Novara by Braun and Hogenberg. c. 1625
Braun G. & Hogenberg F. and the Civitates Orbis Terrarum.
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, and the sixth 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 cartographers Daniel Freese and Heinrich Rantzau. Works by Jacob van Deventer, 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, seven further editions of 1575, 1577, 1582, 1588, 1593, 1599 and 1612 can be identified. Vol.2, first issued in 1575, was followed by further editions in 1597 and in 1612. The next volumes appeared in 1581, 1588, 1593, 1599 and 1606. 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.
Georg Braun (1541-1622)
Georg Braun 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.
Frans Hogenberg (1535-1590)
Frans Hogenberg 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 1560s, Frans Hogenberg was employed upon Abraham Ortelius's Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, published in 1570; he is named an engraver of numerous maps. In 1568 he was banned from Antwerp by the Duke of Alva and travelled to London, where he stayed a few years before emigrating to Cologne. He immediately embarked on his two most important works, the Civitates, published in 1572 and the Geschichtsblätter, which appeared in several series from 1569 until about 1587.
Thanks to large-scale projects like the Geschichtsblätter and the Civitates, Hogenberg's social circumstances improved with each passing year. He died as a wealthy man in Cologne in 1590.
Novara Mediolanensis Ducatus Civitas
Item Number: 24530 Authenticity Guarantee
Category:
Antique maps > Europe > Italy - Cities
References: Van der Krogt 4 - 3111; Taschen (Br. Hog.) - p.484
Antique map - bird's-eye view of Novara by Braun and Hogenberg.
CAPTION: Novara, city in the Duchy of Milan.
TRANSLATION OF CARTOUCHE TEXT: When this city was besieged by King Louis of France in 1513, the garrison consisting of Swiss soldiers made a sortie and invaded the French camp. They killed 12,000 soldiers, took 25,000 prisoners and captured all heavy weapons and war machines. In this way they forced the French to end the siege. Procured by Georg Hoefnagel.
COMMENTARY BY BRAUN (on verso): "This city lies in Lombardy, called Insubria in Latin, but now commonly known as the Duchy of Milan, and is located on the border with Piedmont. [...] It was always ruled by the princes of Milan, first the Turriani, then the Visconti, then the Sforza, and also the kings of France, and has always been loyal to Milan, the capital."
This bird's-eye view from the east shows the narrowly enclosed city in a densely populated landscape, with Pavia (B) and Milan (A) shown in the background. Parts of the city wall has been damaged and the moat has been dug but not completed - a reference to the armed conflicts in which the city was involved at the beginning of the 16th century, when King Louis XII of France claimed Milan from Duke Ludovica Sforza and laid siege to Novara. Swiss troops helped the duke to victory in 1513. Clearly visible in the castle, originally a Roman fortress that was rebuilt under Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza in 1468. In the 7th century the Roman city was the centre of a Lombardian duchy and in the 9th century of a French county. In 1167 it joined the Lombard League, and accepted the protection of Milan at the end of the 12th century. (Taschen)
Date of the first edition: 1617
Date of this map: c. 1625
Copper engraving
Size: 32.5 x 47.5cm (12.7 x 18.5 inches)
Verso text: French
Condition: Old coloured.
Condition Rating: A
References: Van der Krogt 4, 3111; Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p.484.
From: Théatre des Principales Villes de tout l'Univers Vol. VI. c. 1625. (Van der Krogt 4, 41:3.6)
Braun G. & Hogenberg F. and the Civitates Orbis Terrarum.
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, and the sixth 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 cartographers Daniel Freese and Heinrich Rantzau. Works by Jacob van Deventer, 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, seven further editions of 1575, 1577, 1582, 1588, 1593, 1599 and 1612 can be identified. Vol.2, first issued in 1575, was followed by further editions in 1597 and in 1612. The next volumes appeared in 1581, 1588, 1593, 1599 and 1606. 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.
Georg Braun (1541-1622)
Georg Braun 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.
Frans Hogenberg (1535-1590)
Frans Hogenberg 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 1560s, Frans Hogenberg was employed upon Abraham Ortelius's Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, published in 1570; he is named an engraver of numerous maps. In 1568 he was banned from Antwerp by the Duke of Alva and travelled to London, where he stayed a few years before emigrating to Cologne. He immediately embarked on his two most important works, the Civitates, published in 1572 and the Geschichtsblätter, which appeared in several series from 1569 until about 1587.
Thanks to large-scale projects like the Geschichtsblätter and the Civitates, Hogenberg's social circumstances improved with each passing year. He died as a wealthy man in Cologne in 1590.