La vie des peintres flamands, allemands et hollandois, avec des portraits gravés en taille-douce, une indication de leurs principaux ouvrages, & des réflexions sur leurs différentes manières.

4 vol., 8vo: front.-xvi-429-[11], [4]-480-[8], xvi-402-[6], viii-302-[24] pp. (foxing, occ. marg. soiling, tear along the text without lack to p. 3 of vol. II, sl. marg. damp stains at begin. of vol. III and at the end of vol. IV).

Contemp. marbled calf, gilt orn. spines with raised bands, spr. edges (sl. rubbed, heads of vol. I-III-IV renewed, head of vol. II missing, lower joint of vol. III partly split).

First edition of these still useful biographies of hundreds of painters by J.-B. Descamps (1714-1791). Engr. ill. : front. by J.-P. Le Bas after Descamps in vol. I, 2 engraved headpieces by N. Le Mire after Descamps and 168 half page portraits of painters i.a. Quinten Metsys, Bernard van Orley, Maarten van Heemskerck, J. Holbein, P. Brueghel, Maarten de Vos, Abraham Bloemaert, A. Van Dyck, Jan Steen, Gérard de Lairesse, etc. Woodcut ornaments on titles. Titles printed in red & black.
Ref. Conlon 53:598. - Cioranescu 23117. - Arntzen & Rainwater H88. - Cohen 287. - BL London (2). - BnF.
Prov. Library tickets with monogram.