| Method | Copper engraving |
| Artist | Daniel Meisner |
| Published | [1623-1631] |
| Dimensions | Image 69 x 145 mm, Plate 97 x 147 mm, Sheet 140 x 178 mm |
| Notes |
A view of Straubing with the Danube on the left and the allegorical figure of Death with a scythe standing over the snake-haired representation of Envy, from Daniel Meisner's Sciographia Cosmica, with verses inscribed in Latin and German below and the number 46 in the upper right. The title of the emblem, above the image, reads: Der Todt macht dem Neyd ein Ende - 'Death makes an end to Envy.' A similar expression in Latin is included directly below the image: Invidia haud cessat viventium rodere famam, Sed post Fata silet commoriturque Viris - 'Envy never ceases gnawing at the fame of the living, but after Fate commemorates men, she falls silent.' Meisner's emblem book, containing over 800 pictorial-poetic compositions, was enormously popular throughout Europe in the 17th century. The plan views were based on the work of De Bry, Braun & Hogenberg, Merian and others with the addition of emblematic figures or scenes in the foreground, juxtaposed with moralising and edifying verses beneath the image and a Latin motto at top. It was originally issued in parts, with each part having 52 plates, as the Thesaurus philo-politicus in 1623-24. After Meisner's death in 1625, Eberhard Kieser, with assistance from Johann L. Gottfried, completed the work and published it until 1631. The plates then appeared in the eight parts of Sciographia Cosmica published by Paulus Furst between 1638-78. The plates for these editions were renumbered alpha-numerically in the upper right corners - A-H (identifying the 8 parts) and 1-100 (plate number). They were finally issued in 1700 and 1704 in Rudolf J. Helmer's Politica-politica. Condition: Some light surface dirt lower right margin and a few other marks in the margins not affecting the image, light water stain upper right margin and into the plate. |
| Framing | mounted |
| Price | £200.00 |
| Stock ID | 52279 |