The Reception of P.P. Rubens's 'Palazzi di Genova' during the 17th Century in Europe: Questions and Problems (Architectura Moderna) 2503513018, 9782503513010

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THE RECEPTIO N OF

P.P.

RUBENs's

PALAZZI DI GENOVA

DURING THE 17TH CENTURY IN EUROPE: QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS

ARCHITEC TURA MODERNA Architectural Exchanges in Europe, 16th - 17th Centuries

Vol.1

Series Editors: Krista De Jonge (Leuven) Pi et Lombaerde (Antwerp)

Advisory Board: Howard Burns (Venice) Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann (Princeton) Jean Guillaume (Paris) John Newman (London) Konrad Ottenheym (Utrecht) Ulrich Schutte (Marburg)

THE RECEPTION OF PALAZZI DI GENOVA

P.P.

RUBENS's

DURING THE 17TH CENTURY IN EUROPE: QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS

Edited by

Piet Lombaerde

@

BREPOLS

© 2002 Brepols Publishers n.v., Turnhout, Belgium. i\ll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

D/2002/0095/47 ISBN 2-503-51301-8 Printed in the E.U. on acid-free paper

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements Preface (Werner Oechslin ) Introduction (Piet Lombaerde, editor)

page

VII IX

1

Peter Paul Rubens and the Notion 'painter-architect' (Frans Baudouin)

15

Peter Paul Rubens's Palazzi di Genova: built Architecture and drawn Reality (Clara Altavista)

37

The Significance of the two Volumes of Rubens's Palazzi di Genova for Architectural Theory (Piet Lombaerde)

51

Peter Paul Rubens's Palazzi di Genova and its Influence on Architecture in the Netherlands (Konrad Ottenheym)

81

The Distribution and Reception of Rubens's Palazzi di Genova in the Southern Netherlands: a status questionis (Pi et Lombaerde)

99

Criticizing Palazzi di Genova: the evidence of John Webb and Roger Pratt Oohn Newman)

121

Rubens in London: the Drawings for Palazzi di Genova and the English Connections (Charles Hind)

131

La Reception des Palazzi di Genova en France au XVIIe siecle (Claude N. Mignot)

135

« Architectura alla moderna » und die « Teutsche manier ». Rubens' Palazzi di Genova und die Neuorientierung der deutschen Architektur bei Joseph Furttenbach d. A. (1591-1667) (Ulrich Schutte)

143

Case Study Rubens's Palazzi di Genova and the Jesuit Churches of Antwerp and Brussels Ooris Snaet)

161

v

CONTENTS

List of Illustrations

183

Appendix. Plates from Rubens's Palazzi di Genova

191

Bibliography

227

Abbreviations

243

Index

245

Contributors

261

VI

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

On the publication of this first volume in the new series 'Architectura Moderna' by Brepols Publishers, it behoves us to express our thanks and appreciation to a number of individuals and organisations. The idea for this publication, 'The Reception of P.P. Rubens's Palazzi di Genova during the 17th Century in Europe: Questions and Problems', originated during a two-day international symposium organised on March 22 and 23, 2001, in the Rockoxhuis in Antwerp by the Higher Institute of Architectural Sciences Antwerp (Association University of Antwerp). This event fits into a European Commission's Raphael programme, in which both the university and the city of Genoa were involved, as well as the RIBA in London and the Higher Institute of Architectural Sciences Henry van de Velde Antwerp. Different lectures by authors who had enthusiastically agreed to their participation in this publication treated the reception and possible influences of P.P. Rubens's Palazzi di Genova on architecture and architectural theory in countries such as England, Italy, and the Northern and Southern Netherlands. The Brepols Publishing House subsequently conceived the idea of starting a new series on architecture which would devote special attention to architecture from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with emphasis on their European dimension. Professor Krista De Jonge (K.U. Leuven, Department of Architecture of the Faculty of Applied Sciences) and I were approached to act as the series' editors. This led to the creation of the new series 'Architectura Moderna'. We are, therefore, especially grateful to Brepols Publishers for their initiative in starting this series and acceptance of this book as its first contribution. It should be pointed out that this volume is to be considered complementary to Dr Herbert W Rott's publication 'Palazzi di Genova', which is being issued simultaneously as Part XXII in the Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard. We owe a special vote of thanks to our colleague Professor Richard Foque, dean of the Faculty of Design Sciences (Association University of Antwerp), for his excellent advice and full support, which contributed to our bringing this project to a successful end. Thanks to our colleague Andre De Naeyer for involving the Higher Institute of Archictural Sciences Henry Van de Velde in the Raphael programme for this project. This research programme is known by the acronym GLAMOUR, an abbreviation for 'Genoa, London and Antwerp. Memories of Urban Rubens'. We express special thanks to John Newman, M.A., (Courtauld Institute of Art, London), contributor to this publication and member of the Editorial Board of this series, who spent numerous hours in the revision of a number of authors' texts and added useful annotations to the content. Sir Howard Colvin has been very friendly in giving useful advice. Also, many individuals in archival departments, research centres, and libraries have contributed greatly to the research work. Our special thanks goes to Mrs. Monique Morbe of the Antwerp City Archives, to Carl De Pauw, curator of the Rubens House and to the staff of several departments of the Royal Library in Brussels. We are grateful to Charles Hind, curator of the British Architectural Library Drawings Collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects for assisting us during our study of the drawings for Rubens's book.

VII

In addition, Professor Luc Duerloo and Dr Peter Fuhring, very willingly passed on a number of new data and engaged in several discussions regarding the interpretations of certain prints. Professor Ennio Poleggi has generously provided us with full support during our research in Genoa. Dr Frans Baudouin, the famous Rubens senior scholar, has our thanks for his willingness to provide a contribution to this volume and for his assistance in gathering the illustrations. Thanks to Dr Arnout Balis of the Rubenianum for his very useful help in finding some important material for this book. I also want express special thanks to my wife Dr Ria Fabri, for the many stimulating and suggestive discussions we have had regarding the interpretation of the two volumes of Rubens's book. In conclusion, we further wish to thank all authors for their dedication and interest in contributing to this publication. We are grateful especially to Professor Werner Oechslin, founder and vice-chairman of the Stiftung Bibliothek Werner Oechslin for writing an inspiring preface to this book.

