Enea Vico

The Illustrium Iureconsultorum Imagines, a collection of portraits of outstanding legal scholars from the Renaissance period, was engraved at the behest of Marco Mantova Benavides (1491–1582), a resident of Padua who was a prominent lawyer, art collector and patron of the arts. The series of engravings was published by Antonio Lafreri in Rome in 1566. The work follows in the tradition of portrait collections of famous people which, ever since the High Renaissance, included not just sovereigns and outstanding military figures, but increasingly also scholars and artists or were compiled in accordance with certain other themes. The Renaissance portrait book as an expression of early modern individualism had its heyday in the second half of the 16th century.
In addition to legal treatises and commentaries Benavides published a bio-bibliographical work on important legal scholars, to which the Iureconsultorum Imagines were presumably intended as a pictorial supplement. As stated on the title page, the designs for the portraits came “ex musaeo Marci Mantuae Benavidij”. Thus many of the sheets reproduce paintings from the Benavides collection while others are modelled on gravestones and medals. Less than a year after they were published Nicolò Nelli reproduced them as engravings in reverse (cf. Albertina inv. It/I/35/31–37); a further collection of Iureconsulti by Benavides was published in Venice in 1570. Engravings and woodcuts illustrate the broad reception accorded to the portrait collection.
There is disagreement as to who engraved the portraits. Enea Vico, to whom they were attributed in their entirety in the past, can undoubtedly be considered the author of the majority of the prints. However, it is likely that several engravers were involved in executing the series. Individual portraits are distinguished by their astounding expressiveness and realism; the supremely refined engraving technique used gives them a great softness, materiality and sensitivity of expression. Moreover, there is documentary proof of cooperative endeavours involving Vico, Benavides and Lafreri in connection with a sheet of the Speculum with the sculptural reproduction of Hercules Benavides.
Two plates are printed on each sheet, the sheets in three fascicles bound in a parchment cover. Plate 16 is inserted separately between plates 4 and 5. Superb, tonal and contrasting early impressions with the full margins. Minor discolouring and unevenness, a wormhole in plate 11, slight traces of handling commensurate with their age, otherwise in excellent, pristine condition and of eminent rarity throughout.

SOLD