Olympia-2015

THE TASTE FOR PRE-RENAISSANCE PAINTING87. PATCH, Thomas. The life of Frá Bartolommeo della Porta, a Tuscanpainter, with his works, engraved from the original pictures, dedicated, to theHonourable Horace Walpole, an intelligent promoter, of the fine arts, by hismost obedient and most humble servant Thomas Patch. [Colophon:] Florence,1772.Folio, pp. [ii], title and text in English and Italian, title within engraved vignette,with 24 plates printed in black, red or ochre.[Bound with:][––––––––––––.] Il quadro originale, dipinto in tavola a chiaro oscuro da FràBartolommeo della Porta, è presentemente nella galleria di S. A. R. Florence, [nopublisher], 1773.Folio, double-page title-plate and 23 plates printed in ochre.[Bound with:][––––––––––––.] Al nobil uomo il signore Bernardo Manetti patrizio FiorentinoTommaso Patch dedica questi monumenti dell’antico splendore di sua famiglia insegno di obbligazione e di stima. [Colophon:] Florence, 1772.Folio, pp. [ii], title and text in Italian and English, title within engraved vignette,with 12 plates printed in black or ochre.Three works bound together in one folio volume; very fresh copies in Italiancontemporary speckled paper boards, sheep spine and cornerpieces, gilt letteringpiece,blue edges; one corner restored; preserved in a modern cloth box; with thebookplate of Charles Sebag-Montefiore. £8500First editions of three rare suites of etched and engraved plates by theEnglish artist and connoisseur Thomas Patch. The first two reproduce panelpaintings and frescoes attributed to Fra Bartolomeo (1472?–1517), the thirdreproduces frescoes now attributed to Spinello Aretino (d. 1410/11) but which inthe author’s day were thought to be by Giotto. This last series is of particularimportance, being the only record of Aretino’s fresco cycle in the Manetti chapel inSanta Maria del Carmine, Florence, which was destroyed (save a few fragments,some of which Patch came to own) as a result of a fire on 28–29 January 1771.Patch reproduces the compositions of the damaged frescoes, carefully rendering, intwo plates, the underlying sinopia where the painted surface had become detached.All three suites are rare. Evidence cited by Watson suggests that only forty sets ofthe Fra Bartolomeo and ‘Giotto’ series were issued before the plates were destroyed.NUC records one copy only of each work (Yale), as does COPAC (Liverpool). OCLCrecords just two copies of the first suite of Fra Bartolomeo plates (Harvard andNational Art Library, Victoria and Albert Museum).