Parte Occidentale Dell Europa/Parte Orientale dell' Europa

Coronelli's two-sheet map of Europe appeared in his Atlas, the "Atlante Veneto" a vast work of some thirteen parts, published in three volumes and conceived as a continuation of Blaeu's Atlas Major. It was published between 1691-6.



Coronelli entered the seminary at age thirteen and became a member of the Franciscans. He must have been a gifted scholar as at age 28, he was commissioned by the Duke of Parma to build two globes in 1678. These in turn brought him to the attention of the Cardinal d'Estrées, who summoned him to Paris and commissioned him to build two globes for Louis XIV. These became the famous "Marly Globes". In 1681, Coronelli was made Royal Geographer and gained access to French archives; he collaborated with the French publisher, Jean Baptiste Nolin to great success before moving back to Venice where he began his great project, the "Atlante". His scholarship, access, connections and artistic flair ensured that his maps are of both extremely accurate and highly attractive.



His map of Europe is a case in point. Issued in two sheets, it is divided into east and west halves. Due to the problems inherent in the measuring of longitude, the map has been 'stretched' east and west to account for the size of the Mediterranean. Therefore, the easternmost part of the map is shows the Caspian Sea while the west has the Iberian Peninsula parallel to the east coast of America.



Geographically, Coronelli steers clear of geo-politics. The map is black and white and does not emphasize national boundaries although they are marked in the form of thin dotted lines. Coronelli also uses the technique of projecting coastal names onto the sea, thus giving an impression of a vast array of information; this is particularly the case on the Atlantic coasts of France, Portugal and Spain which is then continued into the Mediterranean and the same technique is used until the Adriatic coast. The names become far sparser further east, almost certainly due to the political situation with the Ottoman Empire during this period. The Atlas was being published during the Great Turkish War of 1683-99.



In the north, a vast island is shown above Russia; Nova Zembla has again been stretched although the exact geography and nature of its eastern coast has been left unconfirmed; Coronelli does add a text panel detailing its discovery by Willem Barentz in his expedition of 1594-6. The map is based on the information brought back from that expedition. In the same northern latitudes, Coronelli shows Jan Mayen island with a note stating its discovery in 1614, the Faroe islands shown very close to the Shetland islands with Iceland very close by. All of these islands in turn are very close to the North American mainland. Of particular note is the inclusion on the far west of the map of the mythical island of Friesland; this large phantom island appeared regularly on early maps of Europe but Coronelli draws it in a dotted line, with a text panel stating that this supposed island was discovered by the Venetian Nicolo Zeno but its existence is in doubt.



Corenelli's maps are particularly renowned for their artistry. In this case, there are two large cartouches on the lower right and upper left and there is a charming whaling scene northwest of Scandinavia, a reminder of the importance of this industry to the region of northern Europe. The engraving of the whole map is strong and of a particular style. It is a compliment that, as with many of the great Dutch masters, Coronelli's maps are stylistically instantly recognisable.


This example offered for sale is one map on two sheets joined. [EUR1304] (BC)