Book Description

Making maps dates back at least four thousand years and it is widely recognised that many maps are of great historical value and present a skilled method of summarising the real world on a sheet of paper. Less well known is the judgement involved in the selection and simplification of features, the complex transformation of space and the exacting standards which are needed in cartography.This book is primarily a tribute to Professor F.J. Ormeling, former President and Secretary/Treasurer of the ICA and gives a wide ranging review of the current status of cartography, how this status was attained and the way in which the subject is expected to evolve over the next decade. It is composed of two main sections. In the first, the present state of cartography in different countries is examined. The second section is a thematic view in which some of the major issues and developments in cartography are discussed in turn, including art and science in ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent Maps
This book has reproduced on quaity paper (the type used for photographic reproductions) some of the best maps of America made bwetween 1500-1800. A good introductory section reviews the history of cartography and provides examples of various aspects of early maps. Very enjoyable and interesting. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Among the most beautiful and compelling works of Renaissance art, painted maps adorned the halls and galleries of princely palaces. This book is the first to discuss in detail the three-dimensional display of these painted map cycles and their full meaning in Renaissance culture.

Art historian Francesca Fiorani focuses on two of the most significant and marvelous surviving Italian map murals--the Guardaroba Nuova of the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, commissioned by Duke Cosimo de’ Medici, and the Gallery of Maps in the Vatican, commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII. Both cycles were not only pioneering cartographic enterprises but also powerful political and religious images. Presenting an original interpretation of the interaction between art, science, politics, and religion in Renaissance culture, the book also offers fresh insights into the Medici and papal courts.
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