Saintes. / Xaintes. / En ce pourtrait de la vile et cité de Saintes, Chef de la Comté de Saintonge en Guienne, A. est la porte Evesque..

Title

Saintes. / Xaintes. / En ce pourtrait de la vile et cité de Saintes, Chef de la Comté de Saintonge en Guienne, A. est la porte Evesque..

Description

A very beautiful hand-coloured bird’s-eye view of the town of Saintes on the banks of the River Charente, featuring the town’s coat of arms, two decorative figures in the foreground and an index cartouche. The reverse side bears an initial letter and text in Latin; page 17.

ca. 1597

Artist

Braun/Hogenberg (1572-1618)

Frans Hogenberg (1535 – 1590) was a Flemish and German painter, engraver, and mapmaker. Hogenberg was born in Mechelen as the son of Nicolaas Hogenberg In 1568 he was banned from Antwerp by the Duke of Alva. He travelled to London, where he stayed a few years before emigrating to Cologne. He is known for portraits and topographical views as well as historical allegories. He also produced scenes of contemporary historical events. George Braun (1541-1622), a cleric of Cologne, was the principal editor of the "Civitates Orbis Terrarum". The first volume of the Civitates Orbis Terrarum was published in Cologne in 1572. The sixth and the final volume appeared in 1617. This great city atlas, edited by Georg Braun and largely engraved by Franz Hogenberg, eventually contained 546 prospects, bird-eye views and map views of cities from all over the world. Braun (1541-1622), a cleric of Cologne, was the principal editor of the work, and was greatly assisted in his project by the close, and continued interest of Abraham Ortelius, whose Theatrum Orbis Terrarum of 1570 was, as a systematic and comprehensive collection of maps of uniform style, the first true atlas.

Historical Description

Saintes was founded in antiquity as a Roman city (Mediolanum Santonum) and developed into an important administrative and trading center. Its location on the Charente River favored trade and transport. In the Middle Ages, Saintes was an important religious center and lay on a pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. Numerous churches and buildings bear witness to this period.