Luis de Granada - Opere - 1568

THE GREAT SPIRITUAL SUMMA OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY – 5 FULL-PAGE FIGURES
Important sixteenth-century collection of the spiritual works of Luis de Granada, one of the major authors of ascetic and devotional literature of Catholic Renaissance. Published in Venice in 1568 by Gabriel Giolito de’ Ferrari, the edition brings together in Italian translation some of the principal writings of the famous Dominican, conceived to guide the Christian in prayer, meditation, the exercise of virtue, and the search for spiritual perfection. The same title-page presents the work as a guide capable of instructing the Christian “with much fervor of spirit, with great learning, and with incredibly easy ease,” a formula that perfectly summarizes Granada’s European success: deep theological doctrine expressed in clear, persuasive, and accessible prose. Of particular interest is the rich iconographic apparatus with 5 full-page figures engraved on a single page. The present copy also preserves a seventeenth-century leather binding in pasteboard and is characterized by a curious ancient intervention on the title-page, whose lower portion was missing and was replaced in historic times by the application of a woodcut. A fascinating volume both as a monument of Catholic spirituality and as evidence of the great Venetian publishing house of the sixteenth century.

WHY TO BUY
GIOLITO – VENICE 1568! A prestigious edition from the famous Venetian workshop.
LUIS DE GRANADA! One of the most influential spiritual masters of the European Counter-Reformation.
5 FULL-PAGE FIGURES! An important iconographic element for a sixteenth-century devotional collection.

MARKET VALUE
Sixteenth-century collections of Luis de Granada’s works maintain solid interest among collectors of spirituality, religious history, and Venetian publishing. Giolito editions are particularly prized for the prestige of the typography and the quality of the print. In this copy the presence of the 5 full-page figures and the antique binding constitutes a positive element, while the mutilation and historical reconstruction of the title-page significantly affect the valuation. For this specific copy a realistic retail value is in the vicinity of €400-600, with potential for a higher price in a specialized catalog dedicated to sixteenth-century spirituality or to Giolito’s productions.

PHYSICAL / CONDITION
Pp. (2), 24 ll., 348, (2), 22 ll., 428, (2). Collection of Luis de Granada’s works in Italian translation, adorned with 5 full-page engraved figures. Seventeenth-century pasteboard binding, with natural wear, stains, deformations and normal signs of use. Title-page with a significant historical defect: the lower portion is missing, replaced in ancient times by the application of a woodcut and a stamp bearing the date. The intervention, while constituting bibliographically a mutilation and a restoration, represents a curious testimony to the material history of the volume. Pages with browning, foxing, occasional stains and normal signs of time. Possible further restorations or defects in keeping with age. As with all antique volumes, minor defects or restorations not expressly mentioned may be encountered.

FULL TITLES & AUTHORS
Luis de Granada, born Luis de Sarria (1504-1588).
All the works of the Very Reverend Father Father Luigi di Granata of the Order of Saint Dominic.
Venice: Gabriel Giolito de’ Ferrari, 1568.
Italian edition.
Pp. (2), 24 ll., 348, (2), 22 ll., 428, (2).
With 5 full-page figures.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Luis de Granada, born Luis de Sarria in Granada in 1504 and died in Lisbon in 1588, was a Dominican friar, preacher, theologian, and one of the most important spiritual writers of the sixteenth century. Entering the Order of Preachers at a very young age, he was formed in the climate of the great Spanish religious culture and developed an extraordinary ability to make complex theological and ascetic themes accessible through clear, elegant, and highly persuasive prose. He spent a significant portion of his life in Portugal, where he attained great prestige as a preacher and became provincial of the Dominicans. Among his most famous works are the Libro de la oración y meditación, la Guía de pecadores, el Memorial de la vida cristiana, and the Introducción del símbolo de la fe. His writing continually aims at the inner transformation of the reader: meditation on the Passion of Christ, moral discipline, examination of conscience, practice of the virtues, and preparation for prayer are presented as stages of a true spiritual itinerary. His success was enormous. His works were quickly translated into Italian, Latin, French, English, German, and numerous other languages, making Luis de Granada one of the most-read Iberian religious authors of the modern era.

RARITY
The individual works of Luis de Granada appeared in numerous editions between the XVI and XVII centuries, but the great sixteenth-century collections that gather multiple texts into a single volume are considerably rarer and particularly interesting when linked to the production of Gabriel Giolito de’ Ferrari. The Giolito workshop represents one of the most prestigious names in Venetian publishing of the Cinquecento, and its religious editions bear witness to the market’s gradual shift toward spiritual and devotional texts in the post-Tridentine climate. The present copy also preserves the 5 full-page figures and a seventeenth-century binding.

HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE
Luis de Granada occupies a central position in the history of Catholic spirituality in the sixteenth century. His writings belong to the great period of religious renewal that preceded and accompanied the Council of Trent and helped disseminate a practice of meditation not confined to convents but accessible to laypeople as well. Granada proposes a spirituality grounded in interiority, in the examination of conscience, in meditation on life and on the Passion of Christ, and in the progressive formation of the virtues. The vast fortune of his works shows how well this model met the religious needs of modern Europe. The Italian translation and the Venetian publication at Giolito represent a significant moment in this international diffusion. The work also testifies to the central role of print in shaping post-Tridentine Catholic culture: orthodox yet authoritative but easily readable texts could reach a much wider audience than traditional theological treatises. The 1568 collection is thus simultaneously a document of Dominican spirituality, of the Counter-Reformation, of the spread of devotion in the vernacular, and of the great era of Venetian typography.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
EDIT16, National census of Italian editions of the XVI century.
USTC – Universal Short Title Catalogue.
Salvatore Bongi, Annali di Gabriel Giolito de’ Ferrari da Trino di Monferrato stampatore in Venezia.
Jacques Quétif – Jacques Échard, Scriptores Ordinis Praedicatorum.
Antonio Palau y Dulcet, Manual del librero hispano-americano.
José Simón Díaz, Bibliografía de la literatura hispánica.
Pedro Sainz Rodríguez, Introducción a la historia de la literatura mística en España.
Luis de Granada, Obras completas, edizioni critiche moderne.
Bibliographic guides devoted to Dominican spirituality, the Counter-Reformation and the publishing output of Gabriel Giolito de’ Ferrari.