Biblia Sacra 1585 -196 Engravings by Jost AMMAN ... Lot 8

Biblia Sacra 1585 -196 Engravings by Jost AMMAN Ad optima quaeque veteris et vulgatae translationis exemplaria summa a diligentia, pariq́[ue] fide castigata: cum Hebraicorum, Chaldaeorum & Graecorum nominum interpretatione. FRANCOFORTI Excudebat Petrus Fabricius, Impensis Sigis. Feirabendi, Henrici Tack et Petri Fischeri. 1585Title page for the second part: Prophetae omnes, cum libris Machabaeorum, & Novo Jesu Christi Testamento. 1585. Francofurti. Contains the Apocrypha [8], 423, [1], 311, [1] Bl. Ill. Colophon: Impressvm Francoforti Ad Moenvm, Apvd Petrvm Fabricivm, Impensis Sigismundi Feyerabendi, Henrici Tackij, & Petri Piscatoris. M.D. LXXXV. - Bound in 18th century half calf with corners, spine ribbed with gilt thread, small snags on headpieces, corners dull. Illustrated in the text with 196 woodcuts after Jost Amman Printing mark of Sigmund Feyerabend (1528-1590) representing the virtues of fame (centre) with Temperance (left) and peace (with beehive) Feyerabend was the most accomplished printer in Frankfurt am Main, and the graphic design is the work of Jost Amman. These woodcut vignettes depict scenes from the Bible. They illustrate the particular talent of Jost Amman, a great Zurich artist who settled in Nuremberg and was, after Dürer, one of the most important German engravers of the 16th century. Following in the footsteps of his master Virgil Solis, who produced biblical paintings in 1562, Jost Amman here tackles the unavoidable exercise for engravers of the time, that of the "figures of the Bible". In these remarkable engravings, the mannered figures with elongated silhouettes, characteristic of Jost Amman's style, are set in picturesque and often tormented settings punctuated by ruins, ploughed fields, steep hills, fortified towns, villages, seascapes, etc. The exteriors, like the interiors - the latter necessarily antique in style - contain architectural, decorative and clothing elements of great interest to iconographers and historians of 16th-century Germany. Throughout this masterfully drawn and engraved suite, Jost Amman deploys his singular art - effective and refined - in which, Didot said, the Italian manner is introduced into the German style without weakening its verve and exuberance, which gives the engravings made for the Feyerabends a cachet that distinguishes them among all. The last work to be printed during Descartes' lifetime, the original edition appeared in 1649. Willems 1339