Disegno del Doni; Partito in più ragionamenti, ne quali si tratta della scoltura et pittura ...

Venice: Gabriel Giolito Di Ferrari, 1549. First Edition. Very good +. Small 8vo, 5 7/8 x 3 3/4 inches (150 x 95 mm); pp. 48, imprint in the base of an elaborate woodcut on the title-page, with Giolito di Ferrari's famous device (phoenix, motto saying 'from my death I live eternal life' and initials GGF) , a different woodcut phoenix device on verso of last leaf, and 21 woodcut pictorial initials (3 series) plus 1 repeat. Light age yellowing, occasional spotting and offset, re-cased, new endpapers, later vellum with black calf label on spine, gilt titling, chipped, binding tight.

[Adams D184; Cicognara 114; OCLC: 11805910; Pollen p. 437]. FIRST and ONLY EDITION of this work in dialogue form by Antonio Francesco Doni (circa 1503-1574), Florentine writer and printer, dedicated to painting and sculpture and mentioning, among others, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Michelangelo and Cellini. The first five essays concern the principles and practices of painting and sculpture, including techniques and materials; the sixth includes a discussion on the relation between sculpture and painting, the proportions of the human head, and also gives advice on dealing with patronage. At the end Doni has appended several of his letters to literary figures of his era such as Francesco Sansovino and Aretino, to Italian painters, sculptors, and notables. The book ends with an extensive index of subjects discussed.

The full title reads: "Disegno del Doni, partito in piv ragionamenti, ne qvali si tratta della scoltura et pittura; de colori, de getti, de modegli, con molte cose appartenenti a quest' arti: & si termina la nobiltà dell'una et dell' altra professione con historie, essempi, et sentenze & nel fine alcune lettere che trattano della medesima materia." (Drawing by Doni, divided into several arguments, which are concerned with sculpture and painting; with colors, casting, models, with many things pertaining to these arts: & the nobility of both professions is exemplifies through stories, examples, and judgments. And at the end there are some letters that deal with the same subject.).