Novus Atlas Sinensis a Martino Martinio (Allegory of China, Asia)

Descripción

Atlas Maior allegorical frontispiece of Asia, depicting the Great Wall of China. Rare. This example in stunning colour, heightened in gold. "Joan Blaeu was the son and successor of the great globe, instrument, and atlas-maker Willem Janszoon Blaeu. After the death of his father in 1638 Joan expanded the family firm's atlas production considerably. The culmination of their output was the publication of the Atlas Maior (or Grand Atlas) in 1662. In its most complete form the work comprises 11 or 12 parts or volumes and over 600 maps. Earlier atlases from the Blaeu establishment had titlepages centred around an architectural frame. However, for his Grand Atlas, Joan Blaeu broke away from this somewhat formal tradition and introduced a more pictorial composition as a general frontispiece, coupled with a typographic titlepage. There were five further frontispieces for the continental sections: Europe, Africa, America, Asia and Arctica. Examples of Blaeu's main frontispiece were used for all impressions of his Atlas Maior throughout the 1660s. The continental frontispieces, however, are not found in all editions and thus in some cases they are quite rare. For the other major continent described in his Grand Atlas, Asia, Blaeu used a striking new adaptation of a titlepage that had first appeared in 1655 for the maps of China and Japan in Part VI of his Novus Atlas. The Chinese maps were originated by Martino Martini, a Jesuit missionary working in China, and formed the largest part of volume XI of Blaeu's Grand Atlas devoted to Asia. In the lower part of the frontispiece, an open portal is revealed by means of a large door. In the foreground several putti unroll part of a map of China and also cluster around a globe whereon measurements are being made. The upper part of the titlepage is a complex symbolic piece upholding the activities of the Jesuit missionaries in the Far East. Light from a radiant starry emblem of Jesus Christ (IHS) on the left is reflected by a mirror without stain (Speculum Sine Macula) held by a youthful looking Pope (actually, at that time, Alexander VII) and from there transmitted to light a beacon held by a putto atop the central dividing wall. The longer quotation from Isaiah 18.2 uttering from the mouth of the Pope translates as 'Go, swift messengers, to a nation powerful but divided'. Thus the messages of the Gospel are sent out to reach those hitherto in darkness. Additionally within the top picture several putti hold emblems of the Word a crucifix, a book (implicitly the New Testament) and vessels associated with the Eucharist. In an earlier version volume VI of Blaeu's Novus Atlas of 1655 a similar titlepage showed a larger massive arch with a top portico on pillars instead of the heavenly Jesuit scene. The view through the portal is of a different landscape, with a castle on a hill and a fortified town in the distance. The two groups of putti in the foreground are however the same." (Shirley). "Joan Blaeu had designed and engraved for his Atlas Maior a series of five allegorical title pages: a general one for the atlas as a whole, and four for the continents Arctic, Europe, Africa, and America. For Asia a different title page was used, based on the title page of the Atlas Sinensis. The design for these plates was probably by Nicolaes van Berchem (1620-1683) and they were engraved by Cornelis van Dalen, Jeremias Falck, and Johannes Visscher. Except for the general title page, those prints were not used for all atlases. (van der Krogt). "Blaeu's title pages are symbolic or allegoric in form, depicting images either derived from classical antecedents or based in an allusive way on the atlas contents." (van der Krogt) Copperplate engraving and etching. Size of printed area 44.5 x 30.5 cms. Excellent condition. N° de ref. del artículo 18855

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