Livre de Perspective de Iehan Cousin. Senonois, Maistre Peintre à Paris
Cousin, Jean
Paris. De l'Imprimerie de Iehan De Royer Imprimeur du Roy. 1560
Sold
The first edition of Jean Cousin's scarce work on perspective.
Jean Cousin (1490 - 1560) was a painter, engraver, sculptor, architect and theoretician. The 'Livre de Perspective', one of a number of instructional manuals he issued, follows in the footsteps of theoretical works by Dürer, Androuet du Cerceau, Vredeman de Vries and others. Intended for the use of artists and craftsmen alike, Cousin designed his books also to appeal to the patron and collector.
'The Livre, in a series of geometric exercises of increasing difficulty, and supported by short written explanations develops earlier published exercises, including simple line diagrams of polyhedrons, pyramids, stairs, triumphal arches, columned galleries, and objects in interior spaces ... Only in the deeply foreshortened cagelike frame of the frontispiece, from which are suspended the five regular geometric bodies, and to which human figures in exaggerated poses are appended, does Cousin design an invention that is deliberately complex and without instructional value.' (Millard).
[Cicognara 832; Millard 57; Mortimer French 57].
Jean Cousin (1490 - 1560) was a painter, engraver, sculptor, architect and theoretician. The 'Livre de Perspective', one of a number of instructional manuals he issued, follows in the footsteps of theoretical works by Dürer, Androuet du Cerceau, Vredeman de Vries and others. Intended for the use of artists and craftsmen alike, Cousin designed his books also to appeal to the patron and collector.
'The Livre, in a series of geometric exercises of increasing difficulty, and supported by short written explanations develops earlier published exercises, including simple line diagrams of polyhedrons, pyramids, stairs, triumphal arches, columned galleries, and objects in interior spaces ... Only in the deeply foreshortened cagelike frame of the frontispiece, from which are suspended the five regular geometric bodies, and to which human figures in exaggerated poses are appended, does Cousin design an invention that is deliberately complex and without instructional value.' (Millard).
[Cicognara 832; Millard 57; Mortimer French 57].
[77 leaves including title on inserted leaf and bifolia in gatherings L, M & Q]. Folio. (400 x 274 mm). Printed title with large woodcut vignette, leaf with elaborate decorative architectural woodcut showing 'les Cinq Corps Reguliers de Geometrie', 'Preface' verso, leaf with Cousin's 'Au Lecteur' recto and the printer's 'Au Lecteur' verso, and Cousin's text illustrated with with 58 woodcut geometrical diagrams (5 folding, 16 full-page) by le Royer and Olivier after Cousin, final leaf with 'Privilège'; C3 verso with pasted-in sheet with woodcut diagram, head-pieces and initials throughout, certain double-page plates are included in the collation as bifolia, leaves M3 and M4 are inverted. Later (18th century) parchment-backed marbled boards, spine with gilt tooling and red leather label with gilt title 'LIVRE / DE PERS'.
#46145
