FELIBIEN, Andrè.

Entretiens sur les vies et sur les ouvrages des plus excellens peintres, anciens et modernes ... Second edition.

Paris, Denys Mariette, 1696. 2 vols, 4to, pp. [32], 758, [18]; [2], 706, [10], with 4 engraved plates in vol. I, and 3 engraved head-pieces, 3 initials, and 1 tail-piece, woodcut printer's devices on title-page; a few spots here and there but a very good, large copy bound in contemporary speckled calf, gilt spine. Second edition of the most important of Felibien's contributions to artistic theory. Felibien gives a series of biographies of the most significant painters from antiquity to his own day. The importance of the work lies in Felibien's discussion of the lives of 17th century artists, some of whom he knew personally. He met Poussin while in Rome in the late 1640s and spent much time in his company, also making the aquaintance of Giovanni Lanfranco and Pietro da Cortona. His views on Poussin and his circle where he skilfully combines historical fact with anecdotes, make this work a major art historical source for the period. The biographies are interspersed with theoretical discussions on aesthetics, establishing an overall critical framework.The work was originally published in five volumes, which appeared over a period of more than twenty years: 1666, 1672, 1679, 1685 and finally 1688. The first complete edition was published in 1685-88.Cicognara 2263.

• GBP 750.00 > other currencies
• ordernr.: A1077

• bookseller: Bernard Quaritch Ltd. (GREAT BRITAIN)