Piet Lombaerde editor

VIII

PREFACE

"opera meritoria verso il ben publico di tutte le Provincie Oltramontane." (P.P. Rubens, Palazzo di Genova, Al Benigno Lettore,Antwerpen, 1622)

Rubens' Palazzi di Genova und die Modernisierung der Welt. Peter Paul Rubens' Palazzi di Genova stellen in mancher Hinsicht ein ausserordentliches Dokument der Architektur- und Kulturgeschichte dar. Sein Wert ist stets anerkannt worden. Und auch die jetzt vorgelegte, umfassende Publikation belegt auf eindriickliche Weise die Bedeutung des Stichwerks. Als 1970 aus dem Nachlass Mario Labos jene erste Monographie zu Rubens' Palazzi di Genova erschien, galt das Interesse in erster Linie den dort dokumentierten Bauten Genuas. Und da bei Rubens die Autorschaften aus Grunden, die hier noch besonders hervorgehoben werden sollen, kaum das vordringliche Interesse weckten, wurde das Buch auch mal als "quel libro dei misteri'' betitelt, das es dann zu entratseln galt. 1 Das ist ein legitiems Ansinnen. Natiirlich bleibt Rubens' Stichwerk ein erstrangiges Dokument zur genuesischen Architektur und zur Strada Nuova insbesondere. Es wurde auch immer in diesem Sinne herangezogen und mag wesentlich dazu beigetragen haben, den besonderen Wert der Genueser Architektur stets zu erinnern. "As may easily be concluded by that rare book in a large folio, which the greate Virtuoso and Painter, Paule Rubens, has publish'd", schreibt John Evelyn, der selbst ein vollstandiges Exemplar mit beiden Teilen besass, am 17.0ktober 1644 in sein Tagebuch. 2 Allein, die einschlagige Forschung hat sich langst auch der Fragen der Nachwirkung und der grundsatzlicheren architekturgeschichtlichen Bedeutung angenommen. Dabei kann jener 'Mangel' praziser ortsbezogener Angaben als Ausloser und Wegweiser zu einem letzlich umfassenderen und richtigen Verstandnis des Rubens'schen Buchcs gcdcutct wcrdcn. 3 Dass Rubens' Palazzi di Genova auf seinen Aufenthalt in Genua 1607 zuriickgehen, ist unbestritten. Dass der erste Teil aber erst 1622 publiziert wird, findet weniger haufig plausible und iiberzeugende Erklarungen. Die ausseren Umstande treten allerdings klar zu Tage. Um 1620 hat Rubens langst jene internationale Anerkennung gefunden, die ihn weit iiber die engeren kiinstlerischen Kompetenzen hinaus zu einer Autoritat und zu einem Sachwalter von kulturellen und politischen Interessen werden lassen. Sein Beziehungsnetz reicht iiber halb Europa. 1620 kommt die Gattin Arundels nach Antwerpen, um sich portratieren zu lassen. 1621 setzt der regelmassige Kontakt mit Peiresc ein. Und just zu Beginn des Jahres 1622 verhandelt Rubens in Paris erstmals wegen des Medici-Zyklus. Rubens ist !angst "the prince of painters and of gentlemen", wie dies Noel Sainsbury formulierte. Seine zweite Karri ere, die "histoire politique et diplomatique" kann beginnen. 4 Dem entspricht gerade jetzt, 1622, die politische Situation in den alten und neuen Niederlanden. Nachdem 1621 der zwolfjahrige Burgfrieden mit den spanisch-habsburgischen Stammlanden ausgelaufen war und Neuverhandlungen anstanden,

1 Cf.M. LABO, I Palazzi di Genova di Pietro Paolo Rubens e altri scritti d'architettura, Genoa: Tolozzi, 1970, S.94. So auch schon in der Neuausgabe der Palazzi di Genova, Novara: Istituto Geografico de Agostini, 1955,Appendice, S.,·i. 2 Cf.(William Bray) Diary and Correspondence ofJohn Evelyn, I, London, 1854, S.85. - John Evelyns Exemplar der "Palazzi di Genova" ist vor \Wnigen Jahren auf dem Londoner Antiquariatsmarkt aufgetaucht (cf.Cat.183, Art and architecture, part II, Marlborough Rare Books Ltd., Nr.408). 3 Es sei gestattet, an meine friiheren Ueberlegungen anzuschliessen: cf.W OECHSLIN, 'La dimensione europea dell' opera dell' Alessi', in: C. MALTESE (ed.), Galeazzo Alessi e l'architettura del cinquecento, Atti de! convegno internatzionale di studi, Genoa, 16-20 April 1974, Genoa, 1975, S.19 ff.: S.22. 4 Vgl. L.P GACHARD, Histoire politique et diplomatique de Pierre-Paul Rubens, Brussels, 1877.

IX

PREFACE

empfahl sich Rubens als vielfach qualifizierter Vermittler und Diplomat, zumal er in seinem familiaren Umkreis beidseitig der Konfessionsgrenze aufbestehende Verbindungen zuruckgreifen konnte. In Antwerpen war die Vollendung der Jesuitenkirche 1621 ein bedeutendes ausseres Zeichen der in Friedenszeiten erreichbaren Kulturbliite, die es deshalb um alles in der Welt zu verlangern und abzusichern galt. Just in diese Zeit fallt die Veroffentlichung der Palazzi di Genova. Was liegt naher, als die Bedeutung der Publikation gerade auch aus diesem prazisen historischen Gesichtswinkel zu erhellen und in Erinnerung zu rufen. So gelesen wird Rubens' Vorwort "Al Benigno Lettore" zum kultur- und staatspolitischen Manifest, das nach einer entsprechenden Deutung ruft. Jene 'anonyme'Vorfiihrung der genuesischen Palaste erklart sich schnell in Anbetracht dieser sehr viel allgemeineren Ausrichtung der nun in konkreter politischer Situation vorgenommenen und in diesem Sinne aktualisierten Publikation. Die Palazzi di Genova sind in diesem grosseren Zusammenhang zu betrachten. Das Stichwerk gehort zu den erstaunlichsten Zeugnissen jener 'Zeitenwende', an der die durch die Konfessionskriege herbeigefiihrten neuen politischen Verhaltnisse konsolidiert und nunmehr eben auch kulturell begleitet und vertieft werden. Dem religiosen Zerwurfnis uberstulpt sich das NordSiidgefalle kunstlerischer Einflussspharen. Fur Rubens, der, wie kurz vor ihm beispielsweise Wensel Cobergher, die romische Erfahrung als entscheidenden Impuls erlebt hat, ist es klar, class von hier aus eine kunstlerische Erfolgsgeschichte zu entwickeln und zu erstreben sei. Und so werden aus Rubens fruher Erfahrungjene genuesischen Belege herbeigeholt, um sie dieser aktuellen Zielsetzung auch im Sinne kunstlerisch-kultureller Propaganda zuzufiihren. Der vorangestellte Text "Al Benigno Lettore" fasst dies alles auf knappstem Raum und in unmissverstandlicher Deutlichkeit und Stringenz zusammen. Die Uberwindung der barbarischen und gotischen Architektur steht deshalb am Anfang. Und es sind "bellissimi ingegni", die jene durch die moderne "vera simmetria" zu ersetzen helfen. Dies wiederum geschieht im Zeichen der Regeln der antiken Griechen und Romer, die dies ihrerseits unter das hoheren Interesse des Staates stellten ("con grandissimo splendore & ornamento della Patria"). Jetzt sind es die - oft genug als Grunder eines 'Staates im Staat' kritisierten - Jesuiten, denen eine entsprechende Vorreiterrolle zuerkannt wird. Sie hatten, so Rubens, die "Tempij famosi fatti di fresco" in Brussel und Antwerpen zu verantworten, womit sie indirekt den alten Griechen und Romern an die Seite gestellt werden. Das bildet insgesamt den Hintergrund vor dem Rubens den Sinn seiner Initiative erklart: "opera meritoria verso il ben publico"! In bester Tradition, seitdem Alberti vorgangig seines De Re Aedificatoria alle nur erdenklichen Nutzbringungen der Architektur als Beweismittel beigebracht hat, stellt auch Rubens das Gemeinwohl allen anderen moglichen Argumenten voran. Um das zu betonen und um das Besondere der "Provincie Oltramontane" dabei zu hervorzuheben, bezieht er sich ausdriicklich auf die hier gangigen Bedingungen und Konventionen. Keine grossen unerschwinglichen Palaste wie in Caprarola oder beim Palazzo Pitti sollen Muster sein. Rubens behalt Augenmass im Blick auf seine Umgebung, stellt das Erreichbare und Pragmatische uber exzessive Baulust, wozu ihm das Genueser Modell nun eben angemessen erschient. "Maio vorrei servire al uso commune, e piu tosto giovare a molti ch'a pochi." Das fiihrt er im einzelnen aus und am Ende steht in konsequenter Folge die Beantwortung jener nunmehr obsoleten - kunstgeschichtlichen - Frage nach den Namen von Architekten und Bauherrschaft: "Permutat dominos, & transit in altera iura." Besitztum und personliche Eitelkeit sind endlich und hinfallig, das offentliche Wohl daruber erhaben und als ethischer Wert allein erstrebenswert. Anderweitig ist Rubens Publikation der Genueser Palastmodelle durchaus konkret und prazis. Es enthalt sehr wohl - im Kontrast zu fehlenden genauen Namensbezeichnungen - verlassliche Angaben wie insbesondere jene von Massen: das also, was zur Umsetzung der Modelle in der anderen, neuen Umgebung gefordert ist. Aus der allgemeinen Empfehlung entwickelt sich eine konkrete Absicht. Und so gibt sich insgesamt Rubens' Buch als ein durch und durch politisches

