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alb3657152 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Moses after the sculpture by Michelangelo. Artist: After Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, Caprese 1475-1564 Rome); Jacob Matham (Netherlandish, Haarlem 1571-1631 Haarlem). Dimensions: mount: 19 1/8 x 12 13/16 in. (48.5 x 32.5 cm)sheet: 14 3/8 x 9 5/8 in. (36.5 x 24.5 cm). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Date: 16th century.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 3, plate 77 in the scrapbook. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

alb3651574 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Vatican Tournament. Artist: Master HCB (active Rome, 1565). Dimensions: sheet: 17 1/16 x 25 7/8 in. (43.4 x 65.8 cm)plate: 17 1/16 x 19 5/8 in. (43.4 x 49.9 cm). Former Attribution: Jacob Binck (German, Cologne 1494/1500-1569 Kaliningrad (Königsberg)). Publisher: Antonio Lafreri (French, Orgelet, Franche-Comte ca. 1512-1577 Rome); Antonio Lafreri (French, Orgelet, Franche-Comte ca. 1512-1577 Rome). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Date: 1565.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 3, plate 72 in the scrapbook. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

alb3611188 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Flora. Artist: Anonymous, Italian, 16th century; After (?) Battista Franco (Italian, Venice ca. 1510-1561 Venice). Dimensions: sheet: 19 5/16 x 11 7/16 in. (49 x 29 cm)plate: 16 3/8 x 13 9/16 in. (41.6 x 34.5 cm). Former Attribution: Formerly attributed to Enea Vico (Italian, Parma 1523-1567 Ferrara). Printer: Ferrando Bertelli (active Venice, 1561-71). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentia. Date: mid-16th century.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 2, plate 57 in the scrapbook. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. Author: Anonymous, Italian, 16th century. After (?) Battista Franco.

alb3669998 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Diomedes with the Palladium in his left hand. Artist: Pieter Perret (Netherlandish, 1555-1639). Dimensions: sheet: 13 7/16 x 9 13/16 in. (34.2 x 25 cm)mount: 17 1/4 x 12 7/16 in. (43.8 x 31.6 cm). Publisher: Claudio Duchetti (Italian, active Venice and Rome, ca. 1565-died ca. 1585). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Date: 1582.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 2, plate 110 in the scrapbook. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

alb3615503 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Circus Maximus. Artist: Nicolas Beatrizet (French, Lunéville 1515-ca. 1566 Rome (?)); After Pirro Ligorio (Italian, Naples ca. 1512/13-1583 Ferrara). Dimensions: sheet: 14 15/16 x 21 7/8 in. (38 x 55.5 cm). Publisher: Michele Tramezzino (Italian, active Venice and Rome, 1526-died 1561). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Date: 1553.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 1, plate 67 in the scrapbook. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

alb3648416 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Circus Maximus. Artist: Giovanni Ambrogio Brambilla (Italian, active Rome, 1575-99). Dimensions: sheet: 14 3/4 x 21 9/16 in. (37.5 x 54.7 cm). Publisher: Claudio Duchetti (Italian, active Venice and Rome, ca. 1565-died ca. 1585). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Date: 1581.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 1, plate 71 in the scrapbook. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

alb3683727 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Papal Benediction. Artist: Anonymous. Dimensions: sheet: 15 15/16 x 22 1/4 in. (40.5 x 56.5 cm). Publisher: Antonio Lafreri (French, Orgelet, Franche-Comte ca. 1512-1577 Rome). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Date: 16th century.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 3, plate 68 in the scrapbook. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

