4. Aegidius Sadeler (1570-1629)
after Jan Brueghel, the Elder (1568-1625)
Facade of a Temple in Baiae

(click on image to print)
Sadeler, Facade of a Temple

Facade of a Temple in Baiae

Engraving, 1606, from Vestigi della Antichita di Roma…, Hollstein 194, The Illustrated Bartsch 204 i/iii. Fine impression on laid paper with large margins; a printer’s crease through part of the image and staining in the margins. Baiae, on the Bay of Naples, was a famous (and infamous) resort town of ancient Roman times, and named after Baios, the navigator of Ulysses. Jan Brueghel unquestionably visited it toward the end of the 16th century, and it is tempting to think that one of the little group of tourists included in the image is a representation of the artist himself. Although the text of the print mentions Hercules in relation to the temple, it is today believed to be the Temple of Diana. According to modern photographs and tourist literature, it is still standing, although the surroundings have changed: it is now fenced off, next to an apartment building, on street loaded with parked cars, and the tourists wear different outfits. The Bay of Naples is still there, however.