Willem Janszoon Blaeu - History Lab https://historylab.es Tue, 10 Jan 2023 17:10:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://historylab.es/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-icono-historylab-32x32.jpg Willem Janszoon Blaeu - History Lab https://historylab.es 32 32 The Terrestrial globes in the 17th century https://historylab.es/the-terrestrial-globes-in-the-17th-century/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-terrestrial-globes-in-the-17th-century Thu, 01 Dec 2022 12:41:33 +0000 https://historylab.es/the-terrestrial-globes-in-the-17th-century/ Terrestrial globes by Willem Janszoon, updated to the geographical discoveries of the 17th century

The post The Terrestrial globes in the 17th century first appeared on History Lab.

]]> Explorations and geographical discoveries gave an extraordinary impulse to cartographic study, so that during the 16th and 17th centuries the production of globes together with that of maps and nautical charts became an activity of recognised prestige. This was a high quality scientific craft, based on mathematical, geographical and astronomical knowledge, which had to be constantly updated with respect to new discoveries, on pain of a loss of credibility and prestige for the commercial enterprise and its products. Expression of this activity is certainly Willem Janszoon Blaeu, promoter of an authoritative cartographic laboratory, active for over fifty years thanks also to his sons Joan and Cornelis. He was the author of many large-scale terrestrial and celestial globes, now present in Europe’s most prestigious collections: the one made around 1654 and conserved in the Vatican Museums already shows the lands of Australia, the western and northern coasts of Australia are more detailed, and New Zealand, still little known, is more sketchy. Peculiar is the representation of California as an island. The geographical indications referring to the ancient world are in Latin, in other languages the new discoveries and cities.

The post The Terrestrial globes in the 17th century first appeared on History Lab.

]]> The modern atlases in the 17th century https://historylab.es/the-modern-atlases-in-the-17th-century/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-modern-atlases-in-the-17th-century Thu, 01 Dec 2022 12:41:33 +0000 https://historylab.es/the-modern-atlases-in-the-17th-century/ The Atlas Maior by Willem Janszoon and Joan Blaeu, updated to the geographical discoveries of the 17th century

The post The modern atlases in the 17th century first appeared on History Lab.

]]> The great cartographers, engravers and publishers of globes and maps of the 17th century were Dutch, starting with Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638), who started an extraordinarily successful family business. In 1635, Willelm, who was also the official cartographer of the East India Company – the powerful VOC (Vereenigde Oost-Indische compagnie) that dominated the trade and ‘culture’ of exploration voyages to the East – initiated the publication of the Atlas Novus, an atlas inspired by Ortelius’ updated Theatrum Orbis Terrarum; his son Joan (1596-1673) continued the enterprise with the Atlas Maior, a grandiose work, equally scientific and popular, in 11 volumes and 594 maps, published between 1662 and 1665. The table with the two hemispheres, included in the first volume, shows the north coast of Australia, Hollandia Nova, and the west coast of Zeelandia Nova, New Zealand, the result of explorations by the Dutchman Abel Tasman. This information was already present in a world map made by Willelm in 1654, now in the Vatican Museums.

The post The modern atlases in the 17th century first appeared on History Lab.

]]>