alb3659517 The Last Kiss of Romeo and Juliet. Artist: After a composition by Francesco Hayez (Italian, Venice 1791-1882 Milan). Culture: Italian. Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): 5 × 5/16 × 3 5/8 in. (12.7 × 0.7 × 9.2 cm);Framed (with bail, confirmed): 6 1/2 × 4 1/2 in. (16.5 × 11.5 cm). Maker: Giovanni Beltrami (Italian, Cremona 1770 or 1777-1854 Cremona). Date: crystal 1824, frame possibly contemporary.The front of the oval rock crystal is flat with a wide, outward sloping beveled edge. Into the flat back Giovanni Beltrami engraved a miniature version of Francesco Hayez's painting, The Last Kiss of Juliet and Romeo (Milan, Brera). The image and its accompanying inscription are carved in reverse so that they are correctly oriented when the crystal is viewed from the front. Beltrami executed his reproduction exclusively in matte engraving. Its silvery translucence makes The Last Kiss appear to be suspended both within and beyond the transparent confines of the highly polished stone - an illusion underscored by the slight cropping of the scene's corners. The crystal's beveled cut and lucent clarity act like a lens to enlarge the engraved details and impart startling three-dimensionality to the figures of Juliet and Romeo. The gemstone was commissioned by Count Giovanni Battista Sommariva (1760-1826).Born in Lodi of obscure parentage, the barrister, financier, and art collector, Giovanni Battista Sommariva, rose to prominence as a supporter of France during Napoleon's conquest of Italy. At the height of his influence from 1800 to 1802 Sommariva was the de facto ruler of Milan. After Napoleon replaced him, Sommariva retired from politics and devoted his attention to speculative finance. He promoted his European prestige by dedicating his increasingly grand fortune to collecting works of art that he displayed in his principal residences in Paris and in Tremezzo (Villa Carlotta, formerly Sommariva, on Lake Como). Sommariva patronized the greatest sculptors and painters of his day, among them Canova, Thorvaldsen, Girodet, Prud'hon, and Hayez. Until his death in 1826, his private holdings were must-stop destinations for royalty, nobility and cognoscenti on the continental Grand Tour.Sommariva's emphasis on contemporary art endowed his collection with its unique distinction and historic importance. His preference for Italian and French works mirrors the international taste that is characteristic of the Napoleonic and post-Napoleonic eras. His equal enthusiasm for classical and troubadour subjects, such as The Last Kiss of Juliet and Romeo, reflects the transition from Neoclassicism to Romanticism. The Renaissance tale of the doomed lovers of Verona, later immortalized by Shakespeare, was undergoing a revival. Sommariva's special interest in this subject is indicated by the fact that sometime between 1822 and 1825 he acquired one of the seven luxury editions of Luigi da Porto's Novella di Giulietta et Romeo that were illuminated by Giambattista Gigola (1767-1841). These years bracket his acquisition of Hayez's The Last Kiss and the completion of the painting's reproduction in crystal.In spectacular fashion, Sommariva had his most important sculptures and paintings reproduced as cameos and intaglios. Only a man possessing tremendous wealth and a bent for unbridled self-promotion could have conceived of a project that directly linked his collection with the glyptic art form associated with the ancient Caesars, Renaissance princes, and contemporary royalty. By commissioning reproductions in precious, enduring gemstones Sommariva strove to secure the fame and integrity of his collection for posterity. Like The Last Kiss, each gem was inscribed with the artist's and the carver's names, the gem's date, and "Sommariva owns this." The phrase equally applies to the original work and to its record in precious stone. The Sommariva family name combined with a declaration of ownership in the present tense signaled the collection's dynastic intent.For his costly, ambitious project Sommariva primarily engaged members of the distinguished school of gem engravers who were located around Milan. Giovanni Beltrami, a native and resident of Cremona, who had established his fame as one of the greatest gem carvers in Europe with his work for the Bonapartes, was singled out with the demanding task of creating intaglios of Sommariva's paintings. During his association with Sommariva between 1811 and 1824, Beltrami is estimated to have produced about forty such gems of which only a handful are known today. Based on the plaster and glass reproductions of the gems that Sommariva commissioned for wide distribution, the Last Kiss was by far the largest and one of the most complex intaglios of any in his collection.The 1823 exhibition of Francesco Hayez's early work, The Last Kiss of Juliet and Romeo, at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan, heralded the dawn of the Romantic era in Italy. The painting, which was lauded for its meticulous naturalism and criticized for its overt depiction of mutual passion, hung as a centerpiece in the Villa Sommariva. The importance and innovative character of Beltrami's intaglio reflects the picture's status. Beltrami was known for his bravura execution of crowded figure groups on relatively small gems. With The Last Kiss, he took on the challenge of engraving a very large stone with two foreground figures set in a complex spatial interior. Engraving the scene's multi-layered perspective and the couple's full-bodied embrace demanded absolute precision. In hard transparent stone, with miniscule grinding strokes and hairsbreadth distinctions between depths of relief, Beltrami created the pictorial illusions of three-dimensional form, distance, and illumination. He accurately rendered the painting's smallest details, magisterially evoked its subtle play of shifting light, and memorably captured the young lovers' physical and emotional passion. Beltrami's contemporaries praised The Last Kiss as one of the engraver's masterpieces. The format, medium, scale, and pictorial ambition of The Last Kiss directly relate it to the Renaissance tradition of engraved crystal plaquettes that are represented at the Met by works such as Giovanni Bernardi's Battle of Tunis of c. 1544 (17.190.540). Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

