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, 240 engraved plates (of 246), including one engraved allegorical portrait of the Archduke, one engraved portrait of Teniers, and one double-page engraved view of the Archduke's gallery, with 237 (of 243) engraved reproductions of the paintings (6 double-page) by Lucas Vorsterman, Johannes Popels, Jan van Troyen, Peter Liesebetten, Theodoor van Kessels and others, 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, some dampstaining at beginning and end (affecting last few plates), prelims becoming detached, lacking prelims in French and Spanish, extremities rubbed, spine chipped at ends, lacking two pairs of ties

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. The works recorded in the Theatrum include paintings by Raphael, Leonardo, Tintoretto, Veronese, del Sarto, and Titian; the frontispiece (by van Troyen after Teniers) 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. This work provided a means of interacting with pieces of art in a private collection, and continued to be used as a reference book well into the eighteenth century.

LITERATURE

STCN 401405931