Les livres d'architecture

Author(s) Mauclerc, Julien
Title A new treatise of architecture...
Imprint London, R. Pricke, 1669
Localisation Cambridge University Library, OA.4.35
Subject Orders

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Transcribed version of the text

For this translation of Mauclerc’s treatise, Robert Pricke drew his inspiration from the 1648 version published by Pierre Daret in Paris. He brought few changes to it : the frame surrounding the author’s portrait was replaced by the plainer one from Practica di prospettiva de Lorenzo Sirigatti (Venice, 1596). The two models of acanthus leaves bringing the French book to a close disappear ; on the other hand, the plates comparing Palladio’s, Scamozzi’s and Vignola’s orders increase from two to six (Harris 552).
We know that the shapes proposed by Mauclerc were very much inspired by the treatise on orders by Hans Blum ( 1551 ), from which Mauclerc literally took the text, and which is the source of the plates. Perhaps this source, very much appreciated in England during the 17 th century, favored the translation of a work which at the end of the day was distributed very little.

Critical bibliography

S. Lhopiteau, Pierre Daret, graveur, éditeur, marchand, peintre : étude monographique, Dissertation, Université de Paris IV (Paris-Sorbonne), 2005. Y. Pauwels, “Hans Blum et les Français”, Scholion. Mitteilungsblatt der Stiftung Bibliothek Werner Oechslin, 2010, 6, pp. 77-88. D. Thomson, “Architecture et humanisme au XVI siècle. Le Premier Livre d’Architecture de Julien Mauclerc”, Bulletin monumental, 158, 1980, pp. 7-40. D. Thomson, “Le Premier Livre d’Architecture de Mauclerc, à La Rochelle, chez Jérôme Haultin en 1600”, S. Deswarte Rosa (ed.), Sebastiano Serlio à Lyon. Architecture et imprimerie, Mémoire active, 2004, p. 471.

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