Mythical Home of the God Vulcan
Decorative view of the Solfatara volcanic crater in the Phlegraean Fields at Pozzuoli, near Naples, the mythological home of the god Vulcan.
The man three men with horses in the foreground, two more are seated to right reading.
An attractive early image of Campi Flegrei after an image by Sandrart.
Mathaus Merian (1593-1650) was the father of engraver Matthäus the Younger, and of the painter, engraver, and naturalist Maria Sibylla Merian. He was born in Basel, Switzerland and trained in engraving in Zurich. After a time in Nancy, Paris and Strasbourg, he settled in Frankfurt. While there, he worked for Johann Theodor de Bry, the publisher and son of the travel writer. In 1617, he married Maria Magdalena de Bry, Johann Theodor’s daughter. In 1623, Merian took over the de Bry publishing house upon the death of his father-in-law. Merian’s best known works are detailed town views which, due to their accuracy and artistry, form a valuable record of European urban life in the first half of the sixteenth century