ARTIST: Munster Sebastian

YEAR: 1550

SIZE: 377x280mm

TECHNIQUE: Xylograph

This beautiful 1550 bird’s-eye view of Venice depicts the historic city of Venice within the Venetian Lagoon. Rendered beautifully to contrast the calm shallow lagoon with the turbulent seas beyond the sand banks, the view depicts the sestiere of Venice and includes two text blocks describing the city and its history. The generalized style of many of the buildings allow finer architectural detail in churches, buildings, and city walls to stand out. A few sail boats can be seen in the waters. This map is from the 1550 edition of Sebastian Munster’s “Cosmographia,” a text that, when first published in 1544, was the earliest German description of the world.