Pia desideria, lib. III. Ad Urbanum VIII. Authore Herm. Hvgoni. Soc. Iesu. Editio 6. Emendata |
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| Author | Herman Hugo |
| Publisher | Antverpiæ: Apud Henricum Aertssens, 1632 |
| Edition | 6 |
| Weight | 390 gram |
| CF |
Landwehr (Low C.), 347; Praz, p.376; BCNI 8483; Funck (1925), 338; Thieme-Becker IV, 254; Backer-Sommervogel IV, 513; Brunet III, 366; De Feller (1848), IV, 462-3; Van Veen (Nederl. Embl.), p. 46. This edition not in STCV. |
| Keywords |
emblemata, emblems, religious emblemata, religieuze emblemata, Boëtius à Bolswart, Rubens, Antwerpen, Contra Reformatie, Counter Reformation, Jesuits, Jesuiten, Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius of Loyola, Pope Urbanus VIII, mystiek, mysticism
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| Booknumber |
21364 |
| Category's |
Old & Rare (17th Century)
Mental Sciences (Theology & Religion)
Art (Europe)
Art (17th Century)
History & Archaeology (17th Century)
Art (Graphic Art & Printing Art)
Art (Prints & Graphic Art)
History & Archaeology (Church history)
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in-8vo (9,8 x 14,8 cm). Pp. (32), 442, (4). Blind-tooled calf, spine with 4 raised bands and gilt-lettered red morocco title-shield. Collation (complete): * - **8; A – Ee8 (Ee8 blank).
The learned Jesuit author Herman Hugo was born at Brussels, 1588 and died from the plague at Rheinberg, 1629). He was not only a priest, but also a poet, a historian and an archaeologue. He served as confessor to the Duke of Aerschot and later as an army chaplain and confessor to the Spanish general Spinola (1569 – 1630). He wrote this very popular, and influential, religious emblematic works; no less than 42 Latin editions of this work were published until 1756 and Landwehr calls it “perhaps the most influential of all the religious emblem books”. During the 17th and 18th centuries many religious emblem books were published. The counter-reformation produced a great number of emblematic meditation-books where text and illustrations are interwoven. Emblem books were therefore much favoured by the Jesuits for the purposes of teaching, as religious propaganda, and to provide subjects for meditation. The 17th-century Jesuit curriculum prescribed that emblems were composed in the schools. Members of the highest classes in the Flemish Jesuit colleges each composed an emblem, and the production of the entire class was collected in commemorative albums painted by professional artists and calligraphers. The meditation on the soul's relation to Christ was precisely guided by provision of references in the engravings. The first religious catholic emblem book was published in 1571 and composed by Arias Montanus. In 1601 Jan David composed the first Jesuit emblem book, the “Veridicus Christianus”. Boëtius a Bolswert contributed also to another emblematic work by a Jesuit, Antonius Suquet, That work was also published by Hendrick Aaertssens (I) (1613 – 1658) who published a number of Jesuit emblem books during the 1620s. Because of their engravings by Boëtius a Bolswert, the works were important for the development of the 17th-century Christian iconography. Boëtius Adamsz. à Bolswert (ca 1580-1633), from Frisia, was the elder brother of Schelte Adamsz. à Bolswert, the celebrated engraver of Rubens. These emblems by Boëtius were inspired by the work of Otto Vaenius. Boëtius was a great engraver in the baroque style and a pupil of Abraham Bloemaert. He had a print-selling business in Antwerp and illustrated a number of books including several emblem books. In 1628 there has been published a pirated edition by the Amsterdam publisher P.I. Paets; this edition has 45 woodcut emblems by Christophel van Sichem after the copper-engravings by Boetius. Our edition has the original copper-engravings by Boetius. Aertssens published the Pia Desideria for the first time in 1624; our copy is from the 6th edition. The work is divided into three books, each with 15 pieces. I: Gemitus animae poenitentis (Lamentation of the repentant soul). II: Vota animae sanctae ( Vow of the Holy soul). III: Suspiria animae amantis (Sigh of the soul filled with love). These 3 books follow the fundamentals of Loyola’s „Ejercicios espirituales“ - living the human relationship with God in the world exemplified in the Society of Jesus - and express the search of the human soul for Holiness during the 3 consecutive phases of the mystical process: Purgation, Illumination, Union. The spiritual process is impersonated in the emblems by two cherubins, a girl and a boy, who represent Divine Love (the Child Jesus) and Anima (the human soul). Each of the 45 pieces is taken from a Bible-text, most of them from the Psalms, a few from Hiob, the Song of Songs, the Book of Deuteronomy &c. Every piece begins with a long paraphrase in elegiac verse, that somewhat contradicts the simplicity of these divine examples. Each piece is accompanied by a numbered emblematic engraving, not only explaining the holy text, but by its pictorial nature, impressing a lasting memory of it. Each emblem (of 5,5 x 8 cm) is numbered (1 – 45) and has its caption (the relevant bible quotation) engraved in the plate. Some of these emblems are interesting, e.g. 9 and 38 depicting skeletons, 13 depicting a sundial, 18 and 24 depicting a child in and outside of a walking pen, 17 depicting a labyrinth and 36 depicting the girl sitting on a round (!) earth globe and looking at the haven. Emblem 8 mounted, but undoubtedly as originally issued. Apart from the 45 emblems, the work contains the engraved allegoric title-page, the engraving depicting the coat of arms of Pope Urbanus VIII (with the three Barberini bees), a preliminary emblematic engraving (numbered 0), a 5-line decorated woodcut initial and 20 cul-delampe and vignette woodcuts. With the dedication to Pope Urbanus VIII, 3 laudatory poems, the Approbatios of Florentinus de Montmorency, Provincial of the Jesuits, and of the Censor Henricus Smeyers, and the Privilege of Philip IV, dated 1629. Leaf Ee 7-v with the impressum "Antverpiae, Apud Henricus Aertssens, MDCXXXI.Old handwritten ex-libris on flyleaf and some old annotations in ink. Lower corner leaf B3 damaged ( with very small loss of text), lower margins cut bit short, but always outside of text, some small stains and upper part of spine damaged, but otherwise a very good copy of a rather rare edition with strong engravings.
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| Prijs |
€ 450.00 |
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