Tutte l'Opere d'Architettura

SERLIO Sebastiano
Tutte l'Opere d'Architettura
Chez Francesco de Franceschi, Venice 1584, in-4 (18 x 24 cm), (24 p) 219 ff. (1 f.) 27 ff. (1 f.) (8 p) 244 pp., contemporary vellum
First complete edition of the works of Sebastiano Serlio, comprising Books I to V, Book VII and the Extraordinary Book. Printer's device showing an allegory of Peace to title and colophon. Frontispiece title to each book.
Contemporary vellum, skillfully repaired, spine in four compartments, titled in ink in first. Dampstain to lower margin of first gatherings, small burnmark to leaf 143 of first text with small lack to text on verso. Faint dampstains and scattered spotting.
Ink ownership inscription to title.
The books in this collection appeared in a very disordered way across several countries and there were numerous successive editions within the author's lifetime. This cacophony of published editions led the publisher Francesco de Franceschi to gather the first five books into one edition, followed by the Extraordinary Book and Book VII. Book VI was not included since it remained unpublished until the middle of the 20th century and only appeared for the first time in 1966 in Munich.
Sebastiano Serlio (1475-circa 1554) was a contemporary of such famous artists as Titian and Pietro Aretino, whom he often saw in Venice in the 1530s. Titian welcomed Serlio into his closest circle, while Aretino praised his talent. These Venetian connections lent him a certain renown in powerful circles, including with François I, who invited him to his court at Fontainebleau around 1541. Though he actually built relatively little, his work as a theoretician was nonetheless quickly recognized, right from the publication of his first work, which corresponds to Book IV in the present copy.
The 14th century saw a renewed interest in Vitruvius' De architectura and a number of experts began to write their own
treatises on architecture, like Alberti with his De re aedificatoria. Serlio joined this tradition with a treatise on geometry, followed by another on perspective in the first two books. Once he had laid down these theoretical foundations, he went on giving an overview of Classical buildings that had come down through the ages (Book III), and the five orders of architecture (Book IV). He sets himself up as a worthy heir to Vitruvius in so doing before giving a dozen plans for churches in Book V. The Extraordinary Book consists exclusively of models of monumental doors, while Book VII, with which the work finishes, deals with the various challenges an architect may face during the course of his work.
A reference work on architectural theory in Renaissance Italy in the 16th century, Serlio's work largely inspired the writings of Vincenzo Scamozzi, himself an architect and theoretician who continued the spirit of Serlio's work until his own death in 1616.
A richly illustrated copy of the works of Sebastiano Serlio in a contemporary vellum binding.
$ 3 500