1602 DUCHETTI, C. / ORLANDINI, J. - Palatii farnesii Romae… duarum Herculis statuarum icones [Farnese Palace Interior].

The print, depicting the interior of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, was printed by Giovanni Orlandi in1602 from a copperplate originally engraved for the "Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae", with the imprints of Duchetti and Orlandi.

The Palazzo Farnese, one of the most magnificent High Renaissance palaces in Rome, was originally commissioned by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, later Pope Paul III, and built from around 1515 to the late sixteenth century. Designed by prominent architects including Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and later modified by Michelangelo, the palace’s monumental façade and architectural articulation symbolized the power and prestige of the Farnese family.

In the mid-sixteenth century, Italy was the principal centre of printmaking and cartography in Europe, concentrated primarily in Venice and Rome. Among the most important Roman publishers was Antonio Lafreri, whose major work is the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae, a vast corpus of copper-engraved plates depicting the monuments, architecture, and views of ancient as well as modern Rome. No two copies of the Speculum are identical, each compilation having been assembled to order according to the client’s wishes.

The Speculum originated in the joint publishing activities of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri, active in Rome between 1553 and 1563. Engravings were offered individually to travellers and collectors, or gathered into composite volumes later bound. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for these compilations, marking the first appearance of the title Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Although he conceived an ideal arrangement of the plates into seven categories, Lafreri never issued a standardized bound collection during his lifetime.
Upon Lafreri’s death, approximately two-thirds of the copperplates passed to his nephew Claudio Duchetti, then to other members of the Duchetti family. Claudio Duchetti continued the exploitation of the plates, making minor retouches and frequently replacing Lafreri’s imprint with his own. The Duchetti (Claudio and Stefano) contributed to a relative standardization of production while maintaining the principle of compilations assembled to order.

After the demise of the Duchetti, the plates were dispersed and taken up by other Roman publishers, notably Giovanni Orlandi (before 1590–after 1640), who issued new impressions from them in the early seventeenth century. The prolonged circulation of these plates ensured the dissemination and lasting significance of this fundamental corpus of Roman printmaking.

A unique opportunity to acquire a fine example from the early Lafreri School.!
Read more about the Lafreri School [+]

Reference: Hülsen 60a