Zutphen; G. Braun & F. Hogenberg – 1588-1617

Description

Decoratieve cartouches met wapens van Gelre en de stad Zutphen. Legenda in cartouche.

Decorative cartouches with coats of arms of Guelders and the city of Zutphen. Legend in cartouche.

Details

• Type: carthografische prent
• Title: Bolzvardia vetus in Frisia Foederis Anzae teurinicae Op. / Stavria, vulgo Stavere Frisia Op. (..) / Harlinga / Hindelopia. Plate 17
• Publication: 1588-1617
• Technique: kopergravure, oudtijds gekleurd
• Author: George Braun
• Carthographer: Jacob van Deventer e.a.
• Publicer: Gottfried von Kempen e.a.
• Engraver: Frans Hogenberg e.a.
• Publiced in: Civitates Orbis Terrarum ‘Liber quartus Urbium Prae (..}  in Köln
• Size print:  31,6 x 42,0 cm
• Size paper: 41,4 x 53.5 cm
• Verso: Latijnse tekst, 16
• ID: M4970 O
• Source: Koeman II B&H 4 [16] / Taschen p. 291 / Fauser #15993

Condition: A

Zeer goed, gegeven de leeftijd. Middenvouw als uitgegeven, met originele marges, Fris blad met heldere inkleuring. Algemene ouderdomsverschijnselen.

Very good, given age. Center fold as published, with original margins, Nice clean print with bright coloring. General age-related toning and/or occasional minor defects from handling.

Backgrounds

Zutphen

Commentary by George Braun: ‘Zutphen derives its name from the marshes, which are called Vennen by the Low Germans so that it seems the name means southern Venn. It is one of the most elegant towns in the Duchy of Guelders. The latter contains around 22 cities surrounded by walls, of which four are the most elegant, namely Nijmegen, Roermond, Arnhem or, according to Tacitus, Aquilea, Zutphen. If any town in this region is rich in population and commodities, it is doubtless this one, which is well protected by its natural position and fortifications.‘

This is a bird’s-eye view of the town from the south. The moats are fed from the Berken, which flows into the IJssel here. Beside the IJssel are the Old Town and the New Town, surrounded by a medieval city wall, and there is a Renaissance-style defence system with bastions on the eastern side. The town was granted a municipal charter in 1190 and joined the Hanseatic League at the end of the 14th century. It was the capital of the county of the same name, which belonged to the County, later Duchy, of Guelders from the 12th century onwards. The Gothic Sint-Walburgskerk on the ‘s-Gravenhof stands out clearly among the other buildings.

Frans Hogenberg & George Braun

Frans Hogenberg (1535-1590) was een belangrijke Vlaamse etser, carthograaf en uitgever. Hij sympathiseerde met de hervorming en vluchtte van Antwerpen naar Duitsland. In Keulen richtte hij samen met Georg Braun een cartografische drukkerij-uitgeverij op. Georg Braun (1541 – 1622) was redacteur en kanunnik van de Dom van Keulen.

Frans Hogenberg (1535 – 1590) was a Flemish and German painter, engraver, and mapmaker. He was born in Mechelen as the son of Nicolaas Hogenberg. By the end of the 1560’s Frans Hogenberg was employed upon Abraham Ortelius’s Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, published in 1570; he is named as engraver of numerous maps. In 1568 he was bannend from Antwerp by the Duke of Alva and travelled to London, where he stayed a few years before emigrating to Cologne. There he immediately embarked on his two most important works, the Civitates published from 1572 and the Geschichtsblätter, which appeared in several series from 1569 until about 1587.

Georg Braun (1541 – 1622) was born in Cologne in 1541. After his studies in Cologne he entered the Jesuit Order as a novice. In 1561 he obtained his bachelor’s degree and in 1562 his Magister Artium. Although he left the Jesuit Order, he studied theology, gaining a licentiate in theology.

Civitates Orbis Terrarum

Braun en Hogenberg stelden in 1572 het stadsgezichtenboek Civitates Orbis Terrarum samen. Dit boek sloeg aan in Duitsland en raakte later overal bekend. Het zesde en laatste deel verscheen in 1617.  Het is de grootste verzameling plattegronden en illustraties die ooit is verschenen. Het boek is ontstaan tussen 1572 en 1617 en bevat 363 kaarten en stadsgezichten van alle belangrijke steden in Europa en steden in Azië, Afrika en Latijns-Amerika. Ruim honderd kunstenaars en cartografen hebben meegewerkt aan deze atlas, die niet alleen plattegronden van steden laat zien maar ook afbeeldingen van mensen in hun landelijke kleding, schepen en topografische afbeeldingen van stad en land. De atlas was bedoeld als gids voor de in 1570 verschenen wereldatlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum van Abraham Ortelius die inderdaad een aantal bladen voor zijn wereldatlas gebruikt heeft.

The Civitates Orbis Terrarum, or the “Braun & Hogenberg”, is a six-volume town atlas and the greatest book of town views and plans ever published: 363 engravings, sometimes beautifully coloured. It was one of the best-selling works in the last quarter of the 16th century. Georg Braun wrote the text accompanying the plans and views on the verso. A large number of the plates were engraved after the original drawings of Joris Hoefnagel (1542-1600), who was a professional artist. The first volume was published in Latin in 1572, the sixth volume in 1617. Frans Hogenberg created the tables for volumes I through IV, and Simon van den Neuwel created those for volumes V and VI. Other contributors were cartographer Daniel Freese, and Heinrich Rantzau. Works by Jacob van Deventer, Cornelis Antonisz., Sebastian Münster, and Johannes Stumpf were also used. Translations appeared in German and French.

Following the original publication of Volume 1 of the Civitates in 1572, the next volumes appeared in 1575, 1581, 1588, 1598 and 1617. The German translation of the first volume appeared from 1574 on and the French edition from 1575 on.

Several printers were involved: Theodor Graminaeus, Heinrich von Aich, Gottfried von Kempen, Johannis Sinniger, Bertram Buchholtz and Peter von Brachel, who all worked in Cologne.