Joan Blaeu / Pieter Mortier - The Verona Arena or Roman Amphitheatre from Nouveau Théâtre d'Italie - 1660-1704

BEAUTIFUL ANTIQUE PRINT OF THE "NOUVEAU THÉÂTRE D'ITALIE" by Joan/Johannes Blaeu (1596-1673) and Pierre/Pieter Mortier (1661-1711) and printed in Amsterdam. This large copper engraving H 440 x W 560 mm or 17.4.2 by 22.1 inches was originally engraved around 1660-1670 by the great Dutch mapmaker Joan Blaeu, the official cartographer of the Dutch East India Company, as his father Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638) had been before him. PLEASE NOTE: the buyer will also receive a Certificate of Authenticity (COA). This engraving on laid paper with chain lines is well engraved with wide and original margins, great contrast and definition, one of the best productions of Dutch illustrators of the 17th century. For these views of the ancient Roman monuments in Rome, Mortier used the old copper plates from Blaeu's atlases. This engraving shows the "Amphiteatre de Verone" (Latin Amphitheatrum Veronense, also known as the Verona Arena) is a Roman amphitheatre in centre of Verona, Italy, built in 30 AD. It is still in use and serves as a venue for large-scale opera performances. It is one of the best preserved ancient structures of its kind. In ancient times, the arena's capacity was nearly 30,000 people. The stage for concerts and opera performances decreases the available capacity to a maximum of 22,000. To complete the documentation, the photo of the title of the work is also published with the name of the artists who created the prints.

In 1672 Blaeu's printing house was destroyed by fire, and Mortier took over what was left of Blaeu's plates. New plates were engraved, and Mortier re-issued Blaeu's Townbooks of Italy with a mixture of the old and the new, including fine, large panoramas of Genoa, Venice and Naples, as well as many other detailed plates of Italian towns and cities, and put his name on nearly all of them. These seem to have been largely provided by his friend the philosopher and lawyer Carlo-Emanuele Vizzani (1617-1661) whom he knew from his travels in Italy during his Youth (Van der Krogt 43:222.1-4). The Willem Janszoon Blaeu printing house was one of the largest in the world and Joan the Elder was assisted by his sons Willem, Pieter and Joan II. Their endeavours insured Blaeu maps were, and still are, renowned for the consummate care and attention apparent in every stage of production - using only the best paper with finely engraved plates and a high standard of printing.

Title and Description: This copper engraving is part of "Nouveau Théâtre d'Italie ou description exacte de ses villes, palais, églises, etc…" Published by Pierre/Pieter Mortier after the original engravings of Joan Blaeu, in Amsterdam, 1704. Sheet size: H 440 x W 560 mm or 17.4.2 by 22.1 inches. The engraving is in good condition (as shown in the photo), there are NO cuts or holes or restorations, only few small imperfections. Printed on laid paper with chain lines with wide and original margins. No text on the back. Beautiful detailed engraving drawn with great skill, one of the best productions of Dutch illustrators of the 17th century.

References: Van der Krogt 43:222.1-4 and 43:232.1-4; Koeman I, Bl 88-102; Phillips 8945; Rossetti 1140; Berlin Katalog 2683; Andrew Pettigree and Arthur der Weduwen, The Bookshop of the World: Making and Trading Books in the Dutch Golden Age (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2019), pp. 238–239; Johannes Keuning and Marijke Donkersloot-de Vrij (Edited): Willem Jansz. Blaeu: a biography and history of his work as cartographer and publisher, Amsterdam 1973.

Authors/Illustrators: Upon the completion of the eleven-volume Atlas Maior in 1662, Joan/Johannes Blaeu (1596-1673) set about the publication of another gigantic atlas, a multi-volume atlas of the towns and monuments of Italy, the "Theatrum civitatum et admirandorum Italiae". The work was to be in two parts, each consisting of five “books”: the first part would cover the towns of Italy, with the second dealing with the monuments of Rome. Joan Blaeu would only manage to publish three volumes of the atlas within his lifetime. Theses were: the towns of the Ecclesiastical States consisting of 66 maps; the first book of the second part: 44 plates depicting Rome’s ancient theatre’s and circuses as they were in ancient times, and as they were at the time of publication; the part of the second book of the first part, consisting of 33 views and plans of the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily. Pierre/Pieter Mortier (1661-1711) reissued all the Blaeu maps in the years 1704/05 in an atlas, the present work, comprising four volumes. He amended and retouched several of the Blaeu maps and put his name on nearly all of them. He added many new maps of his own design, filling the gaps of the first part of the atlas.

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