x

PREFACE

Unternehmen zu erkennen. Es soil jenen (Wieder-)Aufbau befliigeln im Sinne einer auf den italienischen Mustern gegriindeten Modernisierung - und Monumentalisierung - der Stadt. Das ist unverkennbar die Blickrichtung Rubens. Dem widerspricht nicht, class auf der 'anderen' (hollandisch-protestantischen) Seite bald einmal im Riickgriff auf Palladio und insbesondere aufScamozziAehnliches angestrebt wird, was dann etwa dazu fiihrt, class in einer angereicherten, 1642 in Amsterdam publizierten Vignolaausgabe nebeneinander italienische Muster und neu-hollandische Fassaden von Pieter Vingboons und auch Nachstiche nach Rubens' Palazzi di Genova erscheinen und somit insgesamt den Einstand und den Orientierungspunkt modernen Bauschaffens und moderner, nun langst aus der Taufe gehobenen 'Zivilbaukunst' bezeichnen. Rubens Anteil an dieser Entwicklung ist bedeutsam. Sein Unternehmen steht in mancher Hinsicht an einem Anfang - insbesondere bezogen auf die programmatische Wahrnehmung des Prinzips einer gesellschaftsstiftenden Bedeutung der Architektur. Seine Stiche, so Rubens selbstbewusst am Ende seines Vorworts, seien vielleicht nur wenige, aber es sei dieses Unternehmen eben gerade deshalb zu loben, weil dies zum erstenmal geschehe: "per esser le prime (figure) che siano fin adesso comparse nella luce publica". Im offentlichen Licht sollen die von Rubens beigebrachten Muster stadtischer Architektur erscheinen, der Oeffentlichkeit ist sein Unternehmen zugedacht. Und der Optimismus ist unverwiistlich: "e si come ogni principio e debbole, daranno forse animo ad altri di far cose maggiori."

Werner OECHSLIN

XI

INTRODUCTION Piet Lombaerde

The palaces and villas of Genoa with their gorgeous gardens and many grottos have ever since the end of the sixteenth I beginning of the seventeenth centuries been a source of fascination for many a traveller, amongst them princes as well as artists and architects. Famous visitors to these splendid architectural achievements include the Archdukes Albert and Isabella 1, the architects Heinrich Schickhardt (1558-1634) 2 , Joseph Furttenbach (1591-1667) 3 and Inigo Jones (1573-1652) 4 , the painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) and the English writer John Evelyn (1620-1706) 5 . Evelyn notes in his diary that he visited Genoa on October 17 and 18 in the year 1644 and expresses great praise for the city: 'nor is any place certainly in the World, so full of the bignesse of well designed & stately Palaces; as may easily be concluded by that rare booke in a large folio, which the greate Virtuoso & Painter Paule Rubens has publish'd, that contains but one onely Streete & 2 or 3 Churches'. 6 At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the French architect Martin-Pierre Gauthier (1790-1855) followed in their footsteps 7. Later still, there were further visits to this Ligurian capital by the German art historian Hildebrand Gurlitt, the Dutch architecture historian Jan Hendrik Plantenga, as well as by countless others. Several of these travellers have left us their sketches of this unique heritage or have given us descriptions. In the case of Rubens, drawings of the buildings were collected to be engraved subsequently. These were then published in several editions during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, presumably first partially as loose prints but primarily in book form. 8

1

On June 26, 1599, the Archdukes Albert and Isabella visited Genoa during their travels. They paid particular attention to the newly constructed Strada Nuova. They also visited a number of churches (the churches of San Lorenzo, San Francesco, Santa Marta and Santa Maria de Loreto). See: L.P. Gachard and C. Piot (eds.), Collection des voyages des souverains des Pays-Bas, 4 vols. (Brussels, 1874-1882), vol.4, p.507: 'Le mesme jour sortirent LL.AA. a veoire la rue Neufre et quelques fontaines de belles invention et artifice'. The description of this trip is taken from: Memoire de cc qu 'a passe au voyage de la Rayne et de I' archiducq Albert, depuy son partement des Pays-Bas pour l'Espaigne, [... ]Le taus recueille par messire Giles du Faing, chevalier, [. .. ] (Royal Library, Brussels, Department of Manuscripts, no 18433).With thanks to Luc Duerloo for providing me with this detail. 2 H. Schickhardt, Tagebiichern (1598), 3 vols., Stuttgart:Wiirttembergische Landesbibliothek, Cohis. Q.148,a,b,c; Id., Beschreibung einer Reiss... in Italiam (Miimpelgart, 1602). On this subject, see the reprint in: W Heyd (ed.), Handschriften und Handzeichnungen des herzoglichen wiirtembergischen Baumeisters Heinrich Schickhardt (Stuttgart, 1902).Also see M. Labo, I Palazzi di Genova di P.P. Rubens e altri scritti d'architettura (Genoa, 1970), p.104. 3 J. Furttenbach, Newes Itinerarium Italiae in we/chem der Reisende nicht allein griindlichen Bericht [ ... ](Ulm, 1627); Id., Architectura Civilis (Ulm, 1628).

