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

Splendid prospectus of the XVI/XVII century of the fortified city of Gravelines in the Spanish Netherlands, copper-engraved by Braun and Hogenberg, from the rare edition with Italian text on the back and preserved in an excellent original inking.

This fascinating and historically important aerial view of the coastal city of Gravelines is a famous work born from the collaboration between the publisher Georg Braun and the engraver Frans Hogenberg. The specimen boasts extraordinary collectible interest and documented editorial rarity thanks to the reverse of the sheet, which bears the original historical-descriptive text printed in ancient Italian, with the characteristic typographic marks and the ornamental silographic engravings. This detail certifies the sheet's absolute belonging to the sought-after printings of the Teatro delle Città del Mondo printed in Antwerp between the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries for the great collectors and the nobles of the Italian peninsula.

The visual composition admirably describes the structure of Gravelines, settlement at the mouth of the Aa River which held fundamental strategic and military importance within the County of Flanders, right at the border of the Spanish Netherlands. The topography is delineated with exceptional geometric rigor and documents the first major phase of Renaissance fortification architecture, showing the mighty polygonal rampart surrounded by broad water-filled ditches, the inner canals and the layout of the river port. The scene is animated by anecdotal details that lend great charm to the whole: at the bottom right there is a depiction of a clash or carousel show between two mounted knights in armor, while along the pastures and outer canals are visible tiny human figures, heads of cattle, and ships in navigation. The specimen presents in excellent general condition, printed on sturdy contemporary paper with watermark, with a clear, deep inking free of foxing, retaining its broad original margins intact on all four sides.

Dimensions 33 x 38 cm
It will be shipped by courier