alb3658097 Seated Nude Young Man in Nearly Frontal View. Artist: Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) (Italian, Cento 1591-1666 Bologna). Dimensions: sheet: 23 x 16-7/16 in. (58.4 x 41.8 cm). Date: ca. 1618.A new addition to Guercino's youthful corpus, this powerful, boldly rendered study after the male nude model is an impressive early example of his practice of life drawing, and can be precisely associated with a small but surprisingly homogeneous group of life drawings dating around 1618-1621, that is, before Guercino's two-year sojourn in Rome. The drawings all exhibit a similar subject matter, scale, and unusual medium, suggesting that they must have been executed in a short span of time. Among this group are the especially fine sheets in the J. Paul Getty Museum 89.GB.52, Los Angeles; Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe del Comune nos. 1702 and 1703, Palazzo Rosso, Genoa; Ashmolean Museum 873A, Oxford; National Gallery of Victoria 1278/3, Melbourne; Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe degli Uffizi 12502 F, Florence; Royal Library nos. 2415 and 01227, Windsor Castle; and collection of Evalyne S. Grand, St. Louis. Other life studies of this type have also been published, although their quality of execution often does not seem as skilled, and this has led to doubts regarding an attribution of such sheets to Guercino himself. (See Sir Denis Mahon, Giovanni Francesco Barbieri: Il Guercino 1591-1666: Disegni, Bologna, 1992, pp. 312-17, nos. 205-209; George R. Goldner and Lee Hendrix with Kelly Pask, European Drawings: 2: Catalogue of the Collections, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, CA, 1992, pp. 60-61, no. 20; Nicholas Turner and Carol Plazzotta, Drawings by Guercino from British Collections with an Appendix..., exh. cat. British Museum, London and Rome, 1991, pp. 36-38, 48, nos. 4, 16; Carel van Tuyll, The Burlington Magazine, December 1991 p. 868; David Stone, Guercino Master Draftsman: Works from North-American Collections, exh. cat. Harvard University Art Museums and National Gallery of Canada, Cambridge MA and Bologna, 1991, pp. 146-51, nos. 63-65; Sir Denis Mahon and Nicholas Turner, The Drawings of Guercino in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle, Cambridge and New York, 1989, pp. 80-81, nos. 149-150). The closest comparison for the present sheet is the J. Paul Getty Museum drawing, which seems to portray the same model, but from a different viewpoint; both sheets may date closer to c. 1618, to judge from the compressed anatomy and proportions of the figure. Like the other closely comparable sheets of this type by the young Guercino, the Metropolitan Museum drawing is done in relatively cheap media, with a distinctive, fairly unusual technique, in which the black chalk was dipped into a gum solution in order to make the chalk intensely dark and dense for areas of shadow, on fairly coarse "wrapping" paper. Although the medium of this type of drawing by the young Guercino has often been described in the literature as "oiled" black chalk or charcoal, repeated examinations under ultraviolet fluorescence and high powered magnification have demonstrated that there is no evidence of oil, or of the telltale sign of haloing occurring with oil-containing materials; the intense blackness of the chalk seems to be due solely to the gum solution (technical report by Marjorie M. Shelley, Department of Paper Conservation, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, May 19, 2004). Importantly, Guercino rarely seems to have used this modified black chalk technique again after the mid 1620s. Seen in a broader context, these early monumental life studies in the modified black chalk technique, which can be dated independently between 1618 and 1621 on the basis of style, vividly attest to the pedagogic aspect of Guercino's early career in that they represent the type of exercise drawing whose primary purpose was the investigation of the nude human figure, and probably without the specific purpose of a final work in mind. The practice and technique of drawing are both generally indebted to the academies of the Carracci and Pietro Faccini. Count Carlo Cesare Malvasia's closely contemporary biography of Guercino (1678), based on personal knowledge of the artist, states that Guercino was widely sought by young artists as a teacher, even in his early years, and that he founded in 1616 his own "Accademia del Nudo" in his native town of Cento, under the patronage of Bartolomeo Fabri, who set aside two rooms in his house as the site for the young artist's academy. By 1617, Guercino seems to have had as many as twenty-three pupils, and the "Accademia del Nudo" at the Casa Fabri seems to have functioned with great success until the mid 1620s; his numerous pupils may help account for the diversity of quality among the life drawings associated with the young Guercino and his circle. As amply discussed by Nicholas Turner (1989 and 1991), at about this time, in 1619, some of Guercino's anatomical studies were also published as engravings by Oliviero Gatti, and were meant to serve for the instruction of young artists. It is clear that Guercino and his disciples must have filled the pages of bound sketchbooks, and loose quires of paper, with countless sequences of drawings of the male nude. It is demonstrable that the present sheet was conceived of by the artist as an "academic exercise" (most probably without a final picture in mind), for the young, muscular model holds onto a curtain or hanging drapery (a prop) with his left hand, and is seated on a short block in a relatively frontal view. As is also true of the Getty drawing, the model's face is fairly idealized with fine, nearly feminine features, and long, wavy hair, contrasting with the more carefully described body of somewhat bulky proportions. The large feet, which are quite characteristic of Guercino's figural vocabulary in these early life drawings, are sketchily outlined. The form of the model's body, tightly compressed on the sheet of paper, is animated by the sharp, opposing turns of his torso and pelvis with respect to the limbs. The youth's pose conveys complex, agitated movement in repose, and is designed to show off the artist's virtuosity as an anatomical draftsman. Guercino quickly defined the athletic form of the young male model in terms of broad, very boldly articulated areas of light and shadow, and in many passages of tone he rubbed in the individual strokes of the black chalk by stumping to create a smoky effect of rendering.(Carmen C. Bambach, 2005). Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

alb3608487 Farnese Hercules. Artist: Hendrick Goltzius (Netherlandish, Mühlbracht 1558-1617 Haarlem). Dimensions: sheet: 16 9/16 x 11 15/16 in. (42.1 x 30.4 cm). Date: ca. 1592, dated 1617.It was Goltzius' poor health as well as his desire to see the treasures of Rome that inspired him to travel to Italy in 1590--91. Supposedly, the famed Dutch printmaker traveled incognito in order to avoid social obligations that might distract from his real purpose, which was sketching and studying antique sculptures. The ancient Roman statue known as the Farnese Hercules had been discovered in the Baths of Caracalla in Rome in 1546, and installed in a courtyard of the Farnese family's palace on the banks of the Tiber, where it was one of the highlights of the Roman tour for visiting scholars, connoisseurs, and artists. When Goltzius drew the statue, the legs he saw were substitutions that had been made by Guglielmo della Porta in 1560--although the ancient legs had been found soon after the rest of the statue, Michelangelo convinced the Farnese that the modern ones were just as good.The two figures looking up at the massive statue in the lower right corner of the engraving have never been satisfactorily identified. Perhaps, as was suggested by the eighteenth-century Dutch artist and collector Cornelis Ploos van Amstel, they are a self-portrait and a portrait of the artist's stepson Jacob Matham, who was also an engraver.The Farnese Hercules shows to excellent advantage the virtuosic technique that Goltzius had developed, in which the swelling and tapering line pioneered by Cornelis Cort is exaggerated to the point that it becomes a focus of interest in itself. As the line winds around the forms, expanding and contracting, it gives great sculptural force to the curves and bulges of the hero's body. The engraving by Goltzius, unusual for its viewpoint and its inclusion of observers, was one of a long series that had spread the fame of the statue, including one by Jacob Bos (41.72[2.63]) that provides the more common front view of the Hercules. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. Author: HENDRICK GOLTZIUS.