4

Inigo Jones stayed in Genoa in 1614. His notes were incorporated in a copy that Jones made of Serlio's I quattro libri dell'Architettura. Cf. the contribution by John Newman in this publication. 5 E.S. De Beer (ed.), The Diary ofJohn Evelyn 1620-1646, ~Oxford, 1959). See also the edition in 6 volumes of 1955. Ibid., 1959, p.97-9; 1955, vol. II, p.173. 7 P.M. Gauthier, Les plus beaux edifices de la ville de Genes et de ses environs, 2 vols.(Paris, 1818-1832). 8 A great number of questions are posed on the authorship of the drawings that form the basis ofRubens's publication. The hypothesis that holds Rubens and his friend and cotraveller, architect and engineer Deodato Del Monte (15821643), to be the authors of these drawings, was propounded as early as 1840 by J.-F Boussard, Les voyages pittoresques et politiques de Pierre-Paul Rubens, depuis 1600 jusqu'en 1633, rediges sur les manuscrits de la Bibliotheque de Bourgogne (Brussels, 1840), pp.137-8: ' ... il [Rubens] en tra\:a les plans, les elevations, les coupes et les profils avec une telle precision geometrique, que l'ouvrage qu'il en a publie aAnvers, en 1622, est reste comme un monument unique en ce genre. Voici comment il proceda a ce travail concert avec Deodat. Pendant que celui-ci copiait geometriquement et mesurait les details des edifices, Rubens en trayait l' effet pittoresque et la perspective; et, de cette maniere, en mettait en harmonie l' echelle des proportions avec celle du point

1

INTRODUCTION

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Rubens's publication Palazzi di Genova was successfully distributed in Europe (see Fig.1). Today, a great number of the older city libraries, universities and other scientific and cultural institutions, as well as private collections and libraries, have been found to possess copies of the various editions of this publication. 9

PALAZZI

The focal question with regard to this folio edition, the only one published by Rubens, must be: how was this work received in the various European countries and what were the impact and influence of the two volumes of this book on the architectural current at that time? Before trying to answer these questions, it is useful first to situate the work's content in terms of its originality. From the second half of the sixteenth century onwards, monographs about the architecture of new renaissance city palaces, villas, and sometimes also churches and public buildings were published in a number of specific Italian cities. A typical example of the practice is the city ofVerona where, as early as 1586, the work Le Bellezze di Verona was published by Adriano Valerini and re-published in 1617 by Adriano Grandi. Views and plans of several palaces are represented. In Rome, from 1645 on, two works entitled Palazzi di Roma were published by Rossi, Pietro Ferrerio and Giovanni-Baptista Fig. 1. Title page of Rubens's Palazzi di Genova, first edition, probFalda (see Fig.2) .10 Still later, the northern Italian ably printed in Antwerp in 1622 by Jan van Meurs. (Antwerp, pricities of Florence and Venice followed suit. 11 vate collection) In this connection, it has been suggested that Rubens, during his sojourn in Genoa in 1607 and after his return to Antwerp, may have gathered drawings that initially were meant to be used in the publication of a similar work but that for the lack of funds it was not published in Genoa. Herbert Rott even notes that there is also the possibility that

DI

GENOVA.

de vue, il realisait un ensemble aussi correct qu'agreable'. Today, this hypothesis is no longer taken seriously, but rather considered as pure myth. 9 Examples of this in public collections are: Belgium: Antwerp: Bibliotheek Koninklijke Acadernie voor Schone Kunsten (Library of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.); Rubens House; Rubenianum; Stadsbibliotheek (City Library). Brussels: Royal Library: Verzameling Kostbare Werken (Collection of Rare Books) . England: London: British Library; Library of the Royal Institute of British Architects. France: Paris: Bibliotheque Nationale; Institut

2

des Beaux-Arts. Germany: Munich: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. Italy: Genoa; Biblioteca Universitaria di Genova; Rome: Biblioteca Vaticana;Venice: Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia, Fondo Labo. Netherlands:Amsterdam: Rijksprentenkabinet. Poland: Gdansk (Danzig): Biblioteka Gdanska Polskiej Akademii Nauk: two copies (Uph. f.1788 and Ee 4815.2°). 10 P. Ferrerio and G.-B. Falua, Palazzi di Roma de piu celebri architetti. Libra primo (secundo) (Rome, 1645). 11 On this subject, see the contribution by Clara Altavista in this publication.

INTRODUCTION

A.RT !: JJF:J . P ALA:t.zn DU'Alc-.:1:,1. w :Rsn H R-\ll.-\ r.1v u A col'. LA•·1NT A. 0 1:1.1.F· 1_oc.G1E DIMEZZO. ,'-Rc1-nr1 ·1 Y R'\ DI c1 Ac.0~1Q BAROZZ to DA-VIG'Lxx'v. l~ Fco;~1ro.'f..{, ll '

:.::u..

Fig. 2. Palazzo Farnese, Rome. (From: Pietro Ferrerio and Giovanni-Baptista Falda, Palazzi di R oma, Rome 1645) .

part of these drawings had already been collected in Genoa during the 1580s to become included in a volume about Genoese city palaces. 12 But Rubens's book is more than just a new publication about city palaces and villas. In the course of the past few years, scholars have increasingly come to realise that with his publication, Rubens was introducing a new type of model book about architecture into the market, a publication that in the subsequent decades and centuries would, in fact, establish a specific design for publications about architecture. The architectural treatises by Vitruvius and, specifically, by L.B. Alberti, offered an indication of this particular approach to architecture. Vitruvius in his Book VI and Alberti in his Book IV tried to explain the diversity in buildings by categorising people according to their status. 13 Alberti holds in Book IV that people may be considered as members of communities, which leads

12

For more information on this subject, see: H . Rott, Palaz z i di Genova (Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard, part XXII) 2 vols., (London, 2002).

13 Vitruvius, D e Architectura libri decem, Book VI,V; L.B. Alberti, De Re Aedificatoria, Book l V: see the English translation by JRykwert, N Leach and R. Tavernor, On the A rt of Building in Ten Books (Cambridge, 1988).

3

INTRODUCTION

to the formulation of common and universal rules. Or people can be considered as individual entities, which leads to the formulation of individual rules. Both the buildings and the entire city possess both these types of rules or aspects. They refer to six characteristics, already listed by Alberti in Book I, when he describes the form: specific situation, open air, walls, roof, openings and entrances, and on the ground floor plan. 14 It is specifically these characteristics of a building to which Rubens gives full value in his different drawings (ground floor plans, elevations of the fac;:ade, and transverse and longitudinal sections) and thereby also pays particular attention to the category necessitas. In Book V, Alberti further pursues the categorisation of people and on socio-political criteria arrives at a triple division. At the top are the princes and the powerful, followed by those who share in power (amongst whom bankers) and at the bottom languish the common people. This is a categorisation partially followed by Rubens, who mentions in his introduction that his book is not meant for princes and kings, but rather for the wealthy middle class. The importance in all of this rests in the kind of dem ands for home accommodation posed by these residents. T heir habitation choices differ and the architect n eeds to make the right selection, amongst others, in weighing the interests of the private versus the public, which, Fig. 3. Sebastiano Serlio, Book VI, XXII: lower part and fac;:ade of a according to Alberti, is reflected in the manner in Royal Palace, drawing, c.1547. (From: Sebastiano Serlio on Architecture which fac;:ades and interiors are decorated. In (edited and translated by V Han and P Hicks), 2 vols., New Haven Book IX, Alberti focuses separately on the treat& London,Vol. 2, 2001, p.145) ment of a private residence. It is precisely the book treatment of a defined building type which during the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth centuries created a following in Italy, amongst others with Filarete 15 and Francesco di Giorgio 16 , and in the unpublished architectural books ofAlvise Cornaro 17 and Sebastiano Serlio (Book VI, c.1547) .18

14

Ibid., Book l and Book IV Filarete's Treatise on A rchitecture, translated and introduced by John Spencer (New Haven, 1965). 16 F Di Giorgio Martini, Trattati di architettura ingegneria e arte militare, edited and introduced by C. Maltese and L. Degrassi Maltese, 2 vols. (Milan, 1967). 17 Mentioned in: P. C arpeggiani (ed.), A /vise Cornaro. Scritti sull' Architettura, Padua 1980. See also: H.W Kruft, A His15

4

tory ofArchitectural Theory. From Vitruvius to the Present, (Princeton- London, 1994), p. 85. 18 On this subj ect, see in particular: V Hart and P. Hicks, Sebastiano Serlio on Architecture. Volume Two. Books VI and VII of 'Tutte l'Opere d'Architettura et Prospetiva'. With 'Castrametation of the Romans' and 'The Extraordinary Books of Doors' by Sebastiano Serlio (New Haven - London 2001), especially pp.1-155 and pp. 513-41.

