Kalkar – Calcaria Ducatus Clivensis.. ; G. Braun & F. Hogenberg – 1575-1617

Description

Details

• Type: carthographic print
• Title: Calcaria Ducatus Clivensis, Multis Dotibus, Nobile Opp:
• Publication: 1575-1617
• Technique: copper engraving, with contemporary coloring
• Carthographer: –
• Engraver: Frans Hogenberg e.a.
• Publiced in: Civitates Orbis Terrarum.. Liber Secundus door Frans Hogenberg en George Braun in Köln
• Printer: Gottfried von Kempen, Bertram Buchholtz, Theodor Graminaeus e.a.
• Size print:  32.5 x 47.5 cm. (12.8 x 18.7 inches)
• Size paper: 40.6 x 53.0 cm (16.0 x 20.9 inches)
• Verso: Latin text
• ID: M0320G
• Source: Koeman II B&H 2 [35]/ Taschen p. 166 / Fauser #9804

Condition: A+

Hervorragend, dem Alter entsprechend. Mittelfalz wie ausgegeben mit breiten Rändern. Schöne Färbung. Altersbedingte Tonung und/oder vereinzelte kleinere Mängel durch Handhabung.

Excellent, given age. Center fold as issued with wide margins. Beautiful coloring. Age-related toning and/or occasional minor defects from handling. 

Kalkar

Translation of the title: ‘Kalkar, a town in the Duchy of Cleves, well known for its many excellent qualities.’

This bird’s-eye view shows the city of Kalkar and its surroundings from the east. The magnificent gate in the middle of the plate is known as the Hanselaer gate. On the left-hand edge of the map can be seen Monterberg castle, one of the most important residences of the Counts of Cleves. In this plate the town hall stands out clearly, as well as the late Gothic church of St Nicholas, which was consecrated in 1450. On the marketplace stands the so-called court linden tree. North of the marketplace a caption indicates the Beguinage. Kalkar was granted a municipal charter in 1242 and in the 14th century it concluded an agreement with Goch and Emmerich in respect of cloth production and wool processing. From 1540 to 1572 Kalkar was a Hanseatic city with a population of about 5,000, but this prosperity came to an end in 1598 due to the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish.

Commentary by George Braun: ‘Kalkar was once built on an island in the Rhine by the Count of Cleves, as a defence against Cologne and Guelders, with whom the burghers of Cleves were constantly at war at that time. But now it is a breadbasket for all the surrounding villages and towns, for each week the outlying farmers bring their corn and grain to market here. Kalkar is in a very favourable location, because the grain can be brought here on the Rhine in great ships. Kalkar has a good reputation for this reason, and its privileges also make it one of the most distinguished towns in the Duchy of Cleves.’

Frans Hogenberg & George Braun

Frans Hogenberg (1535-1590) was een belangrijke Vlaamse carthograaf. 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 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, 1596 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.