alb3635496 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Papal Benediction. Artist: Giovanni Ambrogio Brambilla (Italian, active Rome, 1575-99). Dimensions: sheet: 15 15/16 x 21 7/8 in. (40.5 x 55.5 cm). Publisher: Claudio Duchetti (Italian, active Venice and Rome, ca. 1565-died ca. 1585). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Date: late 16th century.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 3, plate 69 in the scrapbook. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

alb3662011 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Aristotle. Artist: Anonymous, Italian, mid-16th century; After Enea Vico (Italian, Parma 1523-1567 Ferrara). Dimensions: sheet: 19 5/16 x 13 9/16 in. (49 x 34.5 cm)plate: 16 1/8 x 11 5/16 in. (41 x 28.7 cm). Published in: Rome. Publisher: Published by Antonio Lafreri (French, Orgelet, Franche-Comte ca. 1512-1577 Rome). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Date: 1553.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 2, plate 68. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

alb3659992 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Trophies of Marius. Artist: Anonymous. Dimensions: sheet: 19 1/8 x 13 3/8 in. (48.5 x 34 cm)plate: 14 15/16 x 10 1/2 in. (38 x 26.7 cm). Publisher: Antonio Lafreri (French, Orgelet, Franche-Comte ca. 1512-1577 Rome). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Date: 16th century.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 3, plate 10 in the scrapbook. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

alb3675997 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Great Hall within the Villa of Pope Julius. Artist: Anonymous. Dimensions: sheet: 13 5/8 x 18 1/8 in. (34.6 x 46 cm)plate: 11 5/8 x 16 1/8 in. (29.5 x 41 cm). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Date: 16th century.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 3, plate 52 in the scrapbook. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

alb3666275 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: The Column of Trajan. Artist: Anonymous, Italian, 16th century; After Antonio da Labacco (Italian, near Vigevano ca. 1495-after 1567). Dimensions: mount: 26 5/16 x 19 1/2 in. (66.8 x 49.6 cm)sheet: 21 1/8 x 14 3/8 in. (53.6 x 36.5 cm). Publisher: Antonio Lafreri (French, Orgelet, Franche-Comte ca. 1512-1577 Rome). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Date: 16th century.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 1, plate 95 in the scrapbook. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

alb3683110 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: St. Peter's. Artist: After Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, Caprese 1475-1564 Rome); Giovanni Ambrogio Brambilla (Italian, active Rome, 1575-99). Dimensions: sheet: 13 3/8 x 18 1/8 in. (34 x 46 cm). Publisher: Antonio Lafreri (French, Orgelet, Franche-Comte ca. 1512-1577 Rome); Claudio Duchetti (Italian, active Venice and Rome, ca. 1565-died ca. 1585). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Date: 16th century.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 3, plate 25 in the scrapbook. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. Author: after Michelangelo Buonarroti. Giovanni Ambrogio Brambilla.

alb3633951 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Plan of St. Peter's. Artist: Etienne DuPérac (French, ca. 1535-1604). Dimensions: sheet: 18 11/16 x 15 15/16 in. (47.4 x 40.5 cm). Publisher: Claudio Duchetti (Italian, active Venice and Rome, ca. 1565-died ca. 1585). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Date: 1569.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 3, plate 30 in the scrapbook. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

alb3638087 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Plan of St. Peter's. Artist: After Antonio da Labacco (Italian, near Vigevano ca. 1495-after 1567); After Antonio da Sangallo, the Younger (Italian, Florence 1484-1546 Terni). Dimensions: sheet: 22 5/8 x 16 13/16 in. (57.5 x 42.7 cm). Publisher: Antonio Salamanca (Salamanca 1478-1562 Rome). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Date: 1549.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 3, plate 28 in the scrapbook. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. Author: After Antonio da Labacco. the Younger After Antonio da Sangallo.

alb3628581 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: St. Peter's. Artist: After Antonio da Labacco (Italian, near Vigevano ca. 1495-after 1567); After Antonio da Sangallo, the Younger (Italian, Florence 1484-1546 Terni). Dimensions: sheet: 17 13/16 x 22 1/16 in. (45.2 x 56 cm)plate: 13 7/16 x 16 5/16 in. (34.1 x 41.5 cm). Publisher: Antonio Salamanca (Salamanca 1478-1562 Rome). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Date: 1547.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 3, plate 20 in the scrapbook. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

alb3656474 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: St. Peter's. Artist: Vincenzo Luchino (Italian, active Rome and Venice from 1552, died Venice (?), 1569/71). Dimensions: Plate: 15 3/16 x 21 7/16 in. (38.5 x 54.5 cm)Sheet: 17 11/16 x 22 1/16 in. (45 x 56 cm). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Date: 1564.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 3, plate 23 in the scrapbook. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

alb3664398 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Longitudinal Section Showing the Interior of Saint Peter's Basilica as Conceived by Michelangelo (Published in 1569). Artist: Etienne DuPérac (French, ca. 1535-1604). Dimensions: sheet: 13 1/4 x 18 3/4 in. (33.7 x 47.6 cm). Date: 1551, 1558-61.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place). Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. Author: Etienne Dupérac.

alb3634552 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: The Victory of Scipio. Artist: Master of the Die (Italian, active Rome, ca. 1530-60); After (?) Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi) (Italian, Urbino 1483-1520 Rome) in the first state. Dimensions: plate: 8 9/16 x 10 in. (21.8 x 25.4 cm)sheet: 19 x 13 3/16 in. (48.3 x 33.5 cm). Publisher: Published by Antonio Lafreri (French, Orgelet, Franche-Comte ca. 1512-1577 Rome). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentia. Date: 16th century.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 2, plate 134 in the scrapbook. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