INTRODUCTION

Serlio does in fact go a step further by taking all building types into consideration and that from an evolutionary point of view, namely from the rural house to the royal palace(see fig.3). In addition, he includes a comparison between French and Italian building types, both between those that are erected for merchants in the centre and those on the fringes of the inner city. 19 The difference with Rubens's Palazzi di Genova can, however be found specifically in the selections made: Rubens chooses only building types that are proper to bankers, merchants, and wealthy traders. A number of their residences located in the city's suburban areas as well as their city palaces - the latter especially situated along the newly constructed Strada Nuova and Strada Balbi -, were being selected by the Antwerp painter. It appears evident that, by doing so, Rubens kept in the back of his mind a picture of the city of Antwerp where such villas were present, both on the as yet undeveloped lands in the Nieuwstad ('new town' in the northern part of the city) but still situated within the city walls (intra muros) and also in the new suburban districts. From 1547 onwards, one such suburban district, the Markgravelei, was being developed as an elite area on the Coed ter Beke to the south of the city. In inner city Antwerp, the palaces could systematically replace the older and abandoned buildings. 20 Urban palaces in the Strada Nuova

Urban palaces in the Strada Balbi

Other urban palaces in the centre of the city

Villas outside the centre of the city, but intra muros

Churches in the centre of the city

VOLUME I (villas and palaces A to K, 2 extra)

5

0

2

5

0

VOLUME II (villas, palaces and churches I to XXIII)

5

2

12

0

4

Total

10

2

14

5

4

TABLE 1: Numbers

ef urban palaces, villas, and churches

illustrated in PP Rubens's 'Palazzi di Genova'.

It is further notable that one of the two books also includes plans and fo,:ade plates of four churches.Also different from Serlio's Book VI is the fact that only existing buildings are featured, indicated by the letters A to K (Volume I) and by the Latin numerals I to XIX and XX to XXIII for the churches (Volume II). However two places in Book I and all buildings in Book II are identified also by the names of their occupants or by the dedications of the churches. On the other hand, Serlio does not list such detailed identifications but rather concentrates on the description of types of residence. Serlio does, however, sometimes indicate that the drawings relate to a building to be constructed in Venice, or refer to a widely known palace, such as the Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola (1530-1559). 21 It 19

a

See also:J.-M. Perouse de Montclos, L'Architecture la Franfaise XVIe, XVIIe, XVIIIe siecles (Paris, 1982), pp. 347. 20 P. Lombaerde, 'Antwerp in its golden age: 'one of the largest cities in the Low Countries' and' one of the best fortified in Europe'', in P. O'Brien, D. Keene, M. 't Hart and

H. van der Wee (eds.), Urban Achievement in Early Modern Europe. Golden Ages in Antwerp, Amsterdam and London (Cambridge, 2001), pp.99-127. 21 Rubens himself in his introduction to Volume I refers to this famous palace. See: P.P. Rubens, op. cit., Al Benigno Lettore.

5

INTRODUCTION

is notable that Serlio does not systematically represent ground plans, elevations, and cross-sections of these buildings, something that is certainly done in Rubens's Volume I, where plans of several floors, including the basement, are represented. The large number of cross-sections in Volume I offers in addition a view of the construction: for some palaces as many as four cross sections were given. By contrast, in Palladio's Secondo Libra, such systematic representation of villas and city palaces is not to be found (see Fig.4). Rubens's examples also exerted a practical influence on the subsequent design practices of seventeenth-century architects. His examples of palaces, worked out with plans, sections, and with elevations of fayades, are not to be taken as rigid models but are capable of generating new interpretations whereby the categories of 'necessity', 'convenience', and 'beauty' are present. In this context, the experimental design exercises by John Webb are highly revealing and even serve as prototypes for the manner in which architects in the course of the seventeenth century dealt with architectural models on the drawing board. 22 With his book, Rubens joins a new kind of architectural publication wherein the type of building is the determinant for the lay-out. Around 1600, this treatment of architecture was considered novel, as at that time there was a great deal of attention paid to books that dealt with the different orders23 and to treatises on designs for gateways. 24 Rubens also devotes some attention to these topics, but ornaments are always incorporated into the whole structure and emphasised both on the fa~ade drawings and on the sections. Because of this, quite a number of details and constructional aspects are clarified. Rubens's concerns as a painter seem, however, primarily centred on a three-dimensional and spatial interpretation of the Genoese palaces, with-

22

See the contribution by John Newman in this publication. Books on the Orders were much in demand and widely distributed during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Cf. several publications on this subject by Sebastiano Serlio, Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Hans and Paul Vredeman de Vries, Rutger Kaseman, Hans Blum, Wendel I Dieterlin, etcetera. 24 Cf. Sebastiano Serlio, Pieter Coecke van Aelst,Jacques Francart and Bernardino Radi. 23

Fig. 4. Andrea Palladio, ground floor plan and fayade of the palace of count Montano Barbarano,Vicenza. (From: A. Palladio, I Quattro Libri d'Architettura, Venice, 1601, pl.51 and 52).

