GAURICO, Pomponio Lot n° 1

De sculptura [Florence, Filippo di Giunta, January 8, 1504] THE FIRST PRINTED BOOK DEVOTED ENTIRELY TO SCULPTURE. ACCORDING TO ANDRÉ CHASTEL AND ROBERT KLEIN, "THE FIRST ART TREATISE INTENDED FOR AMATEURS AND CULTIVATED DILETTANTES". EXEMPLAIRE WITH THE ARMS OF ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSONAGES OF THE SPANISH GOLDEN CENTURY: THE DUKE OF MEDINA, VICE KING OF NAPLES ORIGINAL EDITION In-8 (142 x 94 mm) COLLATION: a-f8 (f2 blank) i.e., 48 ff. n. ch. 17th CENTURY NAPOLITAN BINDING. Red morocco, gilt decoration, coat of arms in the center of the boards with motto, framed with roulette and fleurons at the corners, ornate ribbed spine, gilt edges. Modern box PROVENANCE: Julius Ballini with the date February 24, 1568 written in brown ink on the title page -- Ramiro Núñez de Guzmán, Duke of Medina de Las Torres and Viceroy of Naples (1600-1668; arms) with initials. His coat of arms and emblem bear around the shield the initials: "A.C.G.D.D.M.A.H. P.P.M.I.G.P.C.L."for Addidit, Comitatui, Grandatum, Ducatum, Ducatum, Marchionatum, Marchionatum, Arcis, Hispanoliensis, Perpetuam, Praefecturam, Magnam Indiarum, Guzmanorum, Primam, Chancellariatum, Lineam. Its motto is also stamped Revoluta foecundant -- William Godolphin (1634-1696); handwritten note in brown ink on title page. Godolphin purchased the library of the viceroy of Naples, Ramiro Núñez de Guzmán, en bloc -- v.j. d. dom Salomone 1739 : handwritten bookplate in brown ink on title page -- Arthur Lauria (handwritten stamp on flyleaf dated 1935) -- Maurice Burrus (1882-1959 ; bookplate ; his sale, Paris, December 15, 2015, no. 79) Freckling in the margins Ramiro Núñez de Guzmán (1600-1668) was the son-in-law of the Prime Minister under Philip IV of Spain, the Count-Duke of Olivares. Under the name of Duke of Medina de Las Torres, he was appointed Viceroy of Naples in 1637, and embellished the city considerably. Among other things, he built the Palazzo Donn'Anna. A lover of art, an avid bibliophile and, in short, a true uomo universale of the Spanish Golden Age, Viceroy Núñez de Guzmán was also one of the greatest patrons of the painter José de Ribera. Pomponio Gaurico (circa 1481-1530) belonged to a generation for whom mastery of the literary and scientific humanities went hand in hand with the study of art history. De sculptura appeared in 1504, at a time when the study of art history was beginning to form part of the Bildung of a cultured man. The theorization of art had been developing throughout Italy since the publication of the works of Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472). The text, dedicated to Duke Ercole I d'Este, thus takes the form of a dialogue, exposing the differences between Paduan and Florentine artists of the Quattrocento. De sculptura is an eulogy of sculpture, both aesthetically and technically, with long sections on materials, bronzes and processes. Gaurico goes on to praise Padua's cultural emulation and lists the members of the Paduan school, including Antonio Rizzo, the Lombardo brothers, Giorgio Lascaris, Bartolomeo Bellano, Andrea Riccio and Severo da Ravenna. BIBLIOGRAPHY : USTC 832061 -- Adams, G-292 : collation conforme -- J. von Schlosser, La Littérature artistique, Paris, 1984, pp. 259-262 -- Vagnetti, E, II, b1 -- Riccardi, I, i, 367 -- André Chastel & Robert Klein, Pomponius Gauricus, De Sculptura, Droz, 1969, p. 20 -- another fine copy of this rare work is known from the Thomas Scheler bookshop, Cat. 2012, no. 9. WEBOGRAPHY : https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/14418/ramiro-nunez-felipez-de-guzman -- to read the introduction to the annotated edition of the text by A. Chastel and R. Klein: https://books.google.fr/books?id=JHw6L7Yyj44C&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq