Please click "Follow" before reading the article, so that it is easy to discuss and share, and in order to return your support, I will update the quality content daily.
preface
Known as the "smallest country in the world", the Vatican also contains a large number of artistic treasures.
The Vatican Museums have one of the most important and valuable art collections in the world, perhaps the most famous of which is the "Gallery of the Vatican Map".
This stunning promenade displays maps of various regions of Italy from the mid-16th century and is one of the greatest court decorations of the Italian Renaissance.
Today I will take you through the history, design, content, and artistic value of this amazing gallery.
1. Historical background
The Vatican's Gallery of Maps displays a collection of important Renaissance maps.
These maps not only show the geographical information of the time, but also record various cultural, historical and scientific information.
To learn about the Vatican Map Gallery, start with its origins.
The Vatican Map Gallery was built in the 16th century by order of Pope Julius II.
At that time, the purpose of the Vatican Museums was to preserve cultural wealth and to show the public the power and wealth of the pope.
In the time of Pope Nicholas V, the Gallery of Maps underwent a massive expansion and redesign, and he invited the most outstanding artists, architects and scientists to participate in the project.
These experts have created a collection of the world's most beautiful maps and the geographical, historical and cultural information they reflect.
The maps that people can see now actually have a complicated production process.
The process of making these maps was a process of teamwork, and at the time, map making was a highly technical art.
Map makers must have both artistic and scientific skills to produce maps with a high degree of accuracy and precision.
The first step in making a map is surveying, and during the surveying process, cartographers must make high-precision geographic surveys and surveys to obtain accurate geographic information.
In addition, cartographers must carefully document the location of cities, buildings, and other important landmarks.
Next is to draw a map, and the cartographer draws the map by hand using paper or other materials. In the process of hand-drawing maps, cartographers must take into account issues of scale and scale to ensure the accuracy and readability of the map.
During the production process, cartographers must also carefully select colors and symbols to reflect the cultural and historical characteristics of different regions.
Finally, the map had to be transferred to the wall for display in the map gallery, which was often a very complex task that required specialized skills and equipment.
The map on the wall must fit precisely, but also in an artistically beautiful way.
Cartographers and muralists must work closely together to achieve this.
2. Design and decoration
This gallery was designed to celebrate Popes Pius IV and Julius III, as well as the geography and history of Italy.
It is also a form of political propaganda aimed at consolidating the Vatican's influence in Italy and Europe.
Francesco used traditional court decoration techniques to transform the promenade into a beautiful, ornate space.
The decoration of the promenade is also an art, showing the luxury and savoir-faire of the Renaissance.
The carvings and paintings on the walls are among the finest works of art of the Renaissance, showcasing the religious and cultural characteristics of the time.
The walls are covered with carved and painted decorations, the floor is decorated with intricate mosaic patterns, and the windows are inlaid with gem glass.
The overall design of the promenade is very exquisite, showing the exquisite craftsmanship and luxury of the Renaissance.
The main decoration is 40 maps showing landscapes and cities from various regions of Italy in the 16th century.
The maps were drawn by the Jesuits and a few other mapmakers who spent years of time and effort creating these masterpieces.
These beautiful maps are very large, each about 4.5 meters long and 2.5 meters high, occupying the walls of the entire corridor.
The map of the promenade is centered on Italy, showing the towns, rivers, mountains and seas of various regions of Italy.
The maps are predominantly light colors, with details of the terrain and cities being drawn, and each map is topped by a beautiful niche containing a scene depicting the history and culture of the region.
The scenes include legends and historical events, as well as the characters and zeitgeist of the time.
3. Map content
1. Urban VIII's Map of Rome
Urban VIII's Map of Rome is one of the most famous maps in the Vatican Map Gallery.
The map shows Rome's historical and cultural heritage, including buildings and infrastructure from the Ancient Roman period, as well as religious buildings and cultural landscapes from the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
The map is a patchwork that covers the entire geographical area of the city of Rome, and the buildings and landscapes on the map are presented in fine detail, making it seem like you are in the Roman city of Rome.
The map is not only a record of geographical information, but also a complete presentation of Roman history and culture.
2. Julius II's Map of Italy
Julius II's Map of Italy is another important map treasure in the Vatican Map Gallery.
The map presents geographical and political information about the Italian peninsula, including the location, buildings, and cultural heritage of each city.