6

INTRODUCTION

out attempting to take advantage of a representation in perspective. It cannot immediately be confirmed that Rubens's Palazzi di Genova exerted a major influence on architecture in Western Europe. For this reason, we prefer to use the term 'reception' rather than' influence'. The force that extended from this architectural book is difficult to compare to the real influence that is evidenced by the architecture and the publications of Palladio and Scamozzi (see Fig.5) in Northern and Western Europe, more particularly in the Netherlands and in England, and which did lead to the so-called Palladian style and to Palladianism. 25 It is useful, however, to track in concreto how the distribution of this book proceeded in a number of countries, whether there are signs of a specific influence exerted by the work, and in what ways the book was actually used for practical purposes. The thirty-five examples of buildings presented depict a number of structural lay-outs and spatial solutions that could have been of use to an architect in the conceptualisation stage of his project. For this reason, it is not so much a question of the creation of a purely aesthetic and formalistic image but rather of a more practical and functional analysis of palaces. This, indeed, is very much in tune with Rubens's own aims, as we know from Fig. 5. Vincenzo Scamozzi, fa about the use and the measures (the latter seem to be corresponding to the truth, at least after a first direct survey) . The explanatory accuracy of Rubens's book succeeds in efficaciously capturing the hierarchy of the paths and of the dwelling blocks, reaching the smallest details of the functioning of the 'house'; on some occasions though (see the transverse section of Palazzo C, fig. 17) the complex intersection of the small service rooms looks like a complicated joint of spaces, which are without any functional content.71 While showing his deep interest in the internal development of the Genoese noble resiSalotto. dences Rubens - as it had happened to Giorgio Vasari - showed to be attracted by details as regards the bathrooms, which were situated on the ground floor of some Genoese residences (urban residences or country houses) and drew clearly inspiration from Peruzzi's and Sangallo 's exam- Fig.7. Palazzo E (Tobia Pallavicino, c. 1556): plan of the first ples. 72 (see Fig.6) They were considered as 'mod- floor, detail. (From: P.P. Rubens, Palazzi di Genova, Volume I, ern' and 'smart' and were presented through a fig. 29). quite good series of octagon - shaped variations, surrounded by niches (opportunistically distinguished between hot bathroom and cold bathroom) and equipped by smaller access rooms such as the fore - bathroom and adjoining chambers. Marked in the section of Palazzi Antichi are the bathrooms of Palazzo C (figg. 14, 17, see Plate 7), Palazzo D (fig. 21), Palazzo E (fig. 29, see Plate 10 and Figs. 7, 8) being country residences; Palazzo F (figg. 42, 71) and Palazzo I (fig. 54) being city palaces. More recent studies about Rubens's publishing adventure have not enquired in depth the Italian success of the volume neither in the period contemporary to its first publication nor in subsequent times. It is absolutely sure that some copies of the book were present in the private library of a large number of representatives of the Genoese aristocracy73 ; and it is certain that the bibliophile Luigi Cicognara owned two copies of the book (now in the Biblioteca Vaticana in Rome) . And that just three years after the first publication of the book, the Certosa di Pavia possessed a copy ofit. 74

71

Botto, 'II libro- documento ', p. 74. Particular attention to this aspect of Rubens's inventory has been paid by Ennio Poleggi in his essay: 'Un documento', pp. 111-6 and in the more recent 'II sistema degli 'Alloggiamenti Pubblici' a Genova negli estimi de! XVI secolo', in A. Scotti Tosini (ed.), Aspetti dell'abitare in Italia tra XV e XVI secolo (Milan, 2001), pp. 101-15. 72 G. Milanesi (ed.), Le opere di Giorgio Vasari, 9 vols. (Florence, 1906), vol. 7, pp. 554- 5. On the bathrooms see C.L. Fromme!, Der Riimische Palastbau der Hochrenaissance, 3

vols. (Ti.ibingen, 1973), vol. 2, pp. 75-78 table 192 c (Peruzzi, UA 559) table 192 d (Sangallo, UA 828). 73 According to Labo, anyway, the book had not caused great rumour in Genoa because even though the book was present in the most furnished libraries and in the oldest editions too, the volumes were mostly intact, and this makes us think the book was rarely read. See Labo, I palazzi di Genova, p. 33. 74 With thanks to Prof. dr. Ennio Poleggi for this information.

49

PETER PAUL RUBENS'S PALAZZI DI GENOVA: BUILT ARCHITECTURE AND DRAWN REALITY

According to Labo (1952, sic!) the interest in the volume had been great at least almost till the second half of the eighteenth century: this is a conclusion drawn by following the hint of the subsequent reprints of the volumes, the last of which goes back to 1755 and changes the title in Architecture italienne contenant les plans et elevations des plus beaux palais et edifices de la ville de Genes, leve et dessine par le celebre PP Rubens. Troisieme edition, augmentee d'un abrege de la vie de !'auteur. 75 Scarcely studied and in a quite warped way too by the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries reporters (Ratti, Soprani, Alizeri) 76 , fiercely criticised for the choice of the proposed residences (but above all for the choice of the city where such residences had been built - Walpole, Milizia and above all Gauthier77-, the volume was to be discovered by the German School between the end of the nineteenth century (Reinhardt) 78 and the first years of the twentieth century. In 1944 Hildebrand Gurlitt would edit a new issue with the precise aim of identifying and locating the palaces. 79 A great scholar of European architecture Wilhelm Li.ibke had identified, under the expression of 'Scuola di Genova' (School of Genoa) the Fig.8. Palazzo E (Tobia Pallavicino, c.1556), bath: interior corpus of the palaces that had been built between view. the second half of the sixteenth century and the first decades of the seventeenth century and that had played a strong role in the Genoese urban structure.80 According to Labo (remaining one of the greatest experts as regards Rubens 's inventory) Rubens had addressed himself to the 'Scuola di Genova' by giving of it, with his 139 plates a precious selection, a tribute which had not been bestowed, till that time, to any other city 81 .

7 5 Amsterdam-Leipzig

(Arkstee & Merkus). C.G. Ratti, Istituzione di quanto puo vedersi di piu bello in Genova in pittura, scultura ed architettura (Genoa, 1766), p. 225; R. Soprani, Vite de' Pittari, Scultori e Architetti Genovesi e de' Forestieri (Genoa, 1768), p. 401; F. Alizeri, Guida Illustrativa del cittadino e del forestiero per la citta di Genova e sue adiacenze (Genoa, 1875), pp. 153-4. 77 H. Walpole (ed.), Anecdotes of painting in England: with some account ef the principal artists and incidental notes on other 76

50

arts (London, 1782), I, p. 305; F. Milizia, Opere complete risguardanti le belle arti, 9 vols. (Bologna), vol. 5, p. 196; M. P. Gauthier, Les plus beaux edifices de la ville de Genes et de ses environs, 2 vols. (Paris, 1818), vol.1, p. 5. 78 R. Reinhardt, Palastarchitektur von Oberitalien und Toskana (Berlin, 1886). 79 See previous note 50. 80 w Luebke, Geschichte derA rchitektur (Lipsia, 1865), p. 694. 81 LabO, I palaz zi di Genova, pp. 37-46.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TWO VOLUMES OF RUBENS'S PALAZZI DI GENOVA FOR ARCHITECTURAL THEORY

