Lot 301: SGRILLI, BERNARDO SANSONE

DESCRIZIONE DELLA REGIA VILLA, FONTANE, E FABBRICHE DI PRATOLINO. (FLORENCE: TARTINI AND FRANCHI, 1742) Folio (340 x 240mm.), engraved vignettes, 6 engraved views (4 signed by Stefano della Bella) and 6 engraved plans (1 signed by Sgrilli), contemporary carta rustica, binding and a few plates slightly foxed

Cicognara 4097

C.E. Rappaport, Rome, bookseller's label on inside front cover

Stefano della Bella (1610-1664) worked under the patronage of the Medici, the owners of the villa at Pratolino, and executed these views in the early 1650s. This work was issued by Sgrilli soon after the passing of the Medici dynasty, in the first years of the House of Lorraine, and he laments the passing of Ferdinando de' Medici who had added many works of art to the villa, some of which had since been removed. As with the prints of Tuscan villas produced by Zocchi (see lot 490), it is likely that this volume was produced for visitors to Tuscany on their Grand Tour, as a record of the villa in its heyday.