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All auctions / Books, Maps & Manuscripts / Quintus Horatius Flaccus and illustrated by Otto van Veen...
1684 DUTCH EMBLEMS BOOK IN FOUR LANGUAGES (French, Dutch, German and Latin), masterfully illustrated with 103 drawings by Otto van Veen or Otto Venius (1556–1629) and re-engraved and printed by the Amsterdam workshop of Henricum Wetstenium. A rare edition, THE FIRST EDITION WITH GERMAN TEXT ADDED and with an exquisite binding bearing the arms of Anselm Franz von Ingelheim (or the House of Ingelheim 1679-1695), was a German Prince-Archbishop and Elector of Mainz, see the third photo for comparison. There are hundred of beautiful emblems depicting moral scenes, esotericism, magic, monsters, animals, spells, occultism, prophecies, memento mori, comedy, vices, virtues, teachings on nature and the destiny of man. All illustrations are well engraved with intact margins, with great contrast and definition, one of the best productions of Dutch illustrators of the 17th century. The drawings were created by the flemish painter Otto Van Veen, also known as the teacher of Peter Paul Rubens between 1594 and 1598. Each emblem and illustration has a short explanation in French, Dutch, German and Latin, the texts draw inspiration from the work of the Roman poet Horace also known as Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65 BC – 8 BC). It is one of the finest Dutch emblem books of the 17th century. All illustrations are intact and in good condition, complete book. Antique binding from around 1670 in excellent condition as shown in the photos. NO COPIES FOR SALE ONLY 14 COPIES IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES, ACCORDING TO THE USTC ENTRY PROVIDED HERE; https://www.ustc.ac.uk/editions/1824538. Otto van Veen's "Emblems from Horace" (principally from the Odes and Satires) is a masterpiece of the emblematic literature, here printed in Amsterdam with polyglot text, ensuring it a Europe-wide readership. This book of 103 emblems populated by monsters, miracles, disasters, skeletons, apocalypses, death and life was intended to provide a moral teaching and a philosophical reflection on life, death, love, vices and virtues. Van Veen was among the most important Dutch emblematists of the seventeenth-century, as well as Antwerp's leading artist and dean of the painters' guild of St. Luke. Peter Paul Rubens entered his studio, in 1594-95, as an apprentice, and Veen's role as a classically educated humanist artist influenced Rubens profoundly. The binding belongs to Anselm Franz von Ingelheim (or the House of Ingelheim 1679-1695), was a German Prince-Archbishop and Elector of Mainz; he ranked second only to the Emperor, sitting as "first among equals" among the prince-electors and he executed some of the most prestigious duties reserved for the Elector of Mainz: A)In 1689, he crowned Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg (wife of Emperor Leopold I) as Holy Roman Empress. The following year, in 1690, he crowned her son, Joseph I, as the King of Hungary. B)His reign aligned with the blossoming of the Baroque period in the region. Despite financial strains from continuous fortress building, his administration integrated Baroque art, architecture, and lifestyle into the cultural fabric of Mainz. COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED EDITION. TITLE: EMBLEMATA HORATIANA, imaginibus in aes incisis atque latino, germanico, gallico et belgico carmine illustrata. (Horatian Emblems, illustrated with images engraved on copper and with verses in Latin, German, French, and Dutch). AUTHORS: Horace or Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65 BC – 8 BC), and illustrated by Otto van Veen or Otto Venius (1556–1629) PUBLISHERS: Henricum Wetstenium, printed in Amsterdam in 1684, text in Dutch, French, German and Latin DESCRIPTION: In 8° size, height 160 x width 107 mm (8.1 by 6.5 inches). Pages [16], 207, [9], complete book. Antique stiff ivory-colored vellum extensively cold-stamped, coat of arms in the center of boards, Binding free of damage, cuts, or missing parts; intact and in excellent condition, with minor flaws as shown in the photos. The binding bears the arms of Anselm Franz von Ingelheim (of the House of Ingelheim; Prince-Archbishop and Elector of Mainz, 1679–1695); see the third photo for comparison. Engraved title in black and red, one full page illustrated frontispiece after Gerard Lairesse, plus 103 emblematic figures engraved on copper after Otto van Veen. The engravings are of high quality and highly detailed; there are few small scattered spots, yellowing, and oxidation marks, but nothing serious. The book concludes with a nine-page multilingual index listing all the images and mottoes. The pages and illustrations are all present and intact; it is a fine copy featuring a refined and unique binding. LITERATURE & REFERENCES; World Cat OCLC n°22567254; USTC n°1824538; Praz 523; Funck p.404; Landwehr, Romanic, 741; Landwehr, Emblem Books of the Low Countries, 682; Landwehr, German Emblem Books, 607; Von Faber du Faur 818; Short Title Catalogue Netherlands n°842219749; London, United Kingdom, British Library Shelfmark: 1068.f.14; Den Haag, Netherlands, Koninklijke Bibliotheek Shelfmark: 489 D 10; Paris, France, Fondation Custodia Shelfmark: OBL-751; Bertini, Giuseppe: "Otto van Veen, Cosimo Masi and the Art Market in Antwerp at the End of the Sixteenth Century." Burlington Magazine vol. 140, no. 1139. (Feb. 1998), pp. 119–120; Olga Vassilieva-Codognet, Coining Neo-Stoic Hieroglyphs: from the Brussels Mint to Emblemata sive symbola, in: Otto Vaenius and his Emblem Books, ed. Simon McKeown (Glasgow Emblem Studies 2012); Hargreaves- Mawdsley, W.N. (1968) "Leclerc, Jean (1657-1736)" Everyman's Dictionary of European Writers Dutton, New York. ILLUSTRATOR: Otto van Veen (1556-1629), also known by his Latinized name Otto Venius or Octavius Vaenius, was a painter, draughtsman, and humanist active primarily in Antwerp and Brussels in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He is known for running a large studio in Antwerp, producing several emblem books, and for being, from 1594 until 1598, Peter Paul Rubens' teacher. AUTHOR: Horace also known as Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65 BC – 8 BC), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his Odes as the only Latin lyrics worth reading: "He can be lofty sometimes, yet he is also full of charm and grace, versatile in his figures, and felicitously daring in his choice of words." Horace developed a number of inter-related themes throughout his poetic career, including politics, love, philosophy, and ethics, his own social role, and poetry itself. His Epodes and Satires are forms of "blame poetry", and both have a natural affinity with the moralising and diatribes of Cynicism. SHIPPING: via UPS, DHL, National Postal Services, 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.
Estimate:£848.5
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