Greece - Methoni; Henri de Beauvau - Modon - 1615

Technical Data
Subject / Title:
Modon (Methoni, Greece)

Author:
Henri de Beauvau (1575–1635)

Publisher / Printer:
Jacob Garnich

Place:
Nancy, Duchy of Lorraine

Era / Date:
1615

Technique:
Engraving in copper-plate (etching and burin)

Support:
Ancient laid paper

Dimensions:
Incised plate size about 15.5 × 11 cm; sheet about 23 × 18 cm

Composition:
Copperplate engraving with a panoramic view of the fortified town of Modon, original text in French on the verso, taken from Relation Journalière du Voyage du Levant.

Description

Rare original engraving depicting the town of Modone (today Methoni, in southwestern Peloponnese), published in Nancy in 1615 by Henri de Beauvau in the famous Relation Journalière du Voyage du Levant. The plate constitutes one of the earliest French views dedicated to this important port of the Morea, for centuries one of the principal Venetian outposts in the eastern Mediterranean and a crucial stopping point on the maritime routes to Crete, Cyprus and the Holy Land.

The composition presents the city from a frontal sea perspective, highlighting the imposing defensive system that characterized the Venetian fortress. The high crenellated walls, cylindrical and rectangular towers, bastions, city gates and the fortified harbor are rendered with notable clarity, offering a valuable testimony to the city’s appearance at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Inside the walls a dense urban fabric develops, composed of civil buildings, towers, churches and houses, while the harbor is lively with merchant and military vessels, underscoring the strategic importance of the port.

In the foreground appears the distinctive fortified islet at the harbor entrance, a hallmark of Methoni’s topography, shown together with coastal structures that protected access to the bay. The balance of the composition and the precision of the architectural rendering give the view a strong documentary character, typical of the finest illustrated works devoted to Levantine travel.

The engraving belongs to one of the most important French collections of views of the eastern Mediterranean in the early seventeenth century and represents a significant testimony to Venetian presence in the Peloponnese a few decades before the Ottoman reconquest of the town in 1715. For rarity, historical-interest and engraving quality it constitutes a work of particular prominence in the landscape of Levantine cartography and iconography.

Historical-artistic note

Henri de Beauvau (1575–1635), a Lorraine aristocrat and traveler, published in 1615 the Relation Journalière du Voyage du Levant, printed in Nancy by Jacob Garnich, one of the most important French works devoted to travels in the eastern Mediterranean and in the Holy Land.

The volume is illustrated with numerous views and geographic maps documenting cities, ports, islands and regions visited during the journey. The engravings distinguish themselves for their descriptive and documentary character, offering valuable testimonies of the urban structure and fortifications of the eastern Mediterranean at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Views dedicated to the Venetian possessions in the Morea, such as Modone, are now particularly rare and are valued by collectors of cartography, naval history and Venetian iconography.

Condition Report

Ancient laid paper with the natural patina of time, diffuse traces of oxidation, light age spots and signs of use consistent with the period. Small conservational restorations on the left edge, professionally carried out to consolidate the paper support. The original typography on the verso is fully preserved and legible. The copper impression is well-inked and overall sharp. Overall the specimen is stable, rare and of notable historic-documentary interest, suitable for conservation as a collectible.