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Belvedere Courtyard at the
Vatican in Rome
Architectural Print from Speculum Romanae, 1579
Architectural Print from Speculum Romanae, 1579
See also these engravings from Speculum
Romanae Magnificentiae:
| ||||
Castel
Sant'Angelo
|
Circus
Maximus
|
Dioscuri at the
Quirinal
|
Farnese
Palace
Sold |
Porta
Maggiore
|
Ambrogio Brambilla (act. 1575-1595), engraver.
Claude Duchet (died c. 1585), publisher.
Vero Dissegno Deli Stupendi Edefitii Giardini Boschi Fontane
et Cose Maravegliose di Belvedere in Roma
"Accurate Drawing of the Stupendous Buildings, Gardens, Woods, Fountain
and Marvelous Things of the Belvedere in Rome".
from Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae
Rome: 1579
Engraving, uncolored
13.5 x 18.75 inches, overall
Provenance: James Lamantia, Jr.
Claude Duchet (died c. 1585), publisher.
Vero Dissegno Deli Stupendi Edefitii Giardini Boschi Fontane
et Cose Maravegliose di Belvedere in Roma
"Accurate Drawing of the Stupendous Buildings, Gardens, Woods, Fountain
and Marvelous Things of the Belvedere in Rome".
from Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae
Rome: 1579
Engraving, uncolored
13.5 x 18.75 inches, overall
Provenance: James Lamantia, Jr.
A bird's-eye view of the Cortile del Belvedere (Belvedere Courtyard) in the
Vatican in Rome.
As the title explains, the Belvedere is an impressive complex incorporating formal gardens, buildings, woodlands and fountains.
From this vantage point, part of the Basilica of St. Peter is visible in the upper left.
Beneath the image is a lettered key, in Italian, to twenty-five areas and architectural features of the site.
This view shows the Cortile as it looked before 1585, when Pope Sesto V built a wing of the Vatican Library across it, dividing it into two parts -- and, in the opinion of some, spoiling the unity of "Bramante"'s original design.
This engraving was made by the publisher Antoine Lafréry's nephew and heir Claude Duchet and is considered to be part of Lafréry's Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae, a massive compilation that aspired to document nearly every extant monument in Rome.
The British Museum has in its collection three copies of this print, all of which are the 1579 version by Duchet shown here, and they identify Brambilla as the engraver.
An inscription lower right lists the publication credits as,
"Romae, Claudij duchetti formis, 1579".
The Cortile del Belvedere today is one of THREE courtyards at the Vatican in Rome.
In 1506, Giuliano della Rovere (Pope Julius II) commissioned the architect Donato "Bramante" to CONNECT the Palazzina del Belvedere, the Palace of Innocent VIII, with the Sistine Chapel.
Each of these had been constructed in the last quarter of the 1400s.
"Bramante" died in 1514 and the Belvedere was completed for Pope Pius IV in 1562-65 by the architect and engraver Pirro Ligorio.
Located on a sloping site, the Belvedere gardens were designed as a set of terraces, surrounded by long, corridor-like wings and traversed by staircases.
As seen in this engraving, the upper terraces held lawns or formal gardens (giardino all'italiana), while the lowest level was paved and furnished with bleachers as an outdoor theatre for tournaments, pageants and carousels.
Today the main courtyard is divided in TWO by the Vatican Library addition built by Pope Sixtus V.
This replaced the MIDDLE terrace of "Bramante"'s original design.
The lowest terrace is STILL called the "Cortile del Belvedere", but the upper terrace is called the "Cortile della Pigna."
Antoine Lafréry (also known by the Italian name Antonio Lafreri) was a French printseller and publisher, and possibly also an engraver, who moved to Italy and was active in Rome from around 1540 until his death in 1577.
Antonio Lafreri's firm published maps and a wide range of prints: ancient and modern Rome, portraits, ornament and mythological, historical and religious subjects.
Lafreri also bought and sold drawings, coins and medals.
Among Lafreri's publications were two architectural treatises and several sets of ornament prints, including Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (c. 1540-c.1565).
According to the subtitle of Speculum, it had the most accurately drawn representations of nearly all the extant monuments of the City of Rome.
In the 1570s, the Lafreri catalogue listed some 500 subjects.
Speculum did not have fixed contents.
Each copy was unique and varied in terms of the number of pages, subjects included, and even the printers and engravers.
Moreover, later collectors also added prints to earlier sets.
