Thirty Years War (1618-48)
Maps, prints and letterpress text covering the major battles and sieges of the war
The siege of Susa, 1629 (Susa, Piedmont, Italy) 45°08ʹ12ʺN 07°03ʹ29ʺE
c.1629Etching and engraving; printed from two copperplates on two sheets of paper, then joined; mounted on paper (remains of type B mount) | 50.1 x 75.6 cm (image and sheet) | RCIN 722040
A view of the town and citadel of Susa, taken by the army of Louis XIII in March 1629. War of the Mantuan Succession (1628-1631); part of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). Oriented with east to top.
The pass of Susa, shown in this view, was directly on Louis XIII's route to Italy where he intended to bring relief to the town of Casal which was being besieged by the Spanish. The town of Susa, which stands at the confluence of the Cenischia and Dora Riparia rivers, was protected by barricades, shown here, which were forced by the French on 6 March 1629. The towns and villages along the Dora Riparia are named all the way to its confluence with the Po, at Turin. The boundary between France and Piedmont is shown by a dashed line.
An example of this print is in the Bibliothèque nationale de France but lacks the date in the title and is attributed, in the catalogue entry, to the engraver Abraham Bosse (1602-1676) after a design by the engineer, Jean de Beins (1577-1651). Beins's technique of using a valley as the framework for his images is seen to good effect in this view.
After? Jean de Beins (1577-1651) (draughtsman)
Abraham Bosse? (1604-76) (engraver)
Melchior Tavernier (1594-1665) (publisher) [bottom right, at bottom of text panel:] A Paris, Chez Melchior Tauernier, Graueur et Im: / primeur du Roy pour les Taille douces demeurant dans / lisle du Palais sur le quay qui regard la Megiscerie.
Subject(s)
Army-FranceArmy-SpainArmy-ItalyWatermark: The letters A G, separated by a lozenge in a small rectangular panel, with a fleur-de-lys above; bunch of grapes
Condition: two fold lines; some brown discolouration; some pressure marks. Remains of mount on verso
50.1 x 75.6 cm (image and sheet)
Printed title:
Carte particuliere des Baricades / de SUZE Jaillon le Gouret et par / sages des enuirons dicelles ou se voit / clairement lasiette du pais lordre et ataque / desditte Baricades fait par sa Majesté tres / Crestienne Louys 13. Roy de France et de Na= / varre, le 6 de Mars en len 1629. [bottom left, in rectangular sloping panel]
Additional text:
[bottom left, following on from title, in title panel, a description of the pass, barricades and the movements of regiments. Text begins:] Le pas de Suze gardé par les Espagnolz et Italiens / et forces a la droitte par les gardes et mousquetaires / et a la gauche par Nauarre … [bottom right, in a cartouche resembling a picture frame, a note on the barricades and the river. Text begins:] Il est a noter que toutes les susdittes barica = / des sont sy reserree entre les montaignes …
Annotations:
George III heading: Suza 6 March 1629.
Other annotations: (Recto) the dates in the title: ‘6’ and ‘Mars’ have been added in black pencil. (Verso) [left of centre, red pencil, indistinct:] 1/[161?]; [left of centre, black pencil, erased:] II/[?].
George III catalogue entry:
Suza Carte particuliere des Baricades de Suze, Jaillon, le Gouret et Paisages des Environs d’icelles, ou se voit la siette du pais, l’ordre et Attaque des dites Baricades fait par S.M. Louis XIII, le 6 de Mars 1629: chez Tavernier. 2 feuilles.
Subject(s)
Susa, Piedmont, Italy (45°08ʹ12ʺN 07°03ʹ29ʺE)
Bibliographic reference(s)
F. de Dainville, Le Dauphiné et ses confins vus par l'ingénieur d'Henri IV, Jean de Bains, Geneva, 1968
M. McDonald, The Print Collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo. Part II, Architecture, Topography and Military Maps, 3 vols, London 2019, cat. no. 2883
Page revisions
23 May 2024
Current version
