Brussel - Bruxelles by Matthäus Merian & Martin Zeiller. 1659
Matthäus Merian the Elder (1593-1650)
Matthäus Merian, the leading German illustrator of the 17th century, was born in Basel in 1593. He learned the art of copperplate engraving in Zurich and subsequently worked and studied in Strasbourg, Nancy, Paris, and the Low Countries. In 1618 he went to Frankfurt, wherein 1618 he marries the eldest daughter of J.T. de Bry, publisher and engraver. After de Bry died in 1623, he took over his business. De Bry’s business remained in Merian’s family until 1726 when a fire destroyed it. In 1635 he began the series Theatrum Europaeum, and between 1642 and 1688 he published Martin Zeiller’s Topographia Germaniae, with more than 2,000 plates etched and engraved by himself and his sons Matthäus and Caspar. He also took over and completed the later parts and editions of the Grand Voyages and Petits Voyages originally started by de Bry in 1590. Matthäus Merian died after in 1650 in Bad Schwalbach near Wiesbaden.
Brüssel.
Item Number: 27410 Authenticity Guarantee
Category: Antique maps > Europe > Belgium - Cities
Old, antique bird’s-eye view of Brussels (Brussel - Bruxelles) by Matthäus Merian & Martin Zeiller.
Title: Brüssel.
Date of the first edition: 1659.
Date of this map: 1659.
Copper engraving, printed on paper.
Size (not including margins): 150 x 535mm (5.91 x 21.06 inches).
Verso: Blank.
Condition: Folds as issued, excellent.
Condition Rating: A+.
From: M. Merian & M. Zeiller, Topographia Germaniae Inferioris. Frankfurt, 1659.
Matthäus Merian the Elder (1593-1650)
Matthäus Merian, the leading German illustrator of the 17th century, was born in Basel in 1593. He learned the art of copperplate engraving in Zurich and subsequently worked and studied in Strasbourg, Nancy, Paris, and the Low Countries. In 1618 he went to Frankfurt, wherein 1618 he marries the eldest daughter of J.T. de Bry, publisher and engraver. After de Bry died in 1623, he took over his business. De Bry’s business remained in Merian’s family until 1726 when a fire destroyed it. In 1635 he began the series Theatrum Europaeum, and between 1642 and 1688 he published Martin Zeiller’s Topographia Germaniae, with more than 2,000 plates etched and engraved by himself and his sons Matthäus and Caspar. He also took over and completed the later parts and editions of the Grand Voyages and Petits Voyages originally started by de Bry in 1590. Matthäus Merian died after in 1650 in Bad Schwalbach near Wiesbaden.