Peter Paul Rubens - Palazzi di Genova - fig 057

''Palazzi di Genova'' is a 1622 book written and illustrated by

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...

, depicting and describing the palaces of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

, Italy in 72 plates. A second volume with 67 further plates was added the same year, and they are usually found (and reprinted) together. The illustrations of the second part are usually considered not to be by Rubens though. It is the only book Rubens published himself (he provided illustrations for a number of other books). The first volume contained

plans A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal. ...

, facades and additional views of 12 of the palaces of Genoa; the second book contained a further 19 palaces and 4 churches. Included are many of the

Palazzi dei Rolli Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which includes a number of streets and palaces in the center of Genoa, in Northwestern Italy. * The ''Strade Nuove'' (Italian language, Italian for "Ne ...

. They were seen by Rubens during his trips to Italy (probably late 1605 and early 1606). Rubens was an admirer of the

architecture of Italy Italy has a very broad and diverse architectural style, which cannot be simply classified by period or region, due to Italy's division into various small states until 1861. This has created a highly diverse and eclectic range in architectural des ...

, as evidenced in his own house, the

Rubenshuis The Rubenshuis () is the former home and workshop of Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) in Antwerp. Purchased in 1610, Rubens had the Flemish townhouse renovated and extended on the basis of designs by Rubens himself. After the renovations, the ho ...

in Antwerp. The Genoese style, developed by architects like

Galeazzo Alessi Galeazzo Alessi (1512 – 30 December 1572) was an Italian architect from Perugia, known throughout Europe for his distinctive style based on his enthusiasm for ancient architecture. He studied drawing for civil and military architecture under the ...

, became very popular, and their distribution in Northern Europe was at least partially due to the book by Rubens. Examples of this include the

Hôtel de Ville, Lyon The Hôtel de Ville de Lyon is the city hall of the City of Lyon and one of the largest historic buildings in the city, located between the Place des Terreaux and the Place de la Comédie, in front of the Opera Nouvel. Built in the late 17th cent ...

Publication history

*1622: first edition, no publisher mentioned *1652, 1663: reprinted twice by Giacomo Meursio (or

Jacob van Meurs Jacob van Meurs (1619/1620 - c. 1680) was a Dutch engraver and publisher from Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of gove ...

), Antwerp, with the title ''Palazzi Antichi di Genova''; an additional volume, not by Rubens, was added with the title ''Palazzi Moderni di Genova'' *1708: reprinted by

Hendrik and Cornelis Verdussen Verdussen was a dynasty of printers in Antwerp, starting with Hieronymus Verdussen I in the late sixteenth century, and ending around 1800. Many other printers in Antwerp were also related to the Verdussens through marriage. They specialized in reli ...

, Antwerp *1755: reprinted by Arkstée and Merkus, Amsterdam and Leipzig, with a French introduction *1924: reprinted by Der Zirkel as volume 3 in the ''Bibliothek Alter Meister der Baukunst'', with German introduction *1968: reprinted by Benjamin Blom, New York, with English introduction *2002: reprinted, with commentary, in the Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard

Notes

External links

The 1924 German edition
from archive.org 1622 books Architecture books Belgian books Palaces in Genoa Peter Paul Rubens {{architecture-book-stub

Publication history

Notes

Further reading

External links