Traité de la peinture et de la sculpture.

Herman Uytwerf, Amsterdam, 1728

First edition in French of this first comprehensive English treatise on art theory.

Description: 3 parts in 2 vols., contemp. marbled calf, spine with raised bands and gilt in compartments, morocco label lettered in gilt. Octavo: 19 × 12 cm; (part 1) [14 ll.], 216 pp., [3 pl.]; (part 2) [2 ll.], 238 pp.; (part 3) [2 ll.], lxxii pp., [12 ll.], 759 pp. Title page printed in red and black with engraved vignette. Red dyed edges.

Condition: Spine ends and corners lightly rubbed and bruised. One short tear to upper front joint of vol. 2. Some worming to front cover of vol. 1 and spine of vol. 2. Handwritten numbering on the front flyleaf: No. 359 (vol. 1), No. 360 (vol. 2). A few leaves somewhat browned, the first 80 leaves of vol. 2 somewhat soiled at lower margin.

Notes: Jonathan Richardson‘s Traité de la peinture et de la sculpture, published in Amsterdam in 1728 by Herman Uytwerf, is a major work of 18th-century art theory, translated into French from Richardson’s earlier English writings and revised by the author himself. In three parts (often bound in two volumes), it reflects the collaboration between Jonathan Richardson the Elder (1665–1745), a prominent English portraitist and theorist, and his son, Jonathan Richardson the Younger (1694–1771), with contributions from the Dutch scholars Antoine Rutgers and Lambert Ten Kate. The ‘Traité’ stands out as a foundational text in art theory, combining practical advice, critical methodology and first-hand observation, all underpinned by a vision of art as a noble and communicative pursuit. Its influence extended to later theorists and artists, cementing Richardson’s legacy in the history of Western art discourse.