Ovidio - L'Art d'Aimer, et Le Remède d'Amour - 1757

THE ART OF LOVE BY OVID – RARE ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF 1757 WITH ENGRAVINGS BY EISEN
A refined masterpiece of classical love literature, reinterpreted in the height of the French Enlightenment gallantry. The famous Ars amatoria by Ovid and the Remedia amoris gathered in an elegant French translation of 1757. A precious Amsterdam edition, enriched by compositions by Charles Eisen engraved by Tardieu.
Love, seduction, passions and disillusionments live again through Latin poetry and Rococo art.
An enchanting example in a contemporaneous leather binding with marbleized rolls, with rich gold decorations.

ABSTRACT
Elegant eighteenth-century edition of L'Art d'aimer et Le Remède d'amour, a French translation of the famous erotic-didactic works of Publius Ovidius Naso, attributed to Pierre-Joseph de Cuers, chevalier de Cogolin, published in Amsterdam in 1757. The volume brings together two fundamental texts of ancient love literature: Ars amatoria, a brilliant poetic treatise on the art of seduction, and the Remedia amoris, an ironic counterpoint devoted to remedies against the sufferings of passion. The new edition, expressly stated on the title page as adorned with figures, belongs to the refined French editorial tradition of the 18th century, in which classical literature was reinterpreted through gallant taste and Rococo sensibility. Particularly interesting are the illustrations attributed to Charles Eisen, one of the most esteemed French designers of the 18th century, translated into engraving by Tardieu. The compositions feature mythological figures, cupids, allegories of seduction and scenes of classical inspiration, characterized by the grace and narrative vivacity typical of French illustration of the period. The copy preserves its eighteenth-century binding in marbleized leather, with a richly gold-decorated spine and red leather label for the title.

WHY TO BUY
A particularly attractive edition for collectors of classical literature, 18th-century illustrated books, and works devoted to the history of love and seduction. The bibliographic interest lies in the combination of three elements: the universal fame of Ovid, the elegance of the eighteenth-century French translation, and the presence of illustrations attributable to the refined artistic production of Charles Eisen. The 1757 publication attests to the extraordinary editorial success of Ovid’s amorous works in Old Regime France, when the Latin poet was read not only as a classical author but also as an interpreter of sentimental psychology and the codes of the gallant society. The original binding, with marbleized leather, gold tooling and red edges, gives the copy additional collectible interest, preserving its authentically eighteenth-century character. A volume of compact size, richly illustrated and of notable decorative charm, suitable for a library dedicated to French literature, Latin poetry, or 18th-century illustrated books.

