Bidspirit auction | Prospectus amoenissimus vallis Oeniponticae una

Prospectus amoenissimus vallis Oeniponticae una cum antro… Colónia, c. 1598. - [INN VALLEY – TYROL]. Prospectus amoenissimus vallis Oeniponticae una cum antro in altissima et praeruptissima rupe Imp. Maximiliani primi. [with:] Schlosberg, die Clause in Alpibus Tirolensibus. [and:] Monumentum occurssus Imp. Caroli V et Ferdinandi fratris. Georg BRAUN; Frans HOGENBERG (eds.), after a drawing by Georgius HOEFNAGEL. [Cologne, Georg Braun & Frans Hogenberg, c. 1598]. Engraving; 425 × 535 mm (sheet). Sheet with three views: in the upper half, broad panorama of the Inn valley ( vallis Oeniponticae ), in the region of Innsbruck, with the river winding along the valley floor, villages and cultivated fields on the banks and, at right, the imposing rocky escarpment of the Martinswand, where the grotto (cave) associated with the hunts of Emperor Maximilian I is marked. In the lower left, view of the fortress of Schlosberg (“ die Clause in Alpibus Tirolensibus ”), set on a rocky spur dominating valley and forest. At right, small autonomous composition depicting the monument commemorating the meeting between Emperors Charles V and his brother Ferdinand, erected in the valley and flanked by hunting scenes and horsemen. Small cartouche at upper left identifies the main localities by letters; another, below at centre, contains the text relating to the imperial encounter. Verso with extensive descriptive text in Latin under the heading PROSPECTUS AMOENISSIMVS VALLIS OENIPONTICAE VNA CVM ANTRO… , followed by the section MONVMENTVM OCCVRSSVS IMP. CAROLI V ET FERDINANDI FRATRIS , paged “59”, forming part of volume V of the Civitates orbis terrarum . The engraving presents the upper Inn valley, an important Alpine transit axis between Germany and Italy, here valued both for the majesty of the landscape — which Braun describes as rich in castles and chamois hunts — and for the dynastic memory of the Habsburgs, through Maximilian I’s grotto and the commemorative monument of Charles V’s meeting with his brother Ferdinand in 1530.