Inherent in all works of art is the notion of inspiration. The ancient Greeks attributed this phenomenon to the muses. In Christianity, the divine presence of the Holy Spirit anoints the artist with a stroke of genius. The revelation that functions as the starting point for the artist permeates the work - laying dormant, waiting for modern eyes to give it new life.

In the cultural landscape of 17th century Europe, many artists sought to represent this divine inspiration quite literally. This period, which came to be known as the Baroque, is characterized by opulence and drama. Artwork was grandiose and direct, designed to inspire piety in peasants and aristocracy alike. The term baroque, meaning a large, irregularly-shaped pearl, was attributed to art of the 17th century by 18th century critics, who disparaged the movement as absurd and grotesque – an aberration, like an irregularly-shaped pearl.[i]

The Baroque era was also a period of significant scientific and philosophical discovery. Monumental advancements in optics and measurement provided artists with new tools to more accurately represent the human experience, while Rationalist thought inspired artists to question the nature of representation.[ii] As powerhouse artists like Caravaggio and Velasquez were using novel scientific discoveries to address massive ideas about human existence, individuals like Giovanni Baptista (Battista) Ferrari (1584-1655) took on smaller, more specified pursuits of equal significance.

In line with the fashions of the time, Ferrari’s interest in orangeries – a precursor to the greenhouse – led him to produce the first scholarly study of lemons, limes, and oranges. This four-part, illustrated book about citrus was accurate and all-inclusive, touching on everything from the taxonomy to the mythology of these exotic fruits. Ferrari is noted for his imaginative compositions[iii] and scientific accuracy, which he achieved through close observation of his subject matter, made possible by scientific and technological innovations of the time. In fact, his first work, De Florum Cultura (1633), a study of ornamental plants and horticulture, includes an illustration of the seeds and seed pods of the Chinese Rose – the first ever botanical illustration produced using a microscope.[iv] As Caravaggio’s works were thought grotesque in their starkness, Ferrari’s, too, are fundamentally baroque. Ferrari presents the citrus fruit as it exists in nature, authentic and imperfect.

Giovanni Baptista (Battista) Ferrari - copperplate engraving from Hesperides sive de Malorum Aureorum Cultura et Usu Libri Quatuor (Concerning the Cultivation and Uses of the Golden Apple in Four Volumes), 1646

Giovanni Baptista (Battista) Ferrari - copperplate engraving from Hesperides sive de Malorum Aureorum Cultura et Usu Libri Quatuor (Concerning the Cultivation and Uses of the Golden Apple in Four Volumes), 1646

Influenced by the work of Ferrari, the wealthy German silk merchant, Johann Christoph Volckamer (June 7, 1644 - August 26, 1720) sought to show off his own collection of exotic citrus through his book of engravings titled, Nürbergisches Hesperides. Volckamer’s book expresses the zeitgeist of Europe in the 17th century unambiguously.  In Nürbergisches Hesperides, grotesque citrus fruits float above charming views of the gardens and palaces of Germany, Austria, and Italy[v], showcasing the Baroque architecture of the period. Volckamer’s book addresses the relationship of objects to the space they inhabit, extending the “meaning” of the citrus fruits beyond the scientific. With no source information, a viewer looking at an engraving from Nürbergisches Hesperides could identify the locale and even hypothesize about the cultural significance of the citrus depicted. For instance, one could deduce from visual clues that citrus trees were a fashionable staple of European gardens during the Baroque period[vi], and furthermore, the more monstrous the fruit, better. Visual clues reveal meaning, yet the illustration is not overtly didactic. Volckamer dissolves traditional notions of perspective, as his citrus exists neither in the foreground or the background, but is collaged on top, creating an effect that brings to mind artwork produced three centuries later by the surrealists - in particular that of Belgian artist René Magritte (1898-1967).