The University of Chicago holds the largest extant collection of Speculum.
Claude Duchet (also known by the Italian name Claudio Duchetti) was an Italian printseller and publisher.
Duchetti inherited half of the plates of his uncle, the engraver and publisher Antoine Lafréry, and also commissioned plates from artists such as Perret, Thomassin and Brambilla.
Upon Luchetti's death in about 1585, his firm was operated by his brother-in-law Giacomo Gherardi as "Claudii Ducheti Heirs" until his son Claudio reached the age of majority.
Ambrogio Brambilla was an Italian painter and engraver from Milan.
By 1575 Brambilla was residing in Rome, where he engraved devotional and genre subjects, portraits, costume prints, board games, depictions of events and ceremonies and topographical prints.
Bambrilla worked for the publishers Panzera, Van Aelst and Claudio Duchetti, among others.
Provenance: James Lamantia, Jr. (1923 - 2011).
At the time of his death, Lamantia was Emeritus Professor of Architecture at Tulane University in New Orleans. He was also a practicing architect, and an artist.
References:
"Ambrogio Brambilla." British Museum Collection Database. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId=131273 (30 August 2012).
"Antoine Lafréry." British Museum Collection Database. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId=118308 (24 August 2012).
Bénézit, E. Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs. France: Librairie Gründ, 1966. Vol. 5, p. 355.
Bernini, Fabrizio. "La Fontana dei Dioscuri, il suggestivo belvedere del Quirinale." EZ Rome. 31 March 2011. http://www.ezrome.it/fontane/la-fontana-dei-dioscuri-il-suggestivo-belvedere-del-quirinale-2499.html (27 August 2012).
"Claudio Duchetti." British Museum Collection Database. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId=92428 (24 August 2012).
"Cortile del Belvedere." Wikipedia. 18 August 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortile_del_Belvedere (31 August 2012).
Freeman, Charles. The Horses of St. Mark's: A Story of Triumph in Byzantium, Paris and Venice. Penguin, 2010. pp. 94-95. Online at Google Books: http://books.google.com/books?id=32yAlUZ0350C (27 August 2012).
"Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae." University of Chicago Library. http://speculum.lib.uchicago.edu/content/introduction.html (24 August 2012).
"Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae/ Opus Fidiae Opus Praxitelis." British Museum. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectid=3068124 (27 August 2012).
"Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae Roma nell’incisione del Cinquecento." Mandragora Publishing House. 2005-2012. http://www.mandragora.it/en/speculum-romanae-magnificentiaebrroma-nellincisione-del-cinquecento-en.html (24 August 2012).
"Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae / Vero dissegno…di Belvedere in Roma." http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectid=3065845
&partid=1&searchText=belvedere+giardini&numpages=10&orig=%2fresearch%2fsearch_the_collection_database.aspx¤tPage=1 (30 August 2012).
"Vatican Courtyards." Vatican City State. 2007-2012. http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Monuments/The_Vatican_Museums/Vatican_Courtyards.htm (31 August 2012).
As the title explains, the Belvedere is an impressive complex incorporating formal gardens, buildings, woodlands and fountains.
From this vantage point, part of the Basilica of St. Peter is visible in the upper left.
Beneath the image is a lettered key, in Italian, to twenty-five areas and architectural features of the site.
This view shows the Cortile as it looked before 1585, when Pope Sesto V built a wing of the Vatican Library across it, dividing it into two parts -- and, in the opinion of some, spoiling the unity of "Bramante"'s original design.
This engraving was made by the publisher Antoine Lafréry's nephew and heir Claude Duchet and is considered to be part of Lafréry's Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae, a massive compilation that aspired to document nearly every extant monument in Rome.
The British Museum has in its collection three copies of this print, all of which are the 1579 version by Duchet shown here, and they identify Brambilla as the engraver.
An inscription lower right lists the publication credits as,
"Romae, Claudij duchetti formis, 1579".
The Cortile del Belvedere today is one of THREE courtyards at the Vatican in Rome.
In 1506, Giuliano della Rovere (Pope Julius II) commissioned the architect Donato "Bramante" to CONNECT the Palazzina del Belvedere, the Palace of Innocent VIII, with the Sistine Chapel.
Each of these had been constructed in the last quarter of the 1400s.
"Bramante" died in 1514 and the Belvedere was completed for Pope Pius IV in 1562-65 by the architect and engraver Pirro Ligorio.
