Lot 08109

STUART James & REVETT Nicholas, “Les Antiquités d’Athènes, mesurées et dessinées par J. Stuart and N. Revett, peintres et architectes. Ouvrage traduit de l’Anglais, par L.F.F.…”, Paris: Firmin Didot, 1808, 1810 & 1812.

Three (out of 4) Folio Volumes, including almost 140 impressive copper plates. First edition published in France, translated by Laurent Francois Feuillet. XIII+75 p., 36 plates, II+60 p., 49 pl., II+89 p., 54 pl. The missing fourth volume was published on 1822.

The British architect and painter James Stuart and the British architect and designer Nicholas Revett arrived in Greece in the spring of 1751, undertaking for the first time the challenging task to accurate describe the antiquities of Athens. Their task gained the fervent support of the Society of Dilettanti in Rome, which financed the mission. For more than 2 years, they worked mainly in Athens and Attica, but also visited Corinth, Thessaloniki and Delphi, measuring the monuments and preparing detailed drawings “in situ”.

The work was a landmark in European classicism including numerous drawings, with depictions, plans, sections and details of ancient monuments and architectural members, accompanied by explanatory texts, archaeological comments and travel impressions, inaugurated a new era, in which meticulous measurement replaced the generic and often imaginary representation of ancient monuments (Ioli Vingopoulou, www.travelogues.gr).

Contemporary dark blue/green carton board binding, somewhat rubbed and bumped (corners). Clean copy, untrimmed, a few plates are detached. The plates are on double page, full page or in-text.

Rare and Good copy.

Brunet V 570, Contominas 708, Not in Blackmer