Original antique engraving by Swiss-German engraver and publisher Matthäus Merian the Elder (1593–1650).
With centre fold as published.
It features a detailed bird's-eye perspective of St. Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco), the Campanile, and the Venetian lagoon and was engraved around 1650 for Merian’s highly influential, multi-volume topographical masterpiece titled "Topographia Italiae".
This engraving is from the last volume of "Topographia", which was published in 30 parts between 1642 and 1688.
Matthäus Merian the Elder (1593–1650) personally drew and engraved the copperplate for Piazza de S. Marco di Venetia around 1640. It was first published in Frankfurt during his lifetime as part of the "Itinerarium Italiae Nov-Antiquae" (1640), a travel topography written by his frequent collaborator, Martin Zeiller. This print has no text on the reverse and is therefore later than the first edition of 1640.
Matthäus Merian (1593–1650) was a Swiss-born engraver, cartographer, and publishing pioneer of the Baroque era. He is widely recognized as one of the grand masters of the architectural cityscape and town plan, renowned for his extraordinary technical precision and massive documentary contributions to European geography.
His sons, Matthäus the Younger and Caspar Merian, took over the firm ("Merian Erben") and completed his unfinished atlas volumes (including the "Topographia Italiae" featuring the Venice views).
