Venetia

Beautiful example of Braun and Hogenberg's view of Venice, possibly the most famous and enduring cartographic image of the city. Rich original hand colour.

One of the most recognisable and iconic antique maps of Venice.

Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg's "Civitates Orbis Terrarum” was the first printed atlas dedicated to maps of the cities of the world. It was an extraordinarily ambitious project, ultimately running to six volumes published between 1572 and 1617. The source material for these iconic images was varied. Many were commissioned by Braun from an artist named Joris (George) Hoefnagel, who not only provided a collection of city images and plans himself, but also commissioned several from third parties. Other sources included the smaller travel encyclopaedias produced by Sebastian Munster, Antoine du Pinet, and Ludovico Guicciardini. Yet another source is the work of earlier artists found in the great libraries of the age, such as that of the Vatican. There were also more serendipitous sources, such as the cartography for the famous map of London, the earliest printed map of the city to survive to the modern day. Heinrich Sudermann, the powerful head of the Hanseatic League, had specially commissioned a fifteen foot wall map depicting London in the Tudor period to curry favour with Queen Mary I in the hope of extending the Hanse's trading privileges. Suderman was Braun’s main patron. Ultimately, the whole atlas was a multi-generational project which later involved Hoefnagel’s son, Jacob. Georg Braun, the instigator, inspiration and main editor was the only person from the original group of creators to see the publication of volume VI of the work in 1617. He died in 1622, aged 81.

The source for this magnificent map of Venice is attributed to the artist Domenico della Greche. Domenico is usually associated as a wood engraver specialising particularly in Titian’s images. However, he also produced a painting of Venice for Sebastian Munster’s “Cosmographia”, which was used as an inspiration for the image of the city in the "Civitates Orbis Terrarum."

The inset of the Doge’s procession on the lower centre is taken from a painting by Matthew Pagano and the vast key on the lower margin locates 153 places of note throughout the city.

This plate seems to have remained unchanged throughout the publishing life of the work.

Rich original hand colour.