Title: Infringing Privileges and Copying in Rome, c. 1600
Abstract: ing infringed his (Franceschini's) privilege, issued by the Pope, which specified that 'no one may print, nor engrave, nor keep [for sale] an image of a Crucified Christ with five figures below without my permission . . .M He had found copies of the offending item in the shop of the accused, at S. Maria della Pace, and demanded that he be punished according to the law. A few days later, an officer of the court of the Governor of Rome was sent to the shop to make enquiries. He had Van Aelst imprisoned and confiscated five impressions of the print. In his deposition the officer reported a conversation with van Aelst, who had told him that he had originally had more of them, but that they had been sold.2 In the course of the following week or so a number of witnesses were interviewed, and it emerged that the impressions came from the Netherlands; the plate seems to have been engraved in Antwerp by Karel de Mallery.3 The conclusion of the whole affair came on 17 December 1599, when the two parties settled: Giulio Franceschini dropped his case and promised to make no further trouble.4 Unfortunately no reasons were given. Giulio Franceschini is an unknown figure, apart from what may be gleaned from this case. Nicolas van Aelst, on the other hand, is relatively well-known. He was active as a printer and print dealer in Rome from about 1585, dying in 1613; he was responsible for publishing many prints, especially ones representing the monuments of ancient and modern Rome, ceremonies and current events.5 Karel de Mallery too is a known figure. Born in 157 1, he died after 1635. He worked in Antwerp and Paris, and, as will be seen from the analysis of the documents presented here, he spent some time in Rome around 1596. The most plausible identification of the print that was the subject of contention is an unpublished Crucifixion with the Virgin, Saints Mary Magdalene and John the Evangelist and Two Soldiers in the Distance , an impression of which is to be found in the
Publication Year: 2005
Publication Date: 2005-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 2
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