle, art, esoteric rites, superstitions and symbolism of the Roman Empire. This is one of the most beautiful 18th century book ever published on Roman history and art. The temple of Quintus Nasonius Ambrosius (Nasoni's family) was unearthed in the year 1674 during excavations of the Via Flaminia (Flaminian Way) and was one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of its time, the temple was initially believed to be that of the poet Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso).

The author Giovanni Pietro Bellori, was a leading theorist of classicism who would later become curator of antiquities for Pope Clement X. Many scholars consider Bellori as the Vasari of the Baroque period. Pietro Santi Bartoli, a draughtsman and painter, produced a visual record of the frescoes and other decorations included within the volume. Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717-1768) appreciated Bartoli very much and proposed him to young people as a model for drawing antiquities. This book is an important source for the study of art, ancient Roman wall and ceiling decorations. The plates show not only paintings of this temple but also stucchi, mosaics, lamps, vases and other objects. "Executed with accuracy, few specimens are seen of this version which was made to be inserted in the treasury of antiquities of Grevio" (Cicognara II, 3612).The temple is from the 2nd century AD, with the facade originally shaped of small temple, where the dedicatory inscription of Nasonius Ambrosius was displayed, which allows the sepulcher to be attributed to the Nasoni family. The interior of the tomb is famous for its pictorial decoration which completely adorned the burial chamber: large mythological scenes (Judgment of Paris, Athena and Heracles, the Trojan War) were separated by different elements decorative (Victories and winged Geniuses, figures alluding to the Seasons). The area and the temples described can still be visited today. This edition includes an examination of the frescoes found within the Domus Aurea, the remains of which were first discovered in the late 15th century and inspired numerous Renaissance artists including Raphael. Also included is a third work written by Michel Ange de La Chausse that documents several Roman and Etruscan temples/tombs/monuments.

Description: in folio size, Height 390 x Width 270 cm or 15.4 by 10.6 inches. 3 parts in 1 volume, each with its index and list of numbered illustrations; XII, 214 pages including 3 indexes and 75 numbered illustrations, mostly full-page, 7 big initials in copper and 47 culs-de-lampe or typographic ornaments, COMPLETE BOOK. Title page in red and black. Rich and elegant iconographic set composed of many vignettes, drop caps, finials and illustrations in the text, many of which are full-page, and engraved in copper by Bartoli brothers. Pages are clean, rare blemishes, otherwise excellent copy with wide margins. Contemporary full brown calfskin binding with traces of use, scratches on the boards, corners and edges but solid and functional, spine with gold-embossed title and phytomorphic friezes, spine with 6 raised bands and marbled edges. Traces of use on the boards, missing ends of back and few woodworm holes. The engraving work, of great finesse, shows great detail in the illustrations and excellent contrast and sharpness. Pages and plates are clean, printed on strong and heavy paper. The 75 illustrations are very detailed and well contrasted, the text is also enriched by large decorated initials and engraved vignettes as headpieces. RARE BOOK, COMPLETE WITH ALL THE 75 PLATES.

Title: Picturae Antiquae Cryptarum Romanarum, Et Sepulcri Nasonum, Delineatae Et Expressae Ad Archetypa... Ancient Paintings of Roman Crypts, and Nasoni's Sepulchres, Drawn And Expressed To The Archetypes)...Text by Giovanni Pietro Bellori and Michel-Ange de La Chausse. Illustrations by Pietro Santi Bartoli & Francesco Bartoli. Publisher Hieronymous Mainardus (Girolamo Mainardi), in Rome MDCCXXXVIII (1738). First Latin Edition and complete. The first edition of 1680 in Italian contained only 35 illustrations.

References: Brunet 758; Graesse 330; Cicognara 3611 and 3612 (1st Italian and 1st Latin edition); Rossetti, II, 884 et 947; Haskell, Francis (1993). "Chapter 6". Patrons and Painters: Art and Society in Baroque Italy. 1980. Yale University Press. pp. 158–161; Pace, Claire (1996). "Bellori, Giovanni Pietro", vol. 3, pp. 673–675, in The Dictionary of Art. London: Macmillan; Bryan, Michael (1889). Walter Armstrong; Robert Edmund Graves (eds.). Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, Biographical and Critical. Vol. II L-Z. London: George Bell and Sons. p. 449.

Illustrator: Pietro Santi Bartoli (1635-1700) was an Italian engraver, draughtsman, painter and antiquary. Bartoli was born at Perugia and then moved to Rome in 1635 as a youth, there he studied painting under Jean Lemaire and Poussin, but abandoned it to devote himself entirely to engraving and as an antiquarian for Christina, Queen of Sweden. He engraved many Roman monuments, publishing in Admiranda Romanorum Antiquitatum (Rome, 1693). Later, he lived in Paris, where he was introduced at the court of Louis XIV. In 1699, with the engraver Domenico de' Rossi, he produced Romanae Magnitudinis Monumenta, a later edition of the 1637 Antiquae Urbis Splendor by Giacomo Lauro.

Author: Giovanni Pietro Bellori (1613-1696) was an Italian writer, antiquarian and art historian. He was one of the most important biographers of Italian Baroque artists in the 17th century. An art historian, he is considered by many to be, together with Filippo Baldinucci, the Baroque equivalent of Giorgio Vasari. He was the adopted son of the antiquarian, collector and writer Francesco Angeloni, owner of a veritable house-museum in which Bellori grew up and became acquainted with art thanks to the frequenting of many illustrious personalities of the time who were hosted there, such as artists of the caliber of Domenichino, Nicolas Poussin, Andrea Sacchi, Guido Reni, Carlo Maratta and Annibale Carracci. His Lives of the Artists (Vite de' Pittori, Scultori et Architetti Moderni), published in 1672, was influential in consolidating and promoting the theoretical case for classical idealism in art. Bellori is the "predecessor of Winckelmann" not only as an antiquarian but also as an art theorist.

Author: Michel-Ange de La Chausse, also Latinized Michael Angelus Causeus and Italian Michael Angelo Causeo, (1660-1724) was a French antiquary and diplomat, who lived and worked mostly in Italy. After the French consul to the Papal States, Claude Voiret, died in 1705, La Chausse became his successor. As French ambassador to the Holy See, he was charged with obtaining documents and information that could help French officials in dealing with the Roman Curia. In addition, he also helped procure and ship artworks and artifacts for the Royal Collections of Coins, Inscriptions, and Sculpture, and assisted the other officers in these endeavors. La Chausse published 3 works of major importance about Roman history.

Shipping: via UPS, protected, INSURED and fully tracked package. Estimated time for Europe 3-5 working days. Shipping within one working day. You can combine shipping if you purchases several items from us, saving money and time.