alb3601755 Commode à vantaux. Culture: German, Neuwied am Rhein. Decorator: Stencil drawings and stamp-cutting of marquetry Elie Gervais (1721-1791) and his workshop. Designer: Designs for figural marquetry by Januarius Zick (German, Munich before 1730-1797 Ehrenbreitstein). Dimensions: 35 1/4 x 53 1/2 x 27 1/4 in. (89.5 x 135.9 x 69.2cm). Maker: David Roentgen (German, Herrnhaag 1743-1807 Wiesbaden, master 1780); Frieze mounts attributed to Pierre Rémond (French, Paris 1747-1812 Paris). Date: ca. 1775-79 with later alterations.This important Roentgen commode, as well as another example in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (W 51-1948), both have an illustrious provenance. Their histories may have begun in the royal apartments at Versailles. During the nineteenth century this example now at the Metropolitan Museum belonged to Baron Mayer de Rothschild, a member of the distinguished banking and art-collecting family, who kept it at Mentmore Towers, his palatial and splendidly appointed residence in Buckinghamshire. In 1964 it went under the hammer in London and fetched the highest price ever paid at auction for a piece of furniture, attracting tremendous media attention.[1]The New York and London commodes are related closely to each other and to the latter's nearly identical counterpart at the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich, with which it once formed a pair in the collection of the grand duke of Sachsen-Weimar.[2] All three pieces are so-called commodes à vantaux, which means they have three doors concealing interior drawers; however, they all include a shelf compartment, rather than drawers, behind the central door, which transforms the type into a combination of the commode à vantaux and a variation called commode en bas d'armoire.[3]All three commodes have six feet. The feet of the New York commode, however, represent a unique departure in Roentgen's oeuvre. Although the four outside feet are square as usual, the two front middle feet are trapezoidal and decorated with mounts on the three visible sides, lending an extra element of luxury. The fronts of the commodes are divided into three vertical sections, and the frieze contains a single drawer that runs the full width of each piece. The sides and the three front door panels are decorated with marquetry: the former show musicians--woodwind and stringed-instrument players--and the center panel on the front shows a scene of actors on a stage. In several ways, the marquetry of the New York commode differs from its two counterparts. It probably originally resembled the others closely, but major alterations were undertaken at some point after the French Revolution, when the taste of the ancient régime fell into disrepute. The absorbing story of how the New York commode was changed can be found in an appendix by Mechthild Baumeister in this volume. Suffice it here to mention four major differences: First, the two lateral doors on the front of the Metropolitan's commode show two empty stages, whereas those doors on the London and Munich commodes display theater boxes filled with people watching the performance taking place in the scene on the central door. Second, the panels on the sides of all three pieces are the same, but those on the New York commode are reversed, with the woodwind players on the proper right side. Third, the frieze mounts on the New York commode are replacements of mounts similar to their counterparts and by another hand. The mounts on the feet and stiles are also different. Fourth, the original blue-gray marble tops preserved on the London and Munich commodes have been replaced on the Metropolitan's by a red brocatelle marble slab. [4]Inside the three commodes, the layout is similar, but the hidden mechanisms in the London and Munich examples are more sophisticated. The large frieze drawer, the doors, and the top interior drawers of the latter are opened by different actions of a single key in one keyhole, which is concealed by an ormolu rosette on the frieze drawer when not in use. The mechanism is weight- and spring-driven. On either side of the interior of the three commodes, the upper drawer can be swung sideways to access hidden compartments with secret drawers. The top of the front compartment lifts up on the London commode; it is covered with a tambour on the New York commode, giving access to a well.The finest mounts on the London commode are Paris-made; Neuwied examples are used in less-prominent places. The duotone gilding and surface chasing of the box-tie handles on the drawers are of the highest level that the workshop of François Rémond produced. The similarly delicate frieze mounts were replaced on the New York commode with a bold scrolling ornament, probably the work of the Paris bronze caster Étienne Martincourt.Januarius Zick, who frequently worked for David Roentgen, certainly designed the marquetry scenes on the front of the commodes as well as the ones on the sides, and undoubtedly Roentgen's engraver Elie Gervais produced the line drawings for the marquetry cutters to work from. The central scene on the front features well-known characters from the Italian theatrical tradition known as the commedia dell'arte, which enjoyed a revival during the second half of the eighteenth century. Pictured are the clever servant Harlequin at right, his sweetheart, the lady's maid, Columbine, in a flower-decorated straw hat on the left, and the aged Anselmo with a tricorne and walking stick in the center.[5] The scenes on the sides of the three commodes depict two musician in an airy room with an arched casement window: on one panel, a violinist and a cellist share a trestle stand with two sheets of music on it as they play. Brass horns hang on the wall. In the other panel, two woodwind players rest at a table. On the wall behind them are two oboes, and a bassoon leans against the music stand on which sheets of music are propped.The New York commode is branded twice on the uprights of its paneled back with a double V beneath a crown, which is the inventory mark of Versailles. Although it is uncertain that the back panel is original to the piece, it is not impossible that the commode originated in the private apartments of Louis XVI. Indeed, records of the king's expenditures mention the payment of 2,400 livres on April 11, 1779, "to the Germans for a big commode."[6] But in an inventory of 1792, the scenes on the sides of that same commode are said to depict Astronomy and the Arts, rather than musicians.[7] This may represent a misunderstanding on the part of an inventory taker who did not recognize the oboes as musical instruments and thought the bassoon was a telescope. Moreover, the inventory was almost certainly made in a hurry, for the furniture was to be removed from Versailles and sold in Paris for cash to support the Revolution. Specific woods, including their coloration, and small chased ornaments mentioned in the inventory are found on the New York commode and not the other two, yet it is surprising that no mention is made of the commedia dell'arte scene. Another inventory of Versailles furnishings, made in 1793, that documents a smaller commode owned by the comtesse d'Artois, the sister-in-law of Louis XVI, does mention the commedia dell'arte scene.[8] But the measurements given in the inventories for the two commodes make Louis XVI's slightly larger example a better match with the New York commode.[Wolfram Koeppe 2012]Footnotes:[1] On the Rothschilds, see Georg Heuberger, ed. The Rothschilds. 2 vols. Exh. cat. Jewish Museum, Frankfurt; 1994-95. Sigmaringen, 1994. [Published in German as Die Rothschilds. Sigmaringen, 1994.] On the commode while it was at Mentmore, see Mentmore. 2 vols. Edinburgh, 1884, vol. 2, p. 187, no. 10, where it is described as in an upstairs gallery and as by David de Luneville (David Roentgen) and the Parisian mount maker Pierre Gouthière. Jack and Belle Linsky purchased the commode in 1964 for 63,000 pounds sterling ($176,000).