Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level D , Case EO, Shelf 41

The little book of architecture ruins

Etching
1550-1562 (Printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This print is based on an original design by Léonard Thiry, and it is a reverse copy by Virgil Solis after Jacques Androuet Du Cerceau’s prints from 1550. Solis was a prolific printmaker, whose workshop produced ornament prints intended for furniture decoration, jewelry and so on, as well as biblical illustrations. Solis borrowed from German and Italian engravers; this example shows him borrowing from Du Cerceau, who was French. Solis produced popular prints, and the antique theme in this print is typical of the time.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe little book of architecture ruins (series title)
Materials and techniques
Etching
Brief description
Léonard Thiry. One of 8 plates from a suite of 12 views of ruins entitled 'The Little Book of Architectural Ruins'. Published by Virgil Solis, Nuremberg, 1550-1562.
Physical description
Etching
Dimensions
  • Cut to height: 15.1cm
  • Cut to width: 9.8cm
Style
Credit line
From the Lanna Collection.
Historical context
This print belongs to a set of thirteen engravings by Virgil Solis which is referred to as ‘the little book of architecture ruins’ in the Illustrated Bartsch (vol. 19, part 1, pp. 161-167; B. 352a and B. 354 missing in the V&A collections). Solis actually copied Jacques Androuet Du Cerceau’s Duodecim Fragmenta structurae veteris published in 1550 in Orléans. Both Du Cerceau and Solis praise Léonard Thiry, the artist who made the original drawings. Thiry was a Flemish artist who worked at Fontainebleau with Rosso Fiorentino. It is not established whether he went to Rome; he could very well have been inspired by the many prints showing views of Rome that were circulating at the time. The antique theme, and the taste for views of ruins were indeed widespread in the 16th century.

Solis was a prolific printmaker, whose workshop produced ornament prints intended for furniture decoration, jewellery and so on, as well as biblical illustrations. Solis borrowed from German, Italian and French (as was Du Cerceau) engravers. In the first print (The Illustrated Bartsch, vol. 19, part 1, p. 161, no. 352a), he explains that he has copied this set because it was unavailable in Germany: ' I have realized that it would be for the common good and that of all art lovers, if I were to publish it [...], so that our country would be as fortunate as the Italians and the French'.
Production
Reversed copy by Virgil Solis from a set engraved by Jacques Androuet Ducerceau after Léonard Thiry, published in 1550.
Subjects depicted
Places depicted
Summary
This print is based on an original design by Léonard Thiry, and it is a reverse copy by Virgil Solis after Jacques Androuet Du Cerceau’s prints from 1550. Solis was a prolific printmaker, whose workshop produced ornament prints intended for furniture decoration, jewelry and so on, as well as biblical illustrations. Solis borrowed from German and Italian engravers; this example shows him borrowing from Du Cerceau, who was French. Solis produced popular prints, and the antique theme in this print is typical of the time.
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • de Jong, M. and de Groot, I., Ornamentprenten in het Rijksprentenkabinet I, 15de & 16de eeuw, ‘s-Gravenhage, 1988, no. 580.
  • Peters, Jane S., ed. The Illustrated Bartsch, 19 (Part 1). German masters of the sixteenth century: Virgil Solis: Intaglio Prints and Woodcuts. New York: Abaris Books, 1985. No. 352-363.
Other number
B.352 - Le Peintre-Graveur
Collection
Accession number
E.2859-1910

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdMay 24, 2000
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest