Lotto 112 | Braun & Hogenberg, "Bird's-Eye View of Moscow"

Lot-Art Auctions - Prins Hendrikkade 104A, 1011AJ Amsterdam

Braun & Hogenberg, "Bird's-Eye View of Moscow"

Braun & Hogenberg, "Bird's-Eye View of Moscow"
"Moscova Urbs Metropolis Totius Russiae Albae". Period: 1617 (circa). Publication: Civitatus Orbis Theatrum, Vol. VI Old Hand Coloring. Size: 18.1 x 13.7 inches (46 x 35 cm). Braun & Hogenberg's Civitates Orbis Terrarum or "Cities of the World" was published between 1572 and 1617. Within the six volumes, 531 towns and cities were depicted on 363 plates, providing the reader with the pleasures of travel without the attendant discomforts. Braun wrote in the preface to the third book, "What could be more pleasant than, in one's own home far from all danger, to gaze in these books at the universal form of the earth . . . adorned with the splendor of cities and fortresses and, by looking at pictures and reading the texts accompanying them, to acquire knowledge which could scarcely be had but by long and difficult journeys?" Braun and Hogenberg incorporated an astonishing wealth of information into each scene beyond the city layout and important buildings. This bird's-eye view of Moscow is Braun & Hogenberg's second plan of the then capital city of Russia. It is shown from the northeast with the Moskva River curving through the city. The fortified Kremlin is at the core of the city with the river forming a protective moat to supplement the original city walls. A second wall built in 1534-38 encloses the Kitaigorod, or the trader's quarter, with the suburbs, called Bielgorod, enclosed in a third tower studded wall. The major buildings and churches are identified in a key at right. Provenance: Private Collection, Amsterdam