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an old book that is sitting on a white surfacean open book with a drawing of a coat of arms on itan old book with a drawing of a man and a woman on itan old book with a drawing of two men standing next to each otheran old book with a drawing of two women standing next to each otheran old book with a drawing of two women standing next to each other
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138 - TERZIO, Francesco (of Bergamo).
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Estimate €800 - €1,000
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Description
TERZIO, Francesco (of Bergamo). Ab AVIDUS or OSELLO, Gaspar. ‘Imagines Gentis Austriacae’. Francisci Tertii Bergomatis, court painter to His Serene Highness Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, Count of Tyrol, etc., to the invincible Emperor Maximilian II, Roman Emperor and Perpetually August, First Part of Images of the Austrian People. Diocese of Œnipontana (Innsbruck) or Venice, (1569–1573). 19th-century fawn half-basane, ribbed spine decorated with gilded fleurons, gilded title ‘Bergomas Imagines’ (a few old handwritten annotations in ink on the endpapers, a few scattered pinholes and stains, slight discolouration in the folds of some plates, two faint central waterstains on some title pages, plate 17 with a slight tear to one margin. Binding slightly rubbed). A magnificent and rare series of sumptuous engravings, one of the masterpieces of Renaissance printmaking. A copy of the second edition – expanded to include several additional figures – of this series of full-length portraits of sovereigns affiliated with the Habsburgs of Austria, depicted in their court attire. The first edition is thought to date from 1558 (according to Brunet). Commissioned by Ferdinand II of Tyrol, Archduke of Austria (1529–1595), from the author and draughtsman, Francesco Terzio, his court’s official painter, as part of a policy of imperial propaganda through the dissemination of official Habsburg iconography, with the aim of creating an allegory and linking faces and symbols to power. Contains 52 large black etchings, fold-out and mounted on tabs, printed on thick laid paper. In folio format (38.4 x 51.5 cm at the edge of the sheet), with engraved numbering. Plates nos. 5, 10, 13, 15 and 17 appear to be missing, but complete sets are rare. Following the engraved title page bearing the grand coat of arms of Ferdinand II, the series is introduced by an impressive scene reminiscent of a *Salvator Mundi*: Christ upon a globe crushes an allegory of Hell (featuring Charon the ferryman, the skeleton of Death, Voluptuousness, and a satyr). The portraits depict important figures, both men and women, from the Habsburg dynasty—and occasionally sovereigns from other European courts—in courtly attire or armour, set within an ornate architectural pediment. The plates also form a little-known series of *Emblemata*: the esoteric vignettes set within the pediment crowning each portrait. The magnificence and precision of the attire help to place this album amongst the series of court costumes and defensive or ceremonial armour for which references are lacking in bibliographies such as Colas’s. Whilst it is historically more accurate to cite Innsbruck as the place of publication, it is possible that part of the print run was produced later, in Italy. After his time at the court of Ferdinand II, Terzio returned there around 1570 (the period 1569–1573 is often cited); furthermore, our engraved title page appears to be in a different state: there is a slight alteration to the typography on the title page and an engraved reference to Venice has been added at the bottom. The title text corresponds to the 1569 edition. Remarkably engraved by Gaspare (da) Padova (also known as Gaspar ab Avidus or Osello), about whom, given his mastery of his art, little is known other than that he was originally from Cittadella (in the Padua region). No copies known to the CCFr. Only a few copies in WorldCat, mainly in Germany. Provenance: Library of Francesco Rizzo Patarol (1770–1833), Count and Secretary of the Ducal Chancellery of Padua, from a Venetian family, of the Rizzo Patarol Palace, bearing his ex libris engraved with the coat of arms from the late 18th to early 19th century, inscribed ‘Francesco Rizzo Patarol’ – Black-ink stencil stamp ‘QUIRINIANAE’ with a fleur-de-lis coat of arms, from the Bibliotheca Querinia in Brescia, founded in the 18th century. Cicognara, 2114. Brunet, V, 728. Not listed in Colas.
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Auction time 10/30/2026 at 2:00 PM
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