Paesi Bassi / Francia - Gravelines / Gravelinga; Braun - Hogenberg - GRAVELINGA, VRBS MARITIMA, OLIM PORTV AMPLISSIMO FAMOSA - 1601-1620

Splendid 16th/17th-century perspective view of the fortified city of Gravelines, engraved on copper by Braun and Hogenberg and masterfully hand-colored in watercolor.

This fascinating and historically significant bird’s-eye view of the coastal city of Gravelines, titled in the cartouche “Gravelinga, Urbs Maritima, Olim Portu Amplissimo Famosa,” is the work of the celebrated and successful collaboration between publisher Georg Braun (1541–1622) and engraver Frans Hogenberg (1535–1590). Printed in Cologne between the late 16th and early 17th centuries, this superb copper engraving originally formed part of the monumental Civitates Orbis Terrarum, the first major atlas devoted entirely to plans and views of the most important cities in the known world.
The composition depicts the layout of Gravelines admirably. The city occupies a highly strategic position at the mouth of the River Aa, then part of the County of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands and now in French territory. The topography is rendered with exceptional accuracy and captures a crucial stage in the development of military architecture, showing the imposing bastioned walls surrounded by broad water-filled moats, the inner canals, and the orderly arrangement of civic and religious buildings and military garrisons. Lively anecdotal details add considerable charm to the work: in the lower right corner, two armored knights are shown jousting on horseback, while cattle graze just above them and tiny figures and boats sailing along the outer canals can be seen. In the lower left, an elegant Renaissance grotesque-mask cartouche frames the title, while the city’s old Flemish name, Grevelinge, appears at the top of the print.
The print is in excellent overall condition. Printed on sturdy period paper, it boasts a refined, richly applied hand watercolor coloring that beautifully highlights the building outlines, fortifications, waterways, and lively scenes. The sheet has the customary central publisher’s fold, resulting from its original placement in the volume, and has sound, clean margins. The usual printed descriptive text appears on the reverse, a key feature attesting to its authenticity and its place among the atlas’s early historical editions.

Dimensions 33 x 41 cm
It will be shipped by courier.