La Motte.

Title

La Motte.

The illustration shows a bird's-eye view of the municipality of La Motte with its surroundings and neighboring towns such as Vaudrecourt, Selaucourt, Mudouville, Gendreville, Molincourt, Hurville, Vrecourt, etc., with a banner below containing an index.

ca. 1650

Artist

Merian (1593-1650)

Matthäus Merian (1593 – 1650) , born in Basel, learned the art of copperplate engraving in Zurich and subsequently worked and studied in Strasbourg, Nancy, and Paris, before returning to Basel in 1615. The following year he moved to Frankfurt, Germany where he worked for the publisher Johann Theodor de Bry. He married his daughter, Maria Magdalena 1617. In 1620 they moved back to Basel, only to return three years later to Frankfurt, where Merian took over the publishing house of his father-in-law after de Bry's death in 1623. In 1626 he became a citizen of Frankfurt and could henceforth work as an independent publisher. He is the father of Maria Sibylla Merian, who later published her the famous and wellknown studies of flowers, insects and butterflies.

Historical Description

La Motte was an important settlement in the Middle Ages and was first mentioned in documents in the 12th century. During the Middle Ages, La Motte was part of the possessions of the Comtes de Provence (Counts of Provence) and held strategic significance due to its location in a region that was both agriculturally and commercially important. Today, La Motte is a quieter place, known primarily for its natural beauty and rural atmosphere. The region surrounding La Motte is characterized by vineyards and olive groves and is a popular destination for tourists in Provence, who want to enjoy the southern French countryside and the proximity to the Mediterranean Sea.