Cities frozen in time: The evolution of city iconography in the early modern era
By Stephan Füssel. Excerpt from the book 'Cities of the World'
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In a number of cases Braun draws upon contemporary broadsheets, the newspapers of the day, with their sensational reports of murder and theft. He also displays a pronounced interest in the consumption of beer and wine in the cities he describes, e.g. in Münster, Bremen, Malaga and Weissenburg; in his commentary on Braunschweig he notes: "There is a lack of drinking water in this city, wherefore everyone usually drinks beer.Wine is expensive here, so not much of it is consumed." But Braun also refers to the dangers of drinking to excess, e.g. in his texts on Leipzig and Hamburg, and measures cities against an ethical yardstick, invariably bestowing praise upon a city of honourable merchants in which handicraft is held in high esteem. The clergyman places particular emphasis in his commentaries upon diocesan and church history, and partly, too, upon sacred buildings such as monasteries and religious foundations, albeit not from an architectural or art-historical point of view. He laments, from an increasingly narrow confessional standpoint, the decline of central Europe precipitated by the upheavals of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation and the resulting wars of religion, such as the prolonged conflict between Spain and the Netherlands. Braun's disapproval of the advance of the Reformation, with the accompanying iconoclasm in the churches, the takeover of Catholic churches by Protestants and the wars between Catholic Spain and the Netherlands, finds expression in not a few commentaries. It is therefore astonishing that he describes the city of Wittenberg without making a single reference to Luther. In the case of Bremen, on the other hand, he takes a stance on a theological dispute between the Protestants and the Lutherans of 1547–1563.
Staffage and costumes
The volumes of the Civitates are characterized overall not only by the accuracy of their prospects and maps, but also by their inclusion of additional illustrative details – an area in which Hoefnagel displays great creativity. The plates thus incorporate numerous scenes from everyday life: horse-drawn barges on the Main, quarrying of slate, hunting with falcons near Sárospatak on the Bodrog, female dancers in front of Granada and scholars in discussion in Oxford. The travelling by sleigh in Moscow represents an interesting combination of elements taken from three separate woodcuts by Augustin Hirschvogel in Sigismund von Herberstein's Moscoviter wunderbare Historien (from 1546) and integrated into the foreground of the view of Moscow.
These incidental details frequently include magnificent ships and dramatic fighting scenes, in particular battles being waged at sea, as well as gallows that testify to a city's powers of jurisdiction. Extremely gruesome forms of execution, such as the impaling of Christians by the Turks, are illustrated in a drastic form, as e.g. in the case of Pápa in Hungary or the execution of rebels by hanging on gallows. On the other hand, the martyrdom of St Sebastian, pierced by arrows, is also shown outside the city of San Sebastián to which he gave his name. The volumes are lent a particular character by the costumed figures who illustrate, in highly accurate detail, the nobles, merchants, tradesmen, peasants, travellers and servant girls in their various costumes with corresponding accessories. Hogenberg thereby frequently drew upon the Trachtenbuch by Hans Weigel the Elder, a book of dress styles published in Nuremberg in 1577.
Page [1] [2] [3]
Page [1] [2] [3]
In a number of cases Braun draws upon contemporary broadsheets, the newspapers of the day, with their sensational reports of murder and theft. He also displays a pronounced interest in the consumption of beer and wine in the cities he describes, e.g. in Münster, Bremen, Malaga and Weissenburg; in his commentary on Braunschweig he notes: "There is a lack of drinking water in this city, wherefore everyone usually drinks beer.Wine is expensive here, so not much of it is consumed." But Braun also refers to the dangers of drinking to excess, e.g. in his texts on Leipzig and Hamburg, and measures cities against an ethical yardstick, invariably bestowing praise upon a city of honourable merchants in which handicraft is held in high esteem. The clergyman places particular emphasis in his commentaries upon diocesan and church history, and partly, too, upon sacred buildings such as monasteries and religious foundations, albeit not from an architectural or art-historical point of view. He laments, from an increasingly narrow confessional standpoint, the decline of central Europe precipitated by the upheavals of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation and the resulting wars of religion, such as the prolonged conflict between Spain and the Netherlands. Braun's disapproval of the advance of the Reformation, with the accompanying iconoclasm in the churches, the takeover of Catholic churches by Protestants and the wars between Catholic Spain and the Netherlands, finds expression in not a few commentaries. It is therefore astonishing that he describes the city of Wittenberg without making a single reference to Luther. In the case of Bremen, on the other hand, he takes a stance on a theological dispute between the Protestants and the Lutherans of 1547–1563.
Staffage and costumes
The volumes of the Civitates are characterized overall not only by the accuracy of their prospects and maps, but also by their inclusion of additional illustrative details – an area in which Hoefnagel displays great creativity. The plates thus incorporate numerous scenes from everyday life: horse-drawn barges on the Main, quarrying of slate, hunting with falcons near Sárospatak on the Bodrog, female dancers in front of Granada and scholars in discussion in Oxford. The travelling by sleigh in Moscow represents an interesting combination of elements taken from three separate woodcuts by Augustin Hirschvogel in Sigismund von Herberstein's Moscoviter wunderbare Historien (from 1546) and integrated into the foreground of the view of Moscow.
These incidental details frequently include magnificent ships and dramatic fighting scenes, in particular battles being waged at sea, as well as gallows that testify to a city's powers of jurisdiction. Extremely gruesome forms of execution, such as the impaling of Christians by the Turks, are illustrated in a drastic form, as e.g. in the case of Pápa in Hungary or the execution of rebels by hanging on gallows. On the other hand, the martyrdom of St Sebastian, pierced by arrows, is also shown outside the city of San Sebastián to which he gave his name. The volumes are lent a particular character by the costumed figures who illustrate, in highly accurate detail, the nobles, merchants, tradesmen, peasants, travellers and servant girls in their various costumes with corresponding accessories. Hogenberg thereby frequently drew upon the Trachtenbuch by Hans Weigel the Elder, a book of dress styles published in Nuremberg in 1577.
Page [1] [2] [3]
Braun/Hogenberg, Cities of the World
Hardcover, 29 x 42 cm (11.4 x 16.5 in.), 520 pages
$ 200.00
$ 200.00
The complete reprint of all 363 color plates from Braun and Hogenberg's survey of town maps, city views, and plans of Europe, Africa, Asia and Central America. First published in Cologne 1572-1617. Printed from a rare and superbly preserved original set of six volumes, belonging to the Historische Museum in Frankfurt
The fire at the Venetian Doge's palace in 1577
View of Damascus, Syria