[2] According to Hans Huth, the commode now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the very similar example now in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich, were owned as a pair by the Grand Duke of Sachsen-Weimar; Hans Huth. Roentgen Furniture: Abraham and David Roentgen, European Cabinet-Makers. London, 1974, p. 46 [Also published in German as Abraham und David Roentgen und ihre Newuwieder Möbelwerkstatt. Munich, 1974]. See also Hans Huth. Abraham und David Roentgen und ihre Neuwieder Möbelwerkstatt. Deutscher Verein für Kunstwissenschaft. Berlin, 1928, p. 66, commentary on plate 40. One of the two was offered in the Sachsen-Weimar sale (Sotheby's, London, June 10, 1932, lot 136), and the photographs reproduced in the accompanying catalogue are undoubtedly of the commode now at the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum. An annotated copy of the sale catalogue (archives of Sotheby's London), however, clearly states that Lady Eckstein purchased the piece, which since 1948 has been in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Both museums believe that their commode is the one bought at that sale. A label preserved on the underside of the marble top of the London commode, "Weimar R Schloss 21," and a pencil inscription also on the underside of the marble, "Weimar 20," clearly refer to its Weimar provenance. Recent research by Dr. Gert-Dieter Ulferts and Christian Pönitz of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar did not reveal any further information about the history of the London and Munich commodes before the 1920s. In an e-mail of June 21, 2012, to Wolfram Koeppe, Gert-Dieter Ulferts mentioned that the label text and pencil inscription on the underside of the marble top of the London commode most likely refer to an inventory of the furniture in the Weimar residence (Residenzschloss Weimar) possibly made by the Hofmarschallamt in the 1920s and that the numbers 20 and 21 do not relate to a specific room in the castle. On the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum commode's provenance, see Georg Himmelheber. "Roentgenmöbel in Münchner Museen. XI. Kommode, um 1779, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum." Weltkunst 61, no. 20 (October 15, 1991), pp. 3012-15.[3] Henry Havard. Dictionnaire de l'ameublement et de la décoration depuis le XVIIIe siècle jusqu'à nos jours. 4 vols. Paris, 1887-90, vol. 1, pl. 54, col. 937; John Fleming and Hugh Honour. The Penguin Dictionary of Decorative Arts. New ed. London and New York, 1989, p. 210.[4] In an e-mail of May 7, 2012, to Wolfram Koeppe, Ferdinand Heinz said that in David Roentgen's time, the blue-gray marble called bleu turquin was also known as bardiglio di Carrara. He added that the quarries of true bardiglio marble are located in the Apuan Alps, at a few locations north and east of the town of Carrara, in Tuscany. Koeppe has suggested elsewhere that the bleu turquin slabs on the London and Munich commodes came from a quarry near Leun on the Lahn River, not far from Neuwied, which belonged to the counts of Wied or their relatives; see Wolfram Koeppe in Daniëlle Kisluk-Grosheide, Wolfram Koeppe, and William Rieder. European Furniture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Highlights of the Collection. New York, 2006, p. 181. Only a mineralogical analysis of the slabs will tell us exactly where the marble originated. The slab of red brocatelle marble on the New York commode comes from a Catalonian quarry near Tortosa; see Harald Mielsch. Buntmarmore aus Rom im Antikenmuseum Berlin. Staatliche Musseen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin, 1985, p. 42, pl. 5, nos. 165, 167.[5] For a summary of the subject as treated in eighteenth-century decorative arts, see Meredith Chilton. Harlequin Unmasked: The Commedia dell'Arte and Porcelain Sculpture. George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, Toronto. New Haven, 2001, and see p. 150 for a discussion of Anselmo with a cocked hat and cane. For Zick see Othmar Metzger. "Januarius Zicks Entwürfe für Intarsien David Roentgens." Pantheon 39, no. 2 (April-June 1981), pp. 176-79; Josef Strasser. Januarius Zick, 1730-1797: Gemälde, Graphik, Fresken. Weissenhorn, 1994; Daniëlle O. Kisluk-Grosheide. "Versailles au Metropolitan Museum de New York." Versalia, no. 8 (2005), p. 88.[6] "aux allemands pour une grande commode L 2400"; Comte R. de Beauchamp. Comptes de Louis XVI. Paris, 1909, p. 71 (cited in Christian Baulez. "David Roentgen et François Rémond: Une collaboration majeure dans l'histoire du mobilier européen." L'estampille/L'objet d'art, no. 305 (September 1996), p. 101); Dietrich Fabian. Abraham und David Roentgen: Das noch aufgefundene Gesamtwerk ihrer Möbel- und Uhrenkunst in Verbindung mit der Uhrmacherfamilie Kinzing in Neuwied. Leben und Werk, Verzeichnis der Werke, Quellen. Bad Neustadt an der Saale, 1996, p. 347, doc. no. 2.171 [translated from the French]).[7] Following is the full text of the 1792 Versailles inventory and the English translation.Une Commode mechanique en bois de Placage dites des allemants la ditte Commode ouvrante a trois Vanteaux par Différent Mouvement le dedans Composé D'un Mechanisme particulier dont le Roi a la clef [.] lextérieur [sic] de la commode plaque a tableaux de bois fond Satiné et ombré Sur les trois faces deux Medaillons et Un tableau Sur le devant 1 tableau de chaque côtée Representant, l'astronomie et arts en figures de bois de Rapports ombrés au feu, les champs des paneaux en bois Satiné Vert Ceux des pieds et pilastres en bois Rose, les pieds a guaisnes Carré le tout orné de bronze Savoir les frises pilastres et les corp des pieds a tables Saillantes dans les frises Renfoncé et ciselés dans les pilastres avec de petits ornements Saillants Ciselés les Medaillons du devant Entouré d'un cadre a perles les portants de tiroirs en paquets de lauriers le tout De bronze doré or Moulüe et Moulures Idem Canelures etc, le Marbre du dessus en bleu turquin; 4 pieds 2 pouces de large 25 pouces de profondeur et 2 pieds 9 pouces de haut, Marbre Compris. (A mechanical commode veneered said from the Germans the said commode opening with three doors by different movements the interior composed of a special mechanism for which the king has the key [.] The exterior of the commode veneered with [marquetry] panels of bois satiné ground and shaded on the three sides two medallions and one [marquetry] panel on the front 1 [marquetry] panel on each side representing, Astronomy and the Arts, figures in various pieces of wood shaded by burning, the fields of the panels in green bois satiné. Those of the feet and pilasters in tulipwood, the square tapering feet the whole decorated with bronze to wit the friezes pilasters and the body of the feet with plates projecting in the friezes recessed and chased in the pilasters with small chased ornaments in relief of the medallions on the front surrounded with a beaded frame the handles of the drawers in sprays of laurel the whole of gilt-bronze ormolu and moldings idem fluting etc, the marble top bleu turquin; 4 pieds 2 pouces wide 25 pouces deep and 2 pieds 9 pouces high, marble included).Archives Nationales, Paris, O1 3426, Versailles, Recépissés des Meubles envoyés à Paris, Le 5. Jer. [janvier] 1792. The passage is also cited, in updated French in Christian Baulez. "David Roentgen et François Rémond: Une collaboration majeure dans l'histoire du mobilier européen." L'estampille/L'objet d'art, no. 305 (September 1996), pp. 101-2, and Daniëlle O. Kisluk-Grosheide. "Versailles au Metropolitan Museum de New York." Versalia, no. 8 (2005), p. 87. We thank Ulrich Leben and Bertrand Rondot for photographing and assisting us in interpreting the original text.[8] Following is the English translation of the 1793 Versailles inventory quoted in Christian Baulez. "David Roentgen et François Rémond: Une collaboration majeure dans l'histoire du mobilier européen." L'estampille/L'objet d'art, no. 305 (September 1996), p. 108 and Daniëlle O. Kisluk-Grosheide. "Versailles au Metropolitan Museum de New York." Versalia, no. 8 (2005), p. 88: "a veneered commode with three doors with human figures enacting comedy scenes as well as on the sides, with three drawers in the pareclose, covered with millesraies plates, garlands forming handles and laurel leaves, the whole in matte gilt-bronze and with beaded frame, with bleu turquin marble top, 2 pieds 8 pouces high, 4 pieds wide, and 2 pieds deep (estimated) 4,000 livres."[9] Before the introduction of the metric system in 1799, French units of measurement were organized in much the same way as the British Imperial System. The pied (foot), or pied du roi (king's foot), equaled 32.48 centimeters, and the pouce (thumb, equivalent to the inch) measured 2.71 centimeters. Accordingly, the dimensions of Louis XVI's commode given in the 1792 inventory would translate to 89.35 centimeters high (including the marble top), 135.34 centimeters wide, and 67.75 centimeters deep. The dimensions of the comtesse d'Artois' commode given in the 1793 inventory would translate to 86.64 centimeters high, 129.92 centimeters wide, and 64.9 centimeters deep. The Metropolitan Museum's commode is 89.5 centimeters high, 135.9 centimeters wide, and 69.2 centers deep (including the later red brocatelle marble top), and 86.5 centimeters high, 135.6 centimeters wide, and 66.8 centimeters deep without the marble top. It should be borne in mind, however, that until 1799 no single consistent system of measures was used in France, so these calculations must be viewed with caution. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

