This very rare, large engraving presents a composition with multiples scenes, in which the visual sources span from cartography to poetry, Christian religion and myth. The print is related to the Compendio della selva poetica, distinta in theatri (Compendium of the Poetic Forest, divided in Theatres) by the writer and scholar Giovanni Battista Rinaldi from Caserta, in which the author reviews philosophical interpretations of the myths, dividing them in four sections or 'theatres': Apollo's Theatre, Minerva's Theatre, Neptun's Theatre and the present, Pluto's Theatre. The text tablet at upper centre, to the right of the title, contains a dedication from Rinaldi to Cardinal Sirleto. It is likely that Rinaldi commissioned Cartaro, an engraver and print dealer from Viterbo, to illustrate these four chapters of his work, although it seems that only two engravings were completed. An impression of 'Apollo's Theatre' is in the British Museum, London (inv. no. 1869-4-10-1045).
Of the present subject, we have been able to trace only three examples in public collections: British Museum, London; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; Israel Museum, Jerusalem. They are all impressions of a presumed first state, while the present one from the Scots College collection must be of an undescribed second state, with the added address of Giovanni Giacomo De' Rossi, a publisher active in Rome in the 17th century.
The Pontifical Scots College in Rome (‘Pontificio Collegio Scozzese’) was founded on 5 December 1600 by Pope Clement VIII. In its initial years, the College provided an education for young Scottish Catholic men who, due to the laws against Catholics, could not receive a Catholic education at home. Inspired by St John Ogilvie, the sixteen students studying at the College vowed on 10 March 1616, one year to the day after his martyrdom, to return to Scotland as priests; thus the College became a seminary and has been preparing men for the priesthood and for service in the Church's mission in Scotland ever since.
At first the College was situated in a little house on what is known today as Via del Tritone, opposite the church of Santa Maria in Costantinopoli, but as early as 1604 was transferred to Via Felice, now called Via delle Quattro Fontane, and there it remained until 1962. Two years later, the College moved into purpose-built, modern premises on the outskirts of Rome, on Via Cassia. The building was closed in 2023 and the College is temporarily residing at the Pontifical Beda College.
It was through Dr Alexander Grant, rector of the College from 1846-1878, that a collection of prints came into the College’s possession. A substantial part of the holdings, including many of the most notable works, were sold in the late 1960s. The present selection is being offered for sale to commission a contemporary work of art, once a new and permanent home for the seminary has been found, to commemorate this significant moment in the history of the Scots College in Rome, a history that spans from 1600 to the present day.
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