MARKET VALUE
The commercial value of the edition mainly depends on the completeness of the engravings, the condition of the binding, and the presence of all original editorial elements. Eighteenth-century illustrated editions of Ovid’s amorous works are sought after in the antique market, especially when they feature compositions by established artists such as Charles Eisen. For a copy of this edition, in conditions similar to those documented and with complete illustrative apparatus, a rough market range in the antique trade could be proposed between 250 and 450 euros.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Original eighteenth-century full leather binding with marbled calf, characterized by a brown-reddish tone and irregular decorative panels on the boards. Smooth spine adorned with headbands, compartments, floral tooling, and small decorative ironwork impressed in gold. Red morocco title label. Red edges. Illustrative apparatus: frontispiece with figure, typographic title page printed in red and black with ornamental vignette, and out-of-text figures on drawings by Charles Eisen, engraved by Tardieu. Binding with some signs of use on the boards, spine, edges and corners. Still visible gilding. Natural aging of paper, slight browning and sporadic physiological foxing. In old books with centuries of history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. This listing contains AI Visualizations. Please refer to the original photographs to verify the item’s actual condition. The images are an integral part of the description. Pp. (4); 4nn; 6; 4nn; 162; (4).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Publius Ovidius Naso.
L'Art d'aimer, et Le Remède d'amour.
À Amsterdam, 1757.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The Ars amatoria by Ovid, composed between the late 1st century BCE and the early 1st century CE, represents one of the most famous and influential works of Western erotic literature. Originally organized into three books, the work offers a brilliant and ironic education in sentiment, in which the poet teaches men and women the strategies of amorous conquest, the ability to recognize favorable opportunities, the art of conversation, and the behaviors necessary to preserve the affection of the desired person. Far from a moral treatise, the poem presents love as a game of intelligence, social observation, and psychological skill, while also offering a lively portrait of the manners of Augustan Rome. The Remedia amoris constitutes its paradoxical complement: after teaching how to fall in love, Ovid provides advice on how to free oneself from a unhappy passion. The poet proposes remedies based on activity, distraction, detachment, and knowledge of the mechanisms of desire. In 18th-century French culture these works gained renewed fortune thanks to the gallant culture, which recognized in Ovid a master of sentimental elegance and irony. The Amsterdam edition of 1757 fits fully into this cultural climate. The Rococo taste of the illustrations transforms the themes of mythology and Latin poetry into light, theatrical, and refined images, intended for an educated audience sensitive to the charm of illustrated books. The work thus testifies to the encounter between classical tradition and the visual culture of the European Enlightenment.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BCE – 17/18 CE) was one of the greatest poets of the Augustan age and one of the most original figures of Latin literature. Born in Sulmo to a wealthy family, he received a rhetorical education in Rome but soon abandoned any prospect of a public career to devote himself entirely to poetry. His early works, including Amores and the Heroides, established him as a refined interpreter of amorous passion. With the Ars amatoria he achieved extraordinary fame, crafting a representation of love based on irony, rhetorical skill, and knowledge of human nature. In 8 CE he was banished by Emperor Augustus to Tomis, on the Black Sea, for reasons summarized by the poet in the famous phrase carmen et error. He spent his final years away from Rome, composing works marked by nostalgia and the pain of exile. Besides love poetry, Ovid left masterpieces such as the Metamorphoses and the Fasti, exerting immense influence on literature, painting, and European imagination.
Pierre-Joseph de Cuers, chevalier de Cogolin, is remembered within the French tradition of Ovidian translations. The edition attributed to him reflects the attempt to make the grace, wit, and vivacity of the Latin poet accessible to a Francophone audience.
Charles Eisen (1720–1778), French draftsman and illustrator, was among the protagonists of Rococo illustration. His compositions, characterized by elegance, movement, and sensuality, accompanied some of the most refined illustrated publications of the eighteenth century.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Ovid’s amorous works enjoyed an almost continuous European diffusion through medieval manuscripts, Renaissance editions, vernacular translations, and illustrated publications. During the eighteenth century, French-speaking publishing contributed to transforming the Ars amatoria into a classic of gallant literature, often published together with the Remedia amoris and enriched with allegorical and mythological engravings. The Amsterdam edition of 1757, presented as Nouvelle édition ornée de figures, belongs to this tradition. The Amsterdam imprint on the title page is consistent with the editorial practices of the eighteenth-century Francophone market, where such printing locations frequently appeared in publications intended for international circulation. The actual place of production of this particular edition, however, requires bibliographic verification. The presence of illustrations associated with Charles Eisen and Tardieu reflects the growing role of imagery in luxury publishing of the period, when the illustrated book also became an object of representation and aesthetic pleasure. The original print run and the number of surviving copies are not documented here. The rarity on the market should thus be assessed based on the actual availability of the edition and the completeness of individual copies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Ovidius, Ars amatoria and Remedia amoris, fundamental texts of Latin elegiac poetry and of the erotic-didactic literary tradition.
Ovide, L'Art d'aimer, et Le Remède d'amour, translation of Ovid, Nouvelle édition ornée de figures, Amsterdam, 1757.
Cohen, Henry, Guide de l'amateur de livres à gravures du XVIIIe siècle, a fundamental reference for the study of illustrated French editions of the eighteenth century.
Sander, Max, Le Livre à figures italien depuis 1467 jusqu'à 1530, general reference work for the history of the illustrated book, not specifically dedicated to the present French edition.