Antwerp (Antwerpen) by C. Merian. 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 in 1618, he married 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. 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, initially started by de Bry in 1590. Matthäus Merian died after in 1650 in Bad Schwalbach near Wiesbaden.
Printed from two plates, joint as published.
Item Number: 20256 Authenticity Guarantee
Category: Antique maps > Europe > Belgium - Cities
Old, antique view of Antwerp by C. Merian.
Date of the first edition: 1659
Date of this map: 1659
Copper engraving
Size: 12.5 x 53cm (4.9 x 20.7 inches)
Verso: Blank
Condition: Printed from two plates, joint as published.
Condition Rating: A
From: 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 in 1618, he married 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. 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, initially started by de Bry in 1590. Matthäus Merian died after in 1650 in Bad Schwalbach near Wiesbaden.