The map uses a large number of decorative elements, including ornate flowers, elaborate letters, and characters, to show the creativity and skill of Renaissance artists.
The appearance of this map marks that map making is no longer a simple tool, but also a work of art.
3. Map of Mondara
Another work that has attracted much attention is the map of Mundara, produced in 1569 by the Italian geographer and astronomer Bernardo Mondara.
The map uses a new projection called the "Mondala projection" to make the shape and size of the Earth's surface more realistic.
While previous map projections had some distortion, the Mundala projection greatly improved this problem. The map also shows the geography and politics of the countries of the time, including information on Europe, Africa, and Asia.
The production of this map was considered a major scientific achievement at the time and provided an important reference for later map production.
4. Galio Mastero's "Map of the New World"
Galio Mastro's New World Map is one of the most famous New World maps in the Vatican Map Gallery.
The map was made in the late 16th century and shows the geography and politics of the New World.
The map is characterized by the use of very accurate latitude and longitude lines, and shows the names and locations of various countries and regions in the New World at that time.
The map also depicts the natural and cultural landscapes of the New World, including Indian settlements, flora and fauna, and more.
The map is an important record of humanity's understanding of the geography and culture of the New World at that time.
5. Albrecht Dürrell's "Map of the World"
Albrecht Dulaire's Map of the World is one of the most famous maps of the Renaissance.
The map shows what humans knew about the geography and politics of the world at that time.
The map features the division of the Earth's surface into 18 parts, each with a different projection.
The map not only has a high degree of accuracy, but also shows the culture and beliefs of the people of the time, including images of Christian saints and animals around the world, among others.
The map became one of the symbols of Renaissance map production and an important record of human understanding of the world.
4. Artistic value
The Vatican Map Gallery, a collection of historical and cultural treasures of maps.
These maps are not only important records of human understanding of the earth, but also treasures of art, showing the close connection between map making and art.
Map making is an art that integrates geography, history, surveying, painting and other disciplines, and map making requires both accurate surveying and data processing techniques and artistic skills in drawing and design.
Map makers must not only be well-versed in geography and history, but also have good aesthetic and design skills.
In map production, the visual effects and aesthetics of the map are often the focus of the maker.
Makers use a variety of means, such as colors, lines, fonts, etc., to emphasize the key information in the map and make it easier for the audience to understand.
At the same time, map production also needs to consider ornamental and readability, so as to attract the attention of the audience and convey the message that the map is intended to convey.
Therefore, map making is a discipline that blends science and art.
The map treasures in the Vatican Map Gallery not only accurately record the geography and politics of historical periods, but also show the artistic talent of the makers.
These maps not only contain records of geographical and political information, but are also the crystallization of human wisdom and cultural treasures.
For example, the hand-drawn patterns in flamenco maps have a romantic Renaissance style, giving a sense of the charm of culture and the essence of art.
Durlall's "Map of the World" shows the artistic style and aesthetic taste of the Renaissance, retracing the artistic atmosphere of the historical period.
The geometric design in the Vatican Map Gallery is very unique.
For example, Maria Adolfonia Scala Sant'Orcini's "Map of the Italian Peninsula" uses an octagonal design, which makes the map more beautiful and unique.
At the same time, the use of color and line of the map is also a design element that the makers pay attention to.
The use of bright colors and intricate line patterns in "Map of Belgium" gives a sense of the designer's design skills and imagination.
The map treasures in the Vatican Map Gallery are not only works of art, but also historical artifacts.
They document the evolution of human understanding of the Earth.
The map of Palermo details the geographical distribution of the Crusades and the ancient Roman Empire, showing the historical process of human understanding of the world.
Captain Cook's map of the Pacific Ocean details the distribution of Pacific islands and local culture, reflecting the exploration of the unknown by Western explorers.
conclusion
The Vatican's Gallery of Maps is a stunning masterpiece of art, one of the masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance.
It is not only a set of maps, but a combination of culture, history, art and science, reflecting the talent of the most outstanding mapmakers, artists and scientists in Italy at the time.
The maps are also of political and historical significance, serving as political propaganda for Popes Pius IV and Julius III, consolidating the Vatican's influence in Italy and Europe.
The precious atlas shows the historical and cultural characteristics of the various regions of Italy, but also shows the highest level of cartographic production at that time and one of the highest achievements of Renaissance art.