alb3606217 Pair of five-light candelabra. Culture: Italian, Rome. Dimensions: Overall (each): 27 × 15 15/16 in. (68.6 × 40.5 cm). Maker: Luigi Valadier (Italian, Rome 1726-1785 Rome); Possibly in collaboration with Lorenzo Cardelli. Date: 1774.After the death of his father in 1763, Prince Marcantonio Borghese (1730-1800) inherited a great fortune that included the finest private art collection in the Eternal City.[1] His subsequent role as one of the most important collector-patrons of the Neoclassical period -rivaling, in his own family, Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1576-1633) in the Early Baroque era - has not received the attention that it deserves.[2] The creator of this pair of candelabra, Luigi Valadier (1726-1785), became the principal goldsmith for Prince Marcantonio, who was close to him in age, thus extending the ties that the artisan's father, the goldsmith Andrea Valadier (d. 1757), had established to the Borghese court decades earlier.[3]The superior design and precise, finely detailed craftsmanship of the present five-light candelabra place them among the most distinguished art objects created in the second half of the eighteenth century, an exciting period of Roman creativity influenced by the theories of Johann Joachim Winckelmann and the progressive inventions of Giovanni Battista Piranesi.[4] Thanks to the archival research of Alvar González-Palacios, we know a great deal about the circumstances of their manufacture. They were made for the suite of public rooms in the Palazzo Borghese in Rome that the architect Antonio Asprucci was redecorating for Prince Marcantonio.[5] They were to be displayed on two small tables - also executed in the color scheme of deep red porphyry and gilded bronze - in the Galleriola dei Cesari (so called because sixteen ancient porphyry busts of Roman emperors were on view there in niches).[6] Porphyry has been associated since Roman times with personages "born in the purple"; it is also a difficult stone to work. González-Palacios suggests that Lorenzo Cardelli, a stone carver who collaborated with Valadier on several mantelpieces of porphyry and marble the following year, made the porphyry elements for these candelabra.[7]Rising from each candelabrum's porphyry drum decorated with gilded bronze bucrania and swags in the classical style, the porphyry shaft curves up in the form of a baluster to become a small bowl at the top, decorated with gilded lions' heads and three whimsical Roman theatrical masks, from which sprout clusters of gilded bronze leaves and long branches that terminate in sockets for candles. Standing on the drum and encircling the baluster are three bronze female figures that appear to support the basin but in fact are purely decorative. Valadier's invoice for works he executed for the palazzo Borghese (dated September 6, 1774) identifies the figures as a Venus, an Amazon, and a Muse and says they were based on clsasical Roman statues.[8] The Venus, shown turned toward the shaft - the better to display her beautiful posterior - was based on an ancient marble then at the Villa Farnesina in Rome and now in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples. Often reproduced, in various media, it was a popular souvenir with foreign visitors on the grand tour. The figure Valadier describes as a Muse recalls the huntress Diana in the collection of the Palazzo Verospi in Rome. The prototype of the Amazon is a marble sculpture today in the Musei Vaticani. Valadier reproduced it in 1780 as a large bronze statue (now at the Château de Malmaison, outside Paris).[9]Valadier's idea of grouping three caryatid figures around the shaft of his candelabra may have originated with Piranesi, who engraved a celebrated ancient statue of the three Graces that was at the time on display in the Villa Borghese.[10] Nevertheless, both the forward-looking design and the daring combination of decorative elements with such divergent roots show that Valadier was well ahead of most contemporary makers of decorative objects. He had an important influence on English artists and metalwork, as a comparison of the upper part of his candelabra with English goldsmiths' work of the 1810s to the 1840s shows. Future research may reveal whether a similar pair of candelabra entered an influential English collection during the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century, or whether an English artisan in Italy bought drawings of the candelabra home to the British Isles during those years.[11] Parallels with the oeuvre of Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy (1780-1854) are especially striking. In 1811 his British firm made for the Prince Regent a pair of candelabra with simpler ornaments and with sculptural details after English plasters that nevertheless reflect the design of the Metropolitan's candelabra.[12][Wolfram Koeppe 2008][1] González-Palacios 1995b, p. 97[2] Ibid.[3] Bulgari 1958-59, vol. 2, pp. 494, 496, 499.[4] See Koeppe in Kisluk-Grosheide, Koeppe, and Rieder 2006, p. 168, no. 70; Lawrence 2007.[5] On the redecoration of the suite of rooms on the ground floor of the palace, see Hibbard 1962.[6] On the tables, see González-Palacios in González-Palacios 1996, pp. 127-28, no. 26, pl. X.[7] González-Palacios 1995b, p. 101.[8] Alvar González-Palacios identified this document in the Archivio Segredo Vaticano, Archivio Borghese, fol. 5298 (no. 3169). It reads, in part, "due Candelabrij di profido tutti guarniti con dell'ornati e figure di metallo dorato . La Venere delle belle chiappe, L'Amazone et una Musa."[9] Note by James David Draper in the files of the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, Metropolitan Museum. Compare also the related Statue of a Wounded Amazon, an ancient Roman marble in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum (32.11.4).[10] Fuhring 1989, vol. 1, p. 360, no. 557, fig. 27; Lawrence 2007.[11] Valadier created a pair of candelabra that are very similar to the present examples, today at Pavlovsk Palace, near Saint Petersburg. González-Palacios suggests they may have been commissioned by Grand Duke Paul of Russia and his wife Maria Feodorovna; see González-Palacios 1995b, p. 102, n. 8; Kuchumov 1974, pl. 184.[12] This hitherto unobserved influence demands a separate study. The following sources may cast some light on the question: Carlton House 1991, p. 178, no. 151; Christie's, Monaco, July 1, 1995, sale cat., lot 30 (a similar pair). Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