Johann Christoph Volckamer - copperplate engraving from Nürnbergische Hesperides, oder gründliche Beschreibung der edlen Citronat-, Citronen- und Pomeranzen-Früchte, 1708

Johann Christoph Volckamer - copperplate engraving from Nürnbergische Hesperides, oder gründliche Beschreibung der edlen Citronat-, Citronen- und Pomeranzen-Früchte, 1708

Magritte, perversely inspired by works of the Rationalist order, utilized the aesthetics of a tradition he rejected to challenge the status quo, which he deemed oppressive. In his attempt to subvert the skeletal structure of bourgeois society, he scrambled the puzzle that Rationalist thinkers committed to solving. The aura of mystery that characterizes the Surrealist movement is achieved through Magritte’s application of symbolic non sequiturs. As Ferrari imparted the knowledge, this is an orange and these are its characteristics, Volckamer fine-tuned his achievements, adding the “where, when, and why” to his “who and what.” This empirical evidence functions as a point of departure for Magritte’s own artistic integrity as he attests of his realistic rendering of a pipe, this is not a pipe. Despite Magritte’s repudiation of history, glaring consistencies endure, including an interest in the identity of objects and a penchant for the grotesque. Magritte’s representations of the human body - distorted, amputated, veiled, and fused with other species, objects, and elements of setting – have a similar impact on the human psyche as Volckamer and Ferrari’s disfigured citrus fruits. Through imagery of the strange and unusual, our instinctive curiosity is peaked and our senses engaged, inviting us to meditate on the inspiration that motivated the work of art before our eyes.

René Magritte - La trahison des images (The Treachery of Images), 1928-29, oil on canvas

René Magritte - L'invention Collective (Collective Invention), 1935, oil on canvas

René Magritte -  Le Château des Pyrénées (The Castle of the Pyrenees), 1959, oil on canvas

René Magritte -  La Chambre d'Écoute (The Listening Room), 1952, oil on canvas

Here at Arader Galleries we have a fantastic selection of original, hand-colored engravings from the striking and historically significant works published by Volckamer and Ferrari. The plates were prepared by some of the most esteemed painters and draughtsmen of the Baroque era, including Paulus Decker, The Elder and Cornelis Bloemaert. Please contact Arader Galleries for further information.

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[i] Camara, Esperança. “The Baroque: Art, Politics & Religion in 17th-century Europe.” Smarthistory at Khan Academy. Web. Accessed 4 June 2014.

[ii] Brown, Betty Ann. “Art & Mass Media: Second Edition Revised.” California State University, Northridge. 2005. Web. Accessed 4 June 2014.

[iii] DeLaurentis, Denise and Hollie Powers Holt. The Art of the Garden: Collecting Antique Botanical Prints. Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 2006. Print.

[iv] Erickson, Robert F. “Giovanni Battista Ferrari.” Rare Books from the MBG Library. Missouri Botanical Garden. Web. Accessed 4 June 2014.

[v] Blunt, Wilfrid. The Art of Botanical Illustration: An Illustrated History. New York: Dover, 1994. Print.

[vi] Kaden, Vera. The Illustration of Plants & Gardens: 1500-1850. England: Crown, 1982. Print. 

Architectural Engravings from the 16th - 18th Centuries

Plate 9 - Sala all'uso degi antichi Romani con Colonne, e nicchie ornate di Statue (Hall according to the custom of the ancient Romans) by Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Plate 14 - Templum et Academicum Colleg. Societatis Jesu… by Salomon Kleiner (1703-1761)
Palazzo Delia Seren Casa Medici Nel Monte Pincio Archittura di Anibal Lippi che fu Pittore Romano…by Giovanni Giacomo de Rossi (1627-1691)

Arader Galleries is pleased to present a new catalog featuring our selection of architectural engravings from the 16th through 18th centuries. These extraordinary engravings showcase the both the Baroque and Neoclassical styles of architecture seen in great cities such as Rome, Vienna and London.

Please contact Arader Galleries at 415.788.5115 to request a copy of the Architecturals catalog.

Best wishes to you in the New Year!

Engravings from the Landmark Publication on British Georgian Architecture

Colen Campbell (1676–1729)
From Vitruvius Britannicus
London, [1715-1725] 1767
Copperplate engravings

Colen Campbell (1676–1729) was a Scottish-born architect who published the single most influential work of architecture published in the Georgian era (1714-1811). As the title suggests, the work focuses upon the writings of the Roman architectural author, Vitruvius, and testifies to Campbell's outright rejection of the French influence upon British architecture, so prevalent during the reign of the late Stuart monarchs. The book champions the classical purity of line, which pervaded the work of the English court architect, Inigo Jones (1753-1652) and the Italian architect, Andrea Palladio (1508-1580), both considered exemplars of the style by Campbell.

