Daniel Crouch Rare Books’ Sale Of De Barbari’s ‘Map Of Venice’

Daniel Crouch Rare Books is a specialist dealer in antique atlases, maps, plans, sea charts and globes.

The map of Venice is significant, for both its age and creative process. It was created in 1500 and is one of the most spectacular achievements of Renaissance printmaking. Daniel Crouch comments, “it is refreshing and reassuring to know that institutions can still find the funds to acquire significant works of art. We are immensely proud to have played a key role in such an acquisition.” He added, “it was a pleasure dealing with the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and we are extremely pleased to have significantly enriched their collection as well as finding ourselves in a position to execute this type of transaction when we have only recently launched the business.”

This celebrated 16th century birds-eye view map is a first edition; second state. It is one of only 13 known examples and until recently was the only known version outside of an institution.

This version has been in the private collection of the Massèna (duc de Rivoli) family since the mid 18th century when it was first acquired by Andrè Massèna (1758-1817), 1st duc de Rivoli and 1st prince d’Essling, a leading French general of the revolutionary and Napoleonic wars.
The map of Venice was printed from one of three woodcuts created by de Barbari and remains the largest woodcut map ever created, with the original prints measuring 1.315 x 2.818 metres, made from six blocks. The original woodblocks can be viewed in the Correr Museum in Venice.