Prospetto del Duomo di Milano e rapresentazione de Funerali fatti per la M.ta della Regina di Sardegna...

Prospetto del Duomo di Milano E rapresentazione de Funerali fatti per la M.ta della Regina di Sardegna && li 30 Aprile 1735.

Etching, 1735, signed in plate lower left Marc. Ant. Dal Ré Fece. In the bottom right-hand corner engraved with the editorial imprint Si Vendono nella Contrada di S. Margherita.

A very rare plate, showing a Duomo still under construction and far from its present appearance, made to accompany the funeral apparatus of Polissena Giovanna Cristina of Sardinia in the Duomo of Milan on 30 April 1735, engraved by Marcantonio Dal Rè.

A broadsheet created to document the funeral of Polissena Giovanna Cristina of Hesse-Rheinfels, Queen of Sardinia. The event was documented in the RELAZIONE delle solenni esequie celebrate nel Duomo di Milano a S. M. la Reina di Sardegna Polissena Giovanna Cristina, Milan 1735. "The inventions were by the architect Francesco Croce. The eleven panels were engraved by M. Ant. dal Re. The copperplates representing the view and the two cutaways of the Duomo were also used for the description of the funeral of Emperor Charles VI and are very well done' (cf. Cicognara, Catalogo ragionato dei libri d'arte e d'antichità, no. 1500).

However, it is unclear whether this panel belongs to the Relazione - which contains mostly interior decorations, catafalque for the Queen, and architectural sections of the Duomo. In fact, the plates in the Relazione, published by the printer Giuseppe Richino Malatesta in 1735, although they bear Dal Rè's signature, lack the editorial imprint Si Vendono nella Contrada di S. Margherita, which identifies Marcantonio Dal Rè himself, who had his activity there from 1726 to 1739, before moving to Piazza dei Mercanti. We believe, therefore, that this is a plate not commissioned by Giuseppe Richino Malatesta, but an engraved editorial product, printed and sold by Dal Rè himself for the occasion.

Polissena Giovanna Cristina of Hesse-Rheinfels, Queen of Sardinia, was born in Lagenschwalbach on 21 September 1706, the daughter of Landgrave Ernest Leopold of Hesse Rotenburg and Eleanor Maria of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort. She was noticed by the emissaries of Savoy sent by Vittorio Amedeo II to the German territories in search of a new bride for his son Carlo Emanuele, who had been widowed by Anne Christine Louise of Bavaria Sulzbach after less than a year of marriage, whom he married in 1724. Polissena of Hesse died in Turin in the night between 12 and 13 January 1735.

The view depicts the Duomo of Milan under reconstruction, not yet adorned with its current spectacular spires. It was built at the behest of the archbishop, Antonio da Saluzzo and the Lord of Milan, Gian Galeazzo Visconti. The start of construction dates back to 1386; in 1418 the high altar was consecrated by Pope Martin V and in 1572 S. Carlo Borromeo consecrated the church even though construction was not yet finished. In the 18th century, the main spire was built on which the golden Madonnina was erected, while the façade was completed in 1813 at the request of Napoleon, who wanted to be crowned King of Italy here. Throughout the 19th century, the spires and all the architectural decorations were completed.

Marcantonio Dal Ré, born in Bologna, moved to Milan in 1723 or '24 and lived there until his death. He was a copperplate engraver, chalcographer and publisher of his own prints, which he was already selling in 1726 'all'insegna dell'Aquila imperiale in contrada S. Margherita'; he then moved in 1739 to 'P.zza Mercanti al Portico superiore delle Scuole Palatine' in the loggia degli Osii, that he had obtained' rented following his request to the vicar of Providence to have bright rooms suitable for his activity. Here he also opened a free school of engraving and drawing in 1744, so much so that he believed he was entitled to stop paying rent because he occupied premises to be considered public use, and at his own expense he had made improvements including closing the openings in the loggia. Dal Rè's production was not only copious, but also varied, including prints commenting on the chronicle and history events of his time, from city ceremonies to events of wider importance; devotional subjects, portraits, maps, pictorial sonnets for theatre artists, cartoons for books and city plans. The battles fought by the Franco-Piemontese (1733-34) during the War of Polish Succession had Dal Re as a keen observer.

Magnificent proof, printed on large sheet of contemporary laid paper, with margins, usual central vertical crease, in perfect condition.

Beautiful example of this very rare work.

Bibliografia

M. Forni, Il Palazzo Regio Ducale di Milano a metà Settecento: considerazioni sulla residenza, Milano 1997, p. 17 fig. 2; Mignatti, A. (2010). Esequie nel Duomo di Milano per la regina di Sardegna Giovanna Polissena Cristina, 1735. In Festa, rito e teatro nella «gran città di Milano» nel Settecento, Catalogo della mostra a cura di Francesca Barbieri, Roberta Carpani, Alessandra Mignatti, Milano, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, 23 novembre 2009- 28 febbraio 2010, «Studia Borromaica», 24 (2010) (pp. 1045-1055); L. Cicognara, Catalogo ragionato dei libri d’arte e d’antichità (1821), n. 1500.