Album met voorstellingen van de standbeelden in de collectie van Vincenzo Giustiniani te Rome, deel 1 1636 - 1647

This album, with depictions of statues from Vincenzo Giustiniani's collection in Rome, involved the skills of various makers. The album’s marbled cover immediately suggests a moment of transition in bookbinding. The marbling, achieved by floating pigments on a liquid surface and then transferring them to paper, yields a surface that is both decorative and unique. The texture of the marbled paper, with its fluid patterns, contrasts with the rigid structure of the album itself. The binding process would have involved carefully sewing the pages together, attaching the cover boards, and finishing the spine, each step requiring precision. Consider the labor-intensive nature of producing such an album, from the preparation of the paper and pigments to the actual printing and binding. This reflects the economics of artistic patronage and production of the time, where skilled craftsmanship was employed to cater to the tastes of wealthy collectors like Giustiniani. By valuing the processes and social context of its making, we can better understand its cultural significance.