Source of Art - 18th Century Venetian Painting. MONACO. Raccolta di centododici stampe di pitture della Storia Sacra.

Large folio. 465x315 mm. Contemporary full marbled leather binding, gold title and ornaments on the spine. 3 unnumbered leaves [Title page, dedication, list of plates], 2-112. Double copperplate with portrait of the dedicatee Tommaso Querini, after the Title page, followed by 112 plates alternating with the text leaves. Plate no. 1 ‘Gaudeat Pater tuus’ on a single sheet, all the others on a double sheet. The first plate is not accompanied by the text. Ex libris “J. William Smith Collection” glued to the inside cover. Some slight traces of use and humidity veils in the margins of some plates, in overall good condition, copy with wide margins in its original binding.

Magnificent first edition with the 112 engravings by Pietro Monaco, extremely rare to find complete with all the plates. Our copy also contains the plate with the portrait of the dedicatee, engraved by Marco Pitteri based on a drawing by Lorenzo Tiepolo, which is not numbered. A very important source of art. Almost all the plates bear the name of the person who at the time owned the original paintings reproduced here, including paintings by Tiepolo, Titian, Guido Reni, Bernardo Strozzi, Piazzetta, Pittoni, Jacopo da Ponte, Luca Giordano, Rubens, Veronese and many others. 

Catalogo generale dei beni culturali: “L'opera venne sostenuta da un gruppo di artisti e uomini di cultura al fine di diffondere la pittura antica e di "lanciare" grandi artisti contemporanei come Tiepolo, Ricci, Piazzetta. Fu probabilmente questo intento che spinse Pietro Monaco ad ampliare i l suo lavoro portando il numero delle incisioni a 112. Così nel 17 63 fu stampata per la prima volta la serie completa delle 112 incisioni. Questa edizione venne dedicata a Tommaso Queri ni. L'opera fu eseguita in collaborazione con Antonio Baratti […] Le incisioni riprendono dipinti di pittori veneti di varie epoche, posseduti da nobili famiglie, da studiosi o da altri artisti legati ad un’unica cerchia intellettuale. La serie, dedicata a dipinti che hanno come soggetto solamente episodi biblici, è interessantissima per lo studio del gusto collezionistico veneziano de l Settecento. I lavori originali da cui le stampe sono tratte, sono spesso sconosciuti. Già all'epoca infatti essi facevano parte di collezioni private. È questo il motivo che ha reso difficile se non talvolta impossibile rintracciare sia il dipinto da cui è tratta la stampa, sia l'attuale ubicazione”. [The work was supported by a group of artists and men of culture in order to spread ancient painting and to "launch" great contemporary artists such as Tiepolo, Ricci, Piazzetta. It was probably this intent that pushed Pietro Monaco to expand his work by bringing the number of engravings to 112. Thus in 1763 the complete series of 112 engravings was printed for the first time. This edition was dedicated to Tommaso Querini. The work was carried out in collaboration with Antonio Baratti […] The engravings are based on paintings by Venetian painters from various periods, owned by noble families, scholars or other artists linked to a single intellectual circle. The series, dedicated to paintings that have only biblical episodes as their subject, is very interesting for the study of the Venetian collecting taste of the eighteenth century. The original works from which the prints are taken are often unknown. In fact, at the time they were already part of private collections. This is the reason that has made it difficult if not sometimes impossible to trace both the painting from which the print is taken and its current location].

Succi, Da Carlevarijs ai Tiepolo, pp. 256-259. 

Succi, Da Carlevarijs ai Tiepolo, pp. 256-259. 

Cfr. https://catalogo.beniculturali.it/detail/HistoricOrArtisticProperty/0900479211.