SANDRART, Jacob von. Kurtze und vermehrte Beschreibung von dem Ursprung, Aufnehmen, Gebiete und Regierung der weltberühmten Republik Venedig..., Nuremberg, Sandrart, 1687.

Jacob von Sandrart (1630-1708) was a German painter and engraver. He started learning the art of printmaking in his uncle’s workshop in Amsterdam, at the age of ten and was professionally active principally in Nuremberg. He married an engraver’s daughter and they had nine children. One of his daughters also became an engraver. Sandrart was a prolific artist, of whom four hundred signed engravings have survived. He was famous for his portraits of eminent citizens of Nuremberg and for his views and maps of cities in Europe and Africa. He was also the first director of the Nuremberg Academy of Fine Arts.

The plates of the present edition show castles and other locations of the Eastern Mediterranean, in their majority under Venetian rule. There is a patent influence of similar popular engravings, dating from the late 15th century (such as those in the work of Bernard von Breydenbach). Several other prints are copies from works by V.M. Coronelli, J. Spon, T. Porcacchi and others. Sandrart's edition forms part of a series of  contemporary publications highlighting Venice's victories in the Sixth Ottoman-Venetian war (1684-1689).

Written by Ioli Vingopoulou