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an old book with a drawing of a woman sitting on top of a buildingan old book with a drawing of a man in the middle of itan open book with a drawing of a man in the wateran old brown book sitting on top of a table next to a white wallan illustration of a drawing of a large building with a sun above itan open book with a drawing of a man on a boat in the wateran old book with a picture of people in itan open book with a picture of a man and animals on itan old book with a picture of a man and a woman in a jungle
Premium Maître Paul PASTAUD

1257 - [VIGENERE (Blaise de)]. The Images or Paintings in Flat Colo…
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Estimate €800 - €1,000
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Description
[VIGENERE (Blaise de)]. The Images or Paintings in Flat Colour of the Two Greek Sophists, the Philostrates, and the Statues of Callistratus. Translated into French by Blaise de Vigenere. […] Revised and corrected against the original by a learned scholar of our time versed in the Greek language, and reproduced in intaglio in this new edition. With epigrams on each of them by Artus Thomas, Sieur d’Embry. Paris, Sébastien Cramoisy, 1637. Folio, havana calfskin, decorated ribbed spine, double gilt fillet framing the covers (contemporary binding). Caps and corners worn, scuffed and with some skin loss. [1] engraved title leaf, [8] preliminary leaves, 921 pp., [1] p. (privilegium), [46] pp. (table of contents). (A gap in the pagination between pages 832 and 835; no pages missing.) A new illustrated edition of this masterpiece of French Baroque book art (alongside *Le Temple des Muses*), the first edition of which dates from 1614. Beautiful intaglio-engraved illustrations comprising a frontispiece title page, 68 splendid full-page plates (65 for Part 1 and 3 for Part 2, including 2 plates outside the text with pagination repeated opposite the corresponding text page) engraved by Jaspar Isac, Léonard Gaultier and Thomas de Leu, some based on works by Antoine Caron, Primaticcio’s collaborator at Fontainebleau, and two copper-engraved vignettes within the text, along with numerous wood-engraved headbands, initials and fleurons. A few tears in the margins, restored. A few minor traces of old water damage. A few small wormholes. Ex-libris stamp of Paul Chapuy, mining engineer. In 1578, Blaise de Vigenère published his unillustrated translation of *The Images of Philostratus the Athenian*, a third-century text blending symbolism, Hermeticism and artistic theory. Inspired by 64 ancient paintings from a gallery in Naples, these descriptions are enriched by a second author who discusses a further 17 works. The work opens with a treatise on the art of painting and concludes with *The Statues of Callistratus*. Each image is accompanied by epigrams by Artus Thomas d’Embry, bridging the gap between ancient art and the modern perspective.
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About the sale MONTIGNAC – 31st BOOK SALE – Day 3 of 4 – Nos. 1085 to 1642
Auction location
Auction time 08/21/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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