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DÜRER, Albrecht

Les quatre livres [...] de la proportion des parties & pourtraicts des corps humains. Traduicts par Loys Meigret lionnois, de langue latine en françoise. Derechef reveu et corrigé de nouveau
Arnhem
Jean Jeansz.
1614
€1.800 - €2.400

In-folio, [2]-124 ff, with over 100 woodcut human figures and numerous diagrams. The woodcuts show men and women of different ages and different body types (skinny or fat). The text is foliated except for 4 double-page plates which are paginated (73-74, 97-98, 99-100 and 118-119) (age-toned, some sl. soiling and foxing, marg. tear strengthened to f. 33 and lower corner of f. 75 repaired, dampstaining, marg. tear without loss to f. 116, marg. wormtrack) Contemp. sheep binding, gilt coat of arms on covers, gilt orn. spine with raised bands, red edges (rubbed)

"This work (first ed. in Latin: 1528) is the first published attempt to apply the science of human anatomical proportions to aesthetics, of which the idea came after a travel in Italy where Dürer had seen Da Vinci's works. It is divided into 4 parts: the first two parts discuss the proper proportions of the human form, the third part adjusts the proportions using mathematical rules, with examples of extremely fat and thin bodies, and the fourth shows the human figure in motion. Cf. Cicognara 320 (Fr. ed., 1557). Provenance : Balthazar-Alexandre de Jarente (1691-1768), marquis of Sénas and Orgeval, Cavalry Captain in the regiment of Saint-Germain (gilt supralibros; ref. Olivier 931)"