Teniers | Theatrum pictorium, Brussels, 1660, contemporary calf with the arms of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm

David Teniers

Schilder-Thooneel van David Teniers = Davidis Teniers... theatrum pictorium. Brussels: for the author; Antwerp: Henderick Aertssens, 1660

folio (420 x 275mm.), preliminaries printed in Dutch and Latin, both title-pages with engraved armorial of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, engraved allegorical portrait of the Archduke, 226 (of 229) engraved plates of paintings (some double-page, some with two paintings per plate; showing 239 of the 243 paintings) by Lucas Vorsterman, Johannes Popels, Jan van Troyen, Peter Liesebetten, Theodoor van Kessels and others, plus double-page engraved view of the gallery, and engraved portrait of Teniers at end, contemporary speckled calf gilt with gilt arms of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, gilt roll-tooled border including a hunting scene, spine gilt in compartments, edges gilt, lacking 3 plates (depicting 4 paintings), one double-page plate shaved at edges, without preliminaries in French and Spanish, some dampstaining at beginning and end (affecting last few plates), extremities rubbed, spine chipped at ends, upper hinge broken

David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690) was the court painter for Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria (1614-1662), Governor of the Southern Netherlands. This Theatrum Pictorium was produced by Teniers as an illustrated catalogue of the most important Italian works in the Archduke's extensive picture gallery, many of which were obtained from the Hamilton collection after the execution of the duke in 1649. The plates also record the size of each painting.

The 243 works recorded in the Theatrum include paintings by Raphael, Leonardo, Tintoretto, Veronese, del Sarto, and Titian; the frontispiece depicts the Archduke surrounded by paintings, books and medals, and the penultimate plate shows some of the Archduke's paintings and portrait busts in situ in his gallery. By the time of publication, the Archduke had returned to Vienna with all his paintings.

LITERATURE:

STCN 401405931