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Gregorio Grassi del Grasso; artist
Overview
Cornelis Bloemaert II (1603–1692), was a Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver. Born in Utrecht, though he originally trained as a painter under Gerard van Honthorst, Bloemaert went on to devote himself primarily to printmaking, which he learned from Crispijn van de Passe (1589-1637), the founder of the Van de Passe family dynasty of engravers. He went to Paris in 1630, where he lived and worked before moving to Rome three years later.
The early Dutch art biographer Arnold Houbraken noted that Bloemaert made reproductive prints of many Italian paintings; these included the complete engravings of Pietro da Cortona frescoes in the Palazzo Pitti (1664-1677). Earlier, in 1659 and again in 1667, Bloemaert made reproduction engravings for Daniello Bartoli's Istoria della Compagnia di Gesu, 10,000-page epic which outlines the history of the Jesuits in Italy between 1540 and 1640, and a classic of Italian literature. Bloemaert was so successful that he stayed in Rome until receiving word that his father, the equally celebrated painter and printmaker Abraham Bloemaert (1566-1651), wished to see him once more before he died. Sadly, Cornelis delayed his return too long and remained in Rome until his own death. He was a member of the Bentvueghels, a Dutch and Flemish artists' colony, with the nickname ‘Winter’.
This is Bloemaert's highly elaborate and irresistible engraved title-page to Raffaele della Torre's (1578-1666) classic treatise ('Tractatus') that addresses all aspects of the problems of exchange and bills of exchange ('Cambiis'). The treatise is remarkable for its appeal to previous legal and theological doctrines and the special attention that Della Torre pays to the practice of courts. It patriotically stresses the primacy of Genoa in the financial market and reflects the authors rejection of Hugo Grotius's ultimately triumphant principle of 'mare liberum' (freedom of the seas'). It is not clearl whether this title page was culled from the first edition, published in Genoa in 1641, or the second (Frankfurt, 1645).
The iconography of the engraving still needs futher work, but suffice to say that it is an elaborate conceit/ visual pun on Della Torre's name - the Italian for 'of the tower', and boasts his portrait medallion which dominates the uppermost battlemented turret. Either side of the tower are supporting heraldic lions bearing cartouches with Latin inscriptions. The title itself is parallel to their hind legs. The print carries the signatures of the little-known artist Gregorio Grassi del Grasso, who made the original drawing/design, and Bloemaert, who made the present engraving. A fanciful landscape with two horsemen fills in the background, and as if this is not enough, there is a small maritime scene on the far left - indicating prosperity. The figure of Mercury, god of prosperity, hovers admiringly over Della Torre's portrait.
Our impression is mounted in the so-called King George IV album of Old Master prints, acquired by the Dominion Museum in 1910.
Sources:
Bernard Quaritch Ltd, 'Della Torre, Raffaele', https://www.quaritch.com/books/della-torre-raffaele/tractatus-de-cambiis/H4078/
Wikipedia, 'Cornelis Bloemaert', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelis_Bloemaert
Dr Mark Stocker Curator, Historical International Art May 2019