Piet Lombaerde

Introduction Within the body of historical writings about architecture and architectural theory in the seventeenth century, rather scant attention has been paid to Rubens's book Palazzi di Genova. Consequently, no mention is made of his publication in the recent reference works by Henry A. Millon: The Renaissance from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo. The Representation ofArchitecture, or in the relat1 ed work The Triumph of the Baroque. Architecture in Europe 1600-1750. Rubens's publication about Genoese architecture is, in effect, characterised by a double anomaly: on the one hand, Rubens - the assumed publisher - is primarily and aJn1ost exclusively known as a Baroque painter and, on the other hand, the work that treats the subject of palaces from the Italian High Renaissance was published in Antwerp at a time when it was rather the Northern Netherlands that from an architectural point of view were assuming a leading position.A double reason then to explain why also in Dora Wiebenson's overview of architectural treatises there is no mention ofRubens's Palazzi 2 . In addition, it is a fact that during the first half of the seventeenth century in Europe, it was especially Venetian, Veronese, and Roman architecture that commanded the most attention, with as their protagonists Palladio, Scamozzi, Michelangelo, and Vignola. These had taken almost full command of the architectural debate. The various consecutive Serlio editions and their local translations remained the pre-eminent 'Bible' of Renaissance architecture. While the Genoese palaces, villas, and churches were well known in Europe, thanks to the many 'viaggi d'Italia' that often took the Ligurian capital for their destination (cf. general introduction), their function as architectural paradigms had remained limited. Genoese architecture, however revolutionary it was and however much the palaces and churches of Alessi were innovative at that time, did not generate much of a following even in Liguria itself. In this respect, Henry Millon the following comments: 'Economic constraints and the indifference of the Genoese patriciate may explain why Genoa's Renaissance did not radiate into the rest of Liguria'. 3 Nonetheless, it is to be noted that Hanno-Walter Kruft, in his review of architectural theories from Vitruvius to the twentieth century, mentions that Rubens's edition of 1622 served as the source of inspiration for a number ofFurttenbach's publications:" The style of illustration and the text suggest that Furttenbach was already using Peter Paul Rubens's Palazzi di Genova (1622), although he 4 does not cite it,just as in later works he also fails to give his sources in most cases." A study of the relevance ofRubens's Palazzi di Genova in terms of architectural theory reveals a number of problems that bear directly on the relation between both volumes and his introduction

1

H.A. Millon, The Renaissance from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo. The Representation of Architecture (Milan, 1994) and ID., The Triumph of the Baroque Architecture in Europe 1600-1750 (London, 1999). 2 D. Wiebenson, Architectural Theory and Practice from Alberti to Ledoux (Charlotteville, 1982). 3 Millon, The Renaissance, p.347. 4 H.W Kruft, A History efArchitectural Theory ftom Vitruvius to

the Present (London, 1994), p.172. In this respect, the fa~ade of the Palazzo D (Volume I) served as the basis for the representation of palace n°5 in Furttenbach's Architectura Civilis. The building was in effect widened by two bays and three arched through-passages on the ground floor were moved to the first floor. According to Ennio Poleggi, the palace D, namely the Villa G.B. Grimaldo, of all villas and palaces in Genoa, made the deepest impression on Furttenbach.

51

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TWO VOLUMES OF RUBENS'S PALAZZI DI GENOVA

'Al Benigno Lettore' 5 and the plates themselves. A rereading of the classification of both volumes seems necessary for a more precise interpretation and a more logical insight into the content and classification of the plates. As Rubens's books may be considered exceptional, it calls for a further investigation into the possible reasons for the publication of this work. The relationship between the two volumes of Palazzi di Genova

Some considerable time after his stay in Genoa, Rubens had the drawings of no fewer than thirty one city palaces and four churches that he had admired in Genoa printed in Antwerp in two separate volumes: one part of sixty-seven pages and a second part of seventy-two pages, one hundred and thirty nine pages in all. The earliest mention of the book is in the accounts ('Journael') of the Officina Plantiniana (Plantin publishing and printing house). On May 4, 1622, Rubens is billed 5 guilders for bindin~ Palazzi di Genova, in folio and gilded (see Fig.1) . Further, on June 28, 3 guilders and 12 pennies are 7 charged for the binding of two copies (see Fig.2). Yet the Journael of 1626 does not make any mention of the publication of a Rubens's book, so that },,,.. . ;' (/._,, '.], .,,(......,, this cannot be taken as the likely year for the pubFig. 1. Accounts ('Journael') of the Oilicina Plantiniana with referlication ofVolume II. 8 ence to the coses for binding Palazzi di Genova, in-folio and gilded, In as far as correspondence with conMay 4, 1622. (Archives of the Museum Plantin Moretus) temporaries is concerned, the first letter in which Rubens mentions his publication of the book dates back to June 19, 1622. H e writes to Peter van Veen, Otto van Veen's brother and solicitor in T he Hague: 'Ho publicato ancora un libro d' Architettura de' piu belli Palazzi di Genuoa de qualq. 70 foglie insieme colle piante, ma non so 9 se V S. sene diletta, mi sarebbe caro d'intendere la sua mente circa questo'. ('I have published a further book about architecture of the most beautiful palaces in Genoa; the work consists of

-

____.._

5

For a translation of this important text into English, see the Appendix to this article. 6 Archive Museum Plantin-Moretus,Journael 1622, f' 60v0 , May 4 1622. M. Rooses, Petrus-Paulus Rubens en Balthasar Moretus (Antwerp-Ghent, 1884), p.118. 7 Archive Museum Plantin-Moretus,Journael 1622, f' 93r0 , June 28 1622; M. Rooses, Petrus-Paulus Rubens en Balthasar Moretus, p.118.

52

8 The

year 1626 as publishing year for Volume II was first mentioned in E.S. de Beer (ed.), The diary ofJ ohn Evelyn (Oxford, 1955), vol.II, p. 173, note 1. This date was taken over by M. Labo, I Palazzi di Genova di PP R ubens e altri scritti d'architettura (Genoa, 1970), pp.8-9. 9 M useum Rubenshuis, Archief, D 28: letter to Peter van Veen,June 19 1622.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TWO VOLUMES OF RUBENS'S PALAZZI DI GENOVA

approximately seventy plates. But I don't know if this will find favour with Your Worship. It shall please me greatly if I might receive your feelings 10 on this subject') (see Fig.3). During the following decades, occasional reference is made to Rubens's publication. One of the earliest is by John Evelyn. He states in his Diary: 'nor is any place certainly in the World, so full for the bignesse of well designed & stately Palaces; as may easily be concluded by that rare booke in a large folio, which the greate Virtuoso & Painter Paule Rubens has publish'd, that containes but one onely Streete & 2 or 3 Churches' . 11 The reference to Rubens's publication may relate to Volume II, which alone contains the churches, or to the the two volumes bound together, as this part starts with the Palazzo Tobia Pallavicino in the Strada Nuova and ends with the four churches. Unfortunately, Evelyn does not mention the date of publication.

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There are a number of problems connected with the exact publication date of the work, more specifically as it concerns the publication of the first and second volumes. 12 Furthermore, the sequence in which the two books were published raises a number of questions: - in the letter addressed to Peter van Veen, Rubens mentions that h e is publishing another book about 13 architecture with the most beautiful palaces in Genoa' . Is the 1622 printing then that of the second volume? And was there already a first book published earlier, p ossibly without an introduction, and thus possibly in loose prints, a practice that at that time was very common for architectural books

