Sign In

- Or use -
Forgot Password Create Account
This item has been sold, but you can enter your email address to be notified if another example becomes available.
Description

Fine example of the Braun & Hogenberg Plan of Rome, first published in the 1588 edition of the Civitates Orbis Terrarum.

Braun & Hogenberg's view is based upon the work of Pirro. However, the title banner and lower key embellishments are completely revised, the former lacking the strapwork used by Braun & Hogenberg and replaced with a tapestry style fringe, while the lower key is now embellished with images of two nobles.

Rome is shown from the west in a bird's-eye view that was a major achievement in its day. It includes the most important buildings from antiquity, several aqueducts, the Aurelian Wall and large arterial streets. The three figures in Roman garb in the foreground underscore the aim of meticulous reconstruction.

Mont Testaccio is shown on the far side of the Tiber in the lower right-hand edge of the picture, with the Pyramid of Cestius above it to the right. At the center of the illustration the Marcellus Theatre can be identified above the island in the Tiber, with the vast Circus Maximus, used for chariot races, just above it to the right. Above that is the Palatine represented with intricately detailed buildings, an indication of the confusion at the time about how the seat of imperial power actually looked.

To the north the Coliseum flanks the Palatine. In the lower left-hand part of the picture field is the Campus Martius, with the stadium of Domitian at the center, site of the modern Piazza Navona. Slightly higher up is the Pantheon with its monumental dome, looking as it does today. On the lower left edge the two great imperial mausoleums are shown as they would have appeared during the Roman epoch. Above the mausoleum of Augustus and below, at the bend in the river, is that of Hadrian.

In the lower left-hand corner, the Mons Vaticanus with the Circus built by Caligua and a Neronian palace are recognizable outside the city. The baths of Diocletian dominate the northeastern part of the city. The Castra Praetoria, the barracks of the Praetorian Guard, is shown below the city walls in the upper left-hand corner. 

Civitates Orbis Terrarum: The Greatest City Book

Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg began the process of creating a comprehensive atlas of the cities of the world in 1572. Their book, Civitates Orbis Terrarum, was originally intended as a companion to Abraham Ortelius's Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first true atlas.

The great atlas was edited by Georg Braun, with Franz Hogenberg engraving many of the views. When the project was finished, the series would contain over 546 views (sometimes with multiple views on a single plate).

Civitates Orbis Terrarum includes the work of over 100 artists and topographers, perhaps most notable among them was the superlative talent of Joris Hoefnagel (1542-1600). He provided original drawings of Spanish and Italian towns, as well as reworking and improving the town drawings of other artists. After Joris's death, his son Jakob continued the project.

The Civitates provides an incredibly comprehensive view of urban life in the late 16th century. Many of the views in these volumes are the earliest of their respective towns -- either absolutely, or they are predated only by impossible rarities, as in the case of London. Cities portrayed range from the great capitals of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas to small Swiss hamlets and other tiny villages. As such, this singular and indispensable source for understanding the early modern world.

The work was published in six volumes, each of which contained approximately sixty plates. The subject matter of each plate varied widely, it could provide a single view of a city, two views of the same city, or views of up to nine different cities. The range of designs is extensive, and it is interesting to compare the variety between views of the same city by two different authors.

Condition Description
Minor toning.
Reference
Fauser, A. 11932.
Georg Braun Biography

Georg Braun (1541-1622) was born and died in Cologne. His primary vocation was as Catholic cleric; he spent thirty-seven years as canon and dean at the church St. Maria ad Gradus, in Cologne. Braun was the chief editor of the Civitates orbis terrarum, the greatest book of town views ever published.  His job entailed hiring artists, acquiring source material for the maps and views, and writing the text. In this role, he was assisted by Abraham Ortelius. Braun lived into his 80s, and he was the only member of the original team to witness the publication of the sixth volume in 1617.

Frans Hogenberg Biography

Frans Hogenberg (ca. 1540-ca. 1590) was a Flemish and German engraver and mapmaker who also painted. He was born in Mechelen, south of Antwerp, the son of wood engraver and etcher Nicolas Hogenberg. Together with his father, brother (Remigius), uncle, and cousins, Frans was one member of a prominent artistic family in the Netherlands.

During the 1550s, Frans worked in Antwerp with the famous mapmaker Abraham Ortelius. There, he engraved the maps for Ortelius’ groundbreaking first atlas, published in Antwerp in 1570, along with Johannes van Deotecum and Ambrosius and Ferdinand Arsenius. It is suspected he engraved the title page as well. Later, Ortelius supported Hogenberg with information for a different project, the Civitates orbis terrarium (edited by Georg Braun, engraved by Hogenberg, published in six volumes, Cologne, 1572-1617). Hogenberg engraved the majority of the work’s 546 prospects and views.

It is possible that Frans spent some time in England while fleeing from religious persecution, but he was living and working in Cologne by 1580. That is the city where he died around 1590. In addition to his maps, he is known for his historical allegories and portraits. His brother, Remigius, also went on to some fame as an engraver, and he died around the same time as his brother.