MERIAN (Matthäus sr.).
Forum Vulcani vocavit antiquitas locum in agro Puteolano quem hodie vulgo la Solfatara appellant.
Matthäus Merian sr. (the elder; 1593-1630) was born in Switzerland but eventually settled in Frankfurt; he was trained as an engraver. He married Maria Magdalena de Bry, daughter Johann Theodore de Bry and grand-daughter of Theodore de Bry, both highly influential publishers of travel and other illustrated books. In 1623 Merian took control of the business, taking it to new heights. He continued to publish editions of Theodore de Bry’s Grand Voyages and Petits Voyages, first issued in 1590, but Merian was also famous for his Topographia, a multi-volume series describing the regions of Germany, richly illustrated with town plans and views, as well as maps, and his small folio world atlases, containing maps and views of all parts of the world.
This is an attractive view of Solfatara volcanic crater in the Phlegraean Fields at Pozzuoli, near Naples, the mythological home of the god Vulcan.