alb3645049 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Bust of Livy. Artist: After Nicolas Beatrizet (French, Lunéville 1515-ca. 1566 Rome (?)). Dimensions: sheet: 18 1/8 x 13 3/16 in. (46 x 33.5 cm)plate: 12 1/2 x 9 7/16 in. (31.8 x 24 cm). Publisher: Claudio Duchetti (Italian, active Venice and Rome, ca. 1565-died ca. 1585). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Date: 1582.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 2, plate 69 in the scrapbook. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. Author: After Nicolas Beatrizet.

alb3673162 Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Wild Animals, from antique wall paintings, plate 1. Artist: Anonymous. Dimensions: sheet: 11 5/8 x 16 5/8 in. (29.5 x 42.2 cm)mount: 14 3/16 x 20 3/16 in. (36.1 x 51.3 cm). Publisher: Antonio Lafreri (French, Orgelet, Franche-Comte ca. 1512-1577 Rome); Antonio Lafreri (French, Orgelet, Franche-Comte ca. 1512-1577 Rome). Series/Portfolio: Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Date: 1547.This print comes from the museum's copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title 'Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae' first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus. The museum's copy of the Speculum entered the collection as a group of 3 albums with inlaid engravings and etchings. The prints have since been removed, but the original place of each print within the album is contained in the accession number: 41.72(volume.place).Originally volume 2, plate 177 in the scrapbook. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.