Paesi Bassi / Francia - Douai; Braun - Hogenberg - DVACVM, Catuacorum urbs, tam situ quam incolis et literarum studijs elegantifsime ornata - 1601-1620

Splendid 16th/17th-century prospectus view of the university city of Douai in the Spanish Netherlands, etched on copper by Braun and Hogenberg, coming from the rare Italian-text edition on the reverse and preserved in an excellent original inking.

This fascinating and elegant bird's-eye view of the historic city of Douai is a famous work born from the masterful collaboration between the publisher Georg Braun and the engraver Frans Hogenberg. The specimen boasts extraordinary collecting interest and documented editorial rarity thanks to the reverse of the sheet, which bears the original historical-descriptive text printed in old Italian, an element that certifies the piece's absolute belonging to the sought-after printings of the Teatro delle Città del Mondo pressed in Antwerp between the late 16th and early 17th centuries for grand collectors and nobles of the Italian peninsula.

The visual composition superbly describes the late medieval and Renaissance urban layout of Douai, renowned for its prestigious university founded under the patronage of Philip II of Spain and for its strategic role within the Spanish Netherlands. The topography is delineated with exceptional geometric rigor, showing the complex ring of fortified walls and defensive towers bathed by the waters of the Scarpe River that traverses and surrounds the city fabric. In the upper right stands a sumptuous curled Baroque cartouche with geometric volutes, topped by an anthropomorphic grotesque and the city's heraldic coat of arms finely engraved, containing the Latin title that celebrates the elegance of the literary studies of the settlement. The foreground on the lower left is nobly animated by a couple of figures in rich local patrician costumes of the period, inserted by the authors to document the attire of the time. The specimen presents in excellent general condition, printed on robust contemporary paper with a watermark, with a clear, clean inking and no alterations, preserving its ample original margins healthy along all four sides.

Dimensions 33 x 38 cm
Will be shipped by courier