10

See M. Rooses and Ch. Ruelens, Correspondance de Rubens et documents epistolaires concernant sa vie et ses oeuvres, vol.2, 1609- J uly 25 1622 (Antwerp, 1898) , p. 444. See also A. Schoy, H istoire de !'influence italienne sur I'architecture dans les Pays-Bas, (Memoires couronnes et memoires des savants i:trangers publies par I'Academie Royale des sciences, des lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, vol.39, second part), (Brussels, 1879), p.41. 11 E.S. de B eer,John Evelyn, The diary (London, 1959), p. 97. 12 A lot of ink has been spilt over the dating of both the volumes. Cf. the general introduction to this publication for the different hypotheses. See also I.M. Botto, 'P.P. Rubens e il Volume I "Palazzi di Genova", in Rubens e Genova, exhib. cat., (Genoa, 1978), pp.59-78. The most interesting information is to be found in J. Lever (ed.) , Catalogue of the Drawings Collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects, Volume 0-R (Farnborough, 1976), pp. 15873. 13 'Ancora' can also mean that he, aside from his paintings listed for that purpose, also published a book about architecture. The meaning of 'ancora' does not necessarily

need to be interpreted in the context of the publication of a second book about architecture. It is, however, the case that in the archives and the document files of the Rubenianum (Antwerp) there is evidence Rubens's preparation of a minor publication about architecture. Thanks are due to Dr. A. Balis for this information. In addition, it must be stated that in the inventory of the possessions of Erasmus Quellinus, dated November 7, 1678, mention is made of' ... noch een clyn boecken van Rubbens met Architecturen', which cannot refer to the 'Palazzi di Genova', since they were published in folio. See E. Duverger, Antwerpse Kunstinventarissen, I, 10, p.369. It is also possible that a sketchbook attributed to P.P. Rubens, belonging to the Library of the Ermitage collection in Saint-Petersburg (n° 14741), with the title Petri Pauli Rubeni Architecturae Studia et Deliniationes Manu propria, could be the booklet Erasmus II Quellinus owned. For this see: Tait, 'Introduction', in: Peter Paul R ubens Palazzi, facsimile, (London, 1968), p.21, note 29. But in this booklet are no drawings from palaces or churches of Genoa.

53

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TWO VOLUMES OF RUBENS'S PALAZZI DI GENOVA

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Fig. 17. Pierre Le Muet, fo;:ade and ground floor plan of an urban house, with description. (From: P. Le Muet, Maniere de (bien) bastir, Paris, 1623, distribution 3, pp.36 and 37)

Hans Blum, Gabriel Krammer, Rutger Kasernan and Wendel Dieterlin, nor is it one of those volumes containing decorative prints with doorway motifs like Premier livre d'Architecture produced by Jacques Francart in 1617.47 Rubens's publication consists of a series of engravings of buildings, for which he provides ground-plans, sectional drawings and fayade elevations, all relating to a specific type of building, then regarded as modern. 48 It is true that this typological treatment already existed in the work of Alberti49 , but it was treated increasingly as a separate category in several books on architecture. so

47 ]. Francart, Premier Livre d'Architecture 48 A. De Vos, Jacques Francart. Premier

(Brussels, 1617). livre d'Architecture (1617), (Verhandelingen van de Koninklijke Acadernie voor Wetenschappen, Letteren en Schone Kunsten van Belgie, Klasse der Schone Kunsten, vol.65) , (Brussels, 1998). 49 See more about this in the general introduction to this

66

volume. so This more typological discussion of buildings is common for the sixteenth century and especially for Serlio. From the seventeenth century on, this approach leads to the publication of separate volumes on architectural typology. See Perouse de Montclos, L'Architecture la fran~aise, pp.33-69.

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THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TWO VOLUMES OF RuBENS's PALAZZI DI GENOVA

Unquestionably, Book VI by Sebastiano Serlio offered a fine example of this. Concepts such as commoditas or commodita and distribution play an . 51 essent1·ai ro1e h ere1n. In this sense, we may draw a comparison with some French works from the same period, such as Pierre Le Muet's Maniere de bastir pour . .important toutes sortes de personnes. 52 T h"is work is in architectural theory since it lies at the basis of a series of model books dealing with architecture in France during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries wherein the evolution of the simplest of dwellings to the monumental city palace or 'hotel' is demonstrated by means of descriptions, plans, sections, and elevations (see Fig.17). The essential concept in this is 'distribution'. In the seventeenth century, Le Muet's work was re-issued in 1647, 1663-64, and 1681, as well as in English translations in 1670-75 and 1679. In the eighteenth century, Gilles Tiercelet (?) followed with Architecture Moderne ou /'Art de bien bastir pour toutes Sortes de persormes tant pour les Maisons des particuliers, que pour les Palais, 2 vols., Paris 172953 ; CharlesAntoine Jombert with Architecture Moderne ou l'Art de Bien Batir pour toutes sortes de personnes, 6 vols., Paris 1754, et cetera. Also in these works we may speak of a typological approach but, in contrast with Rubens's publication, the aim is here to present the most complete overview of dwelling types Fig. 18. Joseph Furttenbach, front page ofVolume II of Architectura accompanied always with textual descriptions. Civilis, Ulm, 1628. (Royal Library Brussels, II 3836 B, copyright BibThere is also the further comparison with 54 liotheca Regia) L'architecture franfaise des bdtiments particuliers by the physician to the French king, Louis Savot, published in Paris in 1624. This little work, in octavo format, contains no illustrations. Yet it is important since it takes the location (le lieu) or the building site as the central focus and incorporates in this approach the theoretical notions of salubrite, solidite, commodite and beaute. Thus, houses must not be built in the vicinity of sewers, nor on narrow 55 streets nor on streets where unhealthy trades or noisy activities are conducted and performed. Where the concept of beauty is concerned, dwellings must be built on spacious squares, and on wide and straight streets. From the house, one needs to be able to look directly onto the street or onto the pastures in the distance. Savot further advocates: 'Les nobles bastiments, outre et que dessus, doivent 51

For more about this, see in: U. Schiitte, 'Die Lehre von den Gaudetypen', in Architekt und Ingenieur. Baumeister in Krieg und Frieden, exhib. catalogue (Wolfenbiittel, 1984), 1s6- 279. P. Le Muet, l\1aniere de bdtir pour toutes sortes de personnes (Paris, 1623). This standard work by Le Muet fits totally within the tradition of Serlio's sixth book that had already

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in the sixteenth century described building types for 'all sorts of people'. 53 Kruft attributes this work to Charles-Etienne Briseux. ?te Kruft, A history of architectural Theory, p.146. L. Savot, L'architecture franfaise des bdtiments particuliers Paris, 1624). 5 Ibid., p.7.

f

67

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TWO VOLUMES OF RUBENS'S PALAZZI DI GENOVA

Fig. 19. Joseph Furttenbach, fac;:ade of a palace, partly inspired by the Palazzo Din Rubens's Palaz zi di Genova,Volume I, fig.23. (From: ]. Furttenbach, Architectura Civilis, Ulm, 1627, vol.2, n°5; copyright Bibliotheca Regia) -n

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encore estre isolez, c 'est a dir destachez & separez des autres de toutes part, & avoir issues sur rues de tous les costez, & l' ont encores a present en Italie, tout pour l'incommodite du feu, & de mauvais voisinage, que pour la commodite de leurs jours, 56 en trees & issues'. For further comparison, there is the work by Alessandro Francini, Livre d'Architecture, dated 1631, wherein also twisted pil57 lars are depicted. In addition, as a further point for comparison there is also Architectura Civilis by the German 58 Joseph Furttenbach , published in 1628 (see Fig. 18) The palace representations by Furttenbach are not of the same high quality as those by Rubens. But a textual commentary is added to the pictorial section. Furttenbach distinguishes three types of buildings: royal palaces, palaces of the nobility and houses. Furttenbach always starts with the faziata, after which he deals with the ground plan (still with the cortile in the centre) and sometimes with the addition of a 'profilo' (see Fig.19). What is also noteworthy is that Furttenbach further gives a representation of the ordinary house (n° 26, see Fig.20), with fa