PLACE DES VOSGES PARIS FRANCE 1655 MERIAN UNUSUAL ANTIQUE COPPER ENGRAVED VIEW

Description: Striking and highly detailed interesting unusual 1655 Matthäus Merian's copper engraved bird's-eye view of the Place des Vosges, oldest planned square in Paris, France. The view shows a square, symmetrical buildings and an equestrian statue in the center.  

Composition and Medium:
 
The work is executed as an engraving, a common medium in the 17th century for producing detailed images. Engravings involve incising a design onto a hard surface, often a metal plate, from which the image is then printed. This technique allows for intricate detail and was widely used for book illustrations and maps during this period.

Style and Subject Matter:

The engraving depicts a panoramic view of the Place Royale, now known as Place des Vosges, in Paris, France. This square is one of the oldest planned squares in Paris and was a model of residential urban planning at the time. The image captures the uniform architecture of the surrounding buildings, characterized by their symmetrical facades, pitched roofs, and regular windows.

The style is typical of the period, focusing on geometric precision and clarity to convey architectural details accurately. The depiction includes elements such as people walking and engaging in activities, providing a sense of scale and everyday life in 17th-century Paris.

Notable Features:

- Landmarks and Architecture: The buildings surrounding the square are depicted in a uniform style, reflecting the early Baroque architecture of the time. The central statue, which historically would have been an equestrian statue of Louis XIII, is also a focal point.

- Inscriptions: The title "Prosp. des Platz Royal. Prosp. Campi Regy." is inscribed above the image, providing a bilingual label in French and Latin. This reflects the scholarly and international nature of the publication.

- Coat of Arms: Above the title, a coat of arms is prominently displayed, which may represent a governmental or royal insignia, emphasizing the importance of the location depicted.
 
Publication Context:

This work is part of the "Topographia Galliae," a national atlas that includes 325 maps and views, published shortly after Merian's death. It forms part of a broader effort to document the geographical and urban landscape of France comprehensively. The atlas was printed in several languages, indicating its wide appeal and importance as a reference work for scholars and travelers of the time.

Source: ZEILLER, Martin. Topographia Galliæ ive descriptio et delineatio famosissimorum locorum in potentissimo regno Galliae, partim ex usu & optimis scriptoribus diversarum linguarum, partim ex relationibus fide dignis per aliquot annos collectis, in ordinem redacta, & publico data, per Martinum Zeillerum. Francofurti: Cura & impendio Caspari Meriani Anno M. DC. LV.

Date: 1655 ( undated )

Dimension: Plate size approx.: cm 35,3 x 32

Condition: Very strong and dark impression on good paper. Paper with chains. Map uncolored. Wide margins. Small foxing and browning. Sheet folded. Conditions are as you can see in the images.

Mapmakers: Matthäus Merian (September 22, 1593 - June 19, 1650), sometimes referred to as 'the Elder' to distinguish from his son, was an important Swiss engraver and cartographer active in the early to mid 17th century. Merian was born in Basel and studied engraving in the centers of Zurich, Strasbourg, Nancy and Paris. In time Merian was drawn to the publishing mecca of Frankfurt, where he met Johann Theodor de Bry, son of the famed publisher Theodor de Bry (1528 - 1598) . Merian and De Bry produced a number of important joint works and, in 1617, Merian married De Bry's daughter Maria Magdalena. In 1623 De Bry died and Merian inherited the family firm. Merian continued to publish under the De Bry's name until 1626. Around this time, Merian became a citizen of Frankfurt as such could legally work as an independent publisher. The De Bry name is therefore dropped from all of Merian's subsequent work. Of this corpus, which is substantial, Merian is best known for his finely engraved and highly detailed town plans and city views. Merian is considered one of the grand masters of the city view and a pioneer of the axonometric projection. Merian died in 1650 following several years of illness. He was succeeded in the publishing business by his two sons, Matthäus (1621 - 1687) and Caspar (1627 - 1686), who published his great works, the Topographia and Theatrum Eruopeaum, under the designation Merian Erben (Merian Heirs). Merian daughter, Anna Maria Sibylla Merian, became an important naturalist and illustrator. Today the German Travel Magazine Merian is named after the famous engraver.

Caspar Merian (Frankfurt am Main, February 13, 1627 – Walta-state in Wieuwerd (Friesland), April 12, 1686) was one of the most important topographical engravers and publishers of the Baroque period. He came from the Frankfurt-based branch of the Basel Merian family.
 
Merian was the son and pupil of the engraver Matthaeus Merian the Elder (1593–1650) and his wife Maria Magdalena-de Bry. As an associate of his father, he worked temporarily in Paris and Nuremberg. After his father's death, he managed the Frankfurt publishing house together with his brother Matthäus Jr. which resulted in the continued publication of important works initiated by their father, the Topographia Germaniae Inferiors vel Circuli Burgundici das ist beschreibung und abbildung der Furnembsten Orter in den Niderlandischen XVII Provincien oder Burgundischen Kranse Frankfurt am Mann beij Caspar Merian and the Theatrum Europaeum, being able to be produced.
 
Of the Topographia Germaniae Inferiors etc., a total of 30 volumes were published containing 2,142 perspective images and simple plans (mostly without street layouts) and 92 maps. A reproduction edition of the Netherlands and Belgium was published in 1964 by Bärenreiter Verlag in Kassel and Basel with an afterword by Berndt van 't Hoff.
 
Merian retired to Wertheim in 1672 on medical advice. In 1677 he moved to Friesland and joined the radical Protestant sect of the Labadists, where he lived until his death. In 1685, he provided shelter at his castle Walta-state to his half-sister, the artist Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717), her mother, Johanna Sibylla Catharina, and his half-sister's two daughters.
 
Martin Zeiler (also Zeiller, born 17 April 1589 in Ranten, died 6 October 1661 in Ulm) was a Baroque era German author.
 
Zeiler's father was an exile from Upper Styria, forced to emigrate due to his protestant confession. Zeiler was schooled in Ulm, moving to Wittenberg in 1608 to study jurisprudence and history. He worked several jobs as private teacher and notary. He lived in Ulm from 1629, working as teacher and inspector at local schools.
 
Zeiler was very productive as an author, meeting the template of the Baroque polyhistor. The Ulm city library lists 90 works authored by Zeiler. His productivity was recognized by his contemporaries; Georg Philipp Harsdörffer mentions Herrn Zeillers proverbial industriousness in one of his poems. Zeiler is best known for his contribution to Matthäus Merian's Topographia Germaniae (16 vol., 1642–1654).