Located on a sloping site, the Belvedere gardens were designed as a set of terraces, surrounded by long, corridor-like wings and traversed by staircases.
As seen in this engraving, the upper terraces held lawns or formal gardens (giardino all'italiana), while the lowest level was paved and furnished with bleachers as an outdoor theatre for tournaments, pageants and carousels.
Today the main courtyard is divided in TWO by the Vatican Library addition built by Pope Sixtus V.
This replaced the MIDDLE terrace of "Bramante"'s original design.
The lowest terrace is STILL called the "Cortile del Belvedere", but the upper terrace is called the "Cortile della Pigna."
Antoine Lafréry (also known by the Italian name Antonio Lafreri) was a French printseller and publisher, and possibly also an engraver, who moved to Italy and was active in Rome from around 1540 until his death in 1577.
Antonio Lafreri's firm published maps and a wide range of prints: ancient and modern Rome, portraits, ornament and mythological, historical and religious subjects.
Lafreri also bought and sold drawings, coins and medals.
Among Lafreri's publications were two architectural treatises and several sets of ornament prints, including Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (c. 1540-c.1565).
According to the subtitle of Speculum, it had the most accurately drawn representations of nearly all the extant monuments of the City of Rome.
In the 1570s, the Lafreri catalogue listed some 500 subjects.
Speculum did not have fixed contents.
Each copy was unique and varied in terms of the number of pages, subjects included, and even the printers and engravers.
Moreover, later collectors also added prints to earlier sets.
The University of Chicago holds the largest extant collection of Speculum.
Claude Duchet (also known by the Italian name Claudio Duchetti) was an Italian printseller and publisher.
Duchetti inherited half of the plates of his uncle, the engraver and publisher Antoine Lafréry, and also commissioned plates from artists such as Perret, Thomassin and Brambilla.
Upon Luchetti's death in about 1585, his firm was operated by his brother-in-law Giacomo Gherardi as "Claudii Ducheti Heirs" until his son Claudio reached the age of majority.
Ambrogio Brambilla was an Italian painter and engraver from Milan.
By 1575 Brambilla was residing in Rome, where he engraved devotional and genre subjects, portraits, costume prints, board games, depictions of events and ceremonies and topographical prints.
Bambrilla worked for the publishers Panzera, Van Aelst and Claudio Duchetti, among others.
Provenance: James Lamantia, Jr. (1923 - 2011).
At the time of his death, Lamantia was Emeritus Professor of Architecture at Tulane University in New Orleans. He was also a practicing architect, and an artist.
References:
"Ambrogio Brambilla." British Museum Collection Database. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId=131273 (30 August 2012).
"Antoine Lafréry." British Museum Collection Database. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId=118308 (24 August 2012).
Bénézit, E. Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs. France: Librairie Gründ, 1966. Vol. 5, p. 355.
Bernini, Fabrizio. "La Fontana dei Dioscuri, il suggestivo belvedere del Quirinale." EZ Rome. 31 March 2011. http://www.ezrome.it/fontane/la-fontana-dei-dioscuri-il-suggestivo-belvedere-del-quirinale-2499.html (27 August 2012).
"Claudio Duchetti." British Museum Collection Database. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId=92428 (24 August 2012).
"Cortile del Belvedere." Wikipedia. 18 August 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortile_del_Belvedere (31 August 2012).
Freeman, Charles. The Horses of St. Mark's: A Story of Triumph in Byzantium, Paris and Venice. Penguin, 2010. pp. 94-95. Online at Google Books: http://books.google.com/books?id=32yAlUZ0350C (27 August 2012).
"Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae." University of Chicago Library. http://speculum.lib.uchicago.edu/content/introduction.html (24 August 2012).
"Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae/ Opus Fidiae Opus Praxitelis." British Museum. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectid=3068124 (27 August 2012).
"Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae Roma nell’incisione del Cinquecento." Mandragora Publishing House. 2005-2012. http://www.mandragora.it/en/speculum-romanae-magnificentiaebrroma-nellincisione-del-cinquecento-en.html (24 August 2012).
"Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae / Vero dissegno…di Belvedere in Roma." http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectid=3065845
&partid=1&searchText=belvedere+giardini&numpages=10&orig=%2fresearch%2fsearch_the_collection_database.aspx¤tPage=1 (30 August 2012).
"Vatican Courtyards." Vatican City State. 2007-2012. http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Monuments/The_Vatican_Museums/Vatican_Courtyards.htm (31 August 2012).
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