Maatschappij Nederlandse Letterkunde (M5), 1208 F 55)
Catalogus librorum (…) Petri de Graaf (…), p. 35, no. 294 (Medici & Philosophici in Quarto)
The “Idea dell’Architettura universale” by Italian architect Vincenzo Scamozzi (1548-1616) was initially published in Venice in 1615 in an expensive folio format. Scamozzi’s architectural orders became very popular in the Dutch Republic, inspiring the architectural style known as Dutch Classicism, which was used in public and private buildings, one example being the Amsterdam Town Hall. The book that is listed in Pieter’s book auction catalogue is a more compact (small) quarto edition compiled by master-mason Joost Vermaarsch and printed by Abraham Verhoeff in Leiden in 1664. It compares Scamozzi’s ideas with those of Palladio and Vignola and was intended to serve as a practical construction manual.
Intriguingly, the year of publication of this edition coincided with the purchase of the parcel on Herengracht 573. This correlation, coupled with several entries in Pieter’s almanacs referencing elements of the house (such as a fireplace) built in this particular style, strongly suggests that this book may have served as an architectural reference during the construction of the house.
USTC record: 1801735
Browse through this book on Google books
Consult and download the annotated transcription of Pieter de Graeff's book auction catalogue here.
References and further reading:
A, Hopkins and A. Witte, From deluxe architectural book to builder's manual: the Dutch editions of Scamozzi's L'Idea della Architettura Universale. Quaerendo 26/4 (1996), pp. 274-302.
K. Ottenheym, A Bird’s-Eye View of the Dissemination of Scamozzi’s Treatise in Northern Europe. Annali di architettura 18-19 (2007), pp. 187-98.
K. Ottenheym, Schoonheid op maat. Vincenzo Scamozzi en de architectuur van de Gouden Eeuw (Amsterdam, 2010).
C. Piccoli, Pieter de Graeff (1638-1707) and his treffelyke bibliotheek: Exploring and reconstructing an early modern private library as a book collection and as a physical space (Leiden: Brill, 2025).
J.J. Terwen, Mag de bouwkunst van het Hollands classicisme 'palladiaans' genoemd worden? Netherlands Yearbook for History of Art / Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek Online 32/1 (1982), pp. 169-189.
Written by Chiara Piccoli