CARDUCHO Vicente Dialogos de la pintura y defensa, origen, essencia, definicion, modos y diferencias.

Palau, 44114; Brunet I, 1575 “volume recherché et peu commun”.

First edition. One of the most important works on painting published in Spain.

A painter of Italian origin, Carducho settled in Spain, where he arrived at the age of nine with his brother Bartolomé (Florence 1560–Madrid 1608), a painter at El Escorial, and trained under his guidance. He was the most influential figure in the Madrid art world before Velázquez. Painter to the king since 1609, he received numerous commissions for El Pardo, the Convent of La Encarnación, and the Alcázar of Madrid. Together with Cajès, he decorated the Sagrario of Toledo Cathedral. Highly favored under Philip III, he was supplanted by Velázquez under the new king. From then on, he lived somewhat apart, devoting himself to the large ensemble that was to decorate the great cloister of the Paular Charterhouse (1626-1632): scenes from the history of the order, visions, miracles, from its foundation by Saint Bruno to the persecutions suffered during the religious wars of the 16th century. His style, close to that of the Tuscan artists of his generation (Ludovico Cardi, known as Cigoli), combines academic tradition and the beginnings of naturalism with a concern for color inherited from the Venetians. Carducho was, before Zurbarán, the great supplier to the religious orders, Franciscans, Trinitarians, and monks of Mercy.

In 1633, defending the privileges of artists, Vincenzo Carducci won a lawsuit against the Spanish tax authorities, who wanted to impose a tax on works of art.

His work, dedicated to Philip IV, was one of the most important of its time in Spain and “is an excellent treatise that extended his teaching and influence” (see Bénézit).

Palau already indicates the rarity of the book “actualmente es muy dificil hacerse con un ejemplar perfecto de esta obra”; it was reprinted in 1865. 

The work is illustrated with 9 full-page etchings, included into the pagination.

Good copy albeit some quires toned. 

Unidentified monogram on the title-page.