Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Longitudinal section of St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, as conceived by Michelangelo.

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Maker


1525-1604
(publisher)
1512-1577

Title

Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Longitudinal section of St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, as conceived by Michelangelo.

Date of Production

1558-1561

Medium

medium : material : ink & support : material : paper

Dimensions

Height: 33.1 cm
Width: 47.4 cm

Object Number

B.1978.PG.102.108

Mode of Acquisition

Count Antoine Seilern, bequest, 1978

Credit

Courtauld Gallery, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Location

Not currently on display

Label Text

The Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (‘Mirror of Roman Magnificence’), one of the most celebrated print collections of the Renaissance, is unique in that no two known examples are alike. Antoine Lafréry, a French publisher based in Rome, kept a large stock of prints depicting Roman antiquities, sculptures and contemporary architecture, from which clients could make a selection according to their individual interests. The volume was then bound with a standard frontispiece.

Inscriptions

Inscription: 129

Inscription: MICHAEL . ANGELVS . BONAROTA . INVENIT / STEPHANVS . DV PERAC. FECIT

Inscription: ORTHOGRAPHIA . PARTIS . INTERIORIS TEMPLI . DIVI . PETRI IN . VATICANO

Provenance

Information not yet known or updated

Literature

Zorach, Rebecca, The Virtual Tourist in Renaissance Rome: printing and collecting the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae, Chicago 2008
Parshall, Peter, 'Antonio Lafreri's Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' in 'Print Quarterly', 2006 - pp. 3-28; XXIII (I)
Huelsen, Christian, 'Das Speculum Magnificentiae des Antonio Lafreri' in Collectanea Variae Doctrinae, Florence 1921 - pp.121-170
cat.94 A (1)
Fig. p. 161

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