Additionally, the book represents the rise of the nobility and professional designer as arbiters of fashion, a facet of British culture previously dominated by royalty. The British countryside, as we know it today, was the creation of the Georgian period. The nobility now enjoyed new found wealth largely due to the Seven Years’ War, when the Crown had given land to loyal supporters. This land was mainly concentrated into large estates, and its owners either sat in the House of Commons or knew people who did. Thus, the land enclosure acts, which allowed for the most modern methods of farming, were easily passed and as a result agriculture became a profitable enterprise. For the first time the elite could afford to build grand homes for themselves and to receive members of the royal family. While ‘Capability’ Brown supplied the design for magnificently landscaped gardens, Campbell’s Vitruvius Britannicus provided a marvelous template for the design of the house.

To view Arader Galleries' selection of Campbell architectural engravings currently available for purchase, visit www.aradersf.com, call 415.788.5115 to request a Campbell catalog, or visit our San Francisco gallery location.

A Grand View of the Gardens of Versailles

Pierre le Pautre
“Plan General de la Ville & du Chateau de Versailles, des Jardins, Bosquets et Fountaines”
Paris: 1717
Hand-colored copperplate engraving
Paper size: 37 ½" x 50"
Framed size: 43 ½" x 56 ½"

Louis XIV (1638-1715), the Sun King of France, had grown up during a civil war between rival factions of aristocrats, known as the Fronde, and wanted a site where he could control the French government by absolute rule. Louis settled on the royal hunting lodge at Versailles, which had been acquired by Louis XIII in 1632, and over the following decades expanded it into the largest palace and grounds in the world. It was Louis XIV's hope to create a center for the royal court at Versailles.

Beginning in 1669, the architect, Louis Le Vau (1612-1670), began a detailed renovation of the château. The Château of Versailles, outside of Paris, was converted into a spectacular royal palace in a series of four major and distinct building campaigns. By the end of the third building campaign, the Château had taken on most of the appearance that it retains to this day, except for the Royal Chapel in the last decade of the reign. Louis XIV officially moved to Versailles, along with the royal court, on May 6, 1682.

Louis had several reasons for creating such a symbol of extravagant opulence and stately grandeur, and for shifting the seat of the monarch. By moving the royal court and the seat of the French government, Louis XIV hoped to gain greater control of the government from the nobility. All the power of France emanated from this centre: there were government offices here, as well as the homes of thousands of courtiers and all the attendant functionaries of court. By requiring that nobles of a certain rank and position spend time each year at Versailles, Louis prevented them from developing their own regional power and kept them from countering his efforts to centralize the French government in an absolute monarchy. Thus, many noblemen had to either to give up all influence, or to depend entirely on the king for grants and subsidies. Instead of exercising power and potentially creating trouble, the nobles vied for the honor of dining at the king’s table or the privilege of carrying a candlestick as the king retired to his bedroom.

Versailles also served as a dazzling and awe-inspiring setting for state affairs and for the reception of foreign dignitaries, where the attention was not shared with the city of Paris, but was assumed solely by the king. Court life centered on magnificence; courtiers lived lives of expensive luxury, dressed with suitable magnificence and constantly attended balls, dinners, performances and celebrations.

This grand view showcases the garden plan of Versailles, the grounds of which are the largest formal gardens ever created, with extensive fountains and canals (identified with a key on either side of the illustrated garden plan). The gardens at Versailles were designed by the landscape architect André Le Nôtre (1673-1700). Le Nôtre modified the original gardens by expanding them and giving them a sense of openness and larger scale. The plan was centered by the central axis of the Grand Canal (le Canal), an ornamental body of water covering 105 acres. The gardens are centered on the south front of the palace, which is set on a terrace, giving the palace a sweeping view of the gardens. The Fountain of Latona (6) is located at the foot of the steps, and tells a story taken from Ovid’s poem Metamorphoses, which was considered an allegory of the Fronde, the French civil war (1646-53) that occurred when Louis XIV was a child. Beyond this is the Fountain of Apollo (15 - Bassin d’Apollon), which symbolizes the regime of the Sun King. To the right of the Grand Canal is Trianon, a getaway built by Louis XIV to spend time with his family, and unwind from the tedium of life at the royal court. Far into the distance lie the dense woods of the King’s hunting grounds.

This view is currently on view at Arader Galleries and is available for purchase.