Page 235 - Art In The Age Of Exploration (Great Section on Chinese Art Ming Dynasty)

explains the rationale for this name, Waldseemiil- geographical knowledge/' The upper left corner News of the voyages of exploration first reached
ler's mistaken belief that it was Amerigo Vespucci contains more data on the "new" continent: "For the educated community in Europe through books
(rather than Christopher Columbus) who first set there is a land, discovered by Columbus, a captain like Columbus' Letter (cat. 136) and Vespucci's
foot on the continent: "the fourth part of the of the King of Castile, and by Americus Vespu- Mundus Novus (New World), and then through
earth, since Amerigo discovered it, we may call cius, both men of very great ability, which, printed maps such as this one. Signed by the
Amerige, the land of Amerigo, so to speak or though... it lies... between the tropics, neverthe- engraver Francesco Rosselli, this oval projection
America/' Waldseemiiller continues, "Now, these less extends about 19 degrees beyond the Tropic of was probably produced a few years after the coni-
parts of the earth have been more extensively Capricorn toward the Antarctic Pole Here a form projection which Rosselli engraved after the
explored and a fourth part has been discovered by greater amount of gold has been found than of design of a certain Giovanni Matteo Contarini in
Amerigo Vespucci, as will be set forth in what any other metal." In addition to being graced with 1506, known from a unique impression in the
follows [Amerigo Vespucci's Letters were printed the name America, Brazil is also symbolized on British Library.
in the same volume]. Inasmuch as both Europe this map by a red macaw as on the Cantino map A brother of the painter Cosimo Rosselli, Fran-
and Asia received their names from women, I see (this time with the label rubei psitaci). J.M.M. cesco Rosselli was also active as a miniaturist and
no reason why any one should justly object to painter. An important group of early Florentine
calling this part Amerige, i.e. the land of engravings executed in the so-called "Broad
Amerigo, or America, after Amerigo, its dis- Manner" has convincingly been attributed to
coverer, a man of great ability/' him. He is also the author of a famous engraved
Waldseemiiller intended his map as a compen- view of the city of Florence, known today only
dium of information about the findings of the *33 from a woodcut copy. He is recorded as having
voyages of exploration. In the lower left corner, been in Venice in 1505 and 1508; in the latter year
an inscription states that the map includes: "A Francesco Rosselli he was described as having been in the audience in
general delineation of the various lands and Florentine, 1448-before 1513 Venice at a lecture on geometry given by Fra Luca
islands, including some of which the ancients WORLD MAP Pacioli (cats. 143) in the Venetian church of San
make no mention, discovered lately between 1497 Bartolomeo. At the death of Francesco's son Ales-
and 1504 in four voyages over the seas, two by c. 1508 sandro in 1525, an inventory of the stock of the
Fernando of Castille, and two by Manuel of Por- engraving family print shop in Florence was prepared which
3
tugal, most serene monarchs, with Americus Ves- 21 x 35 (8V 4 x ij /4) listed a number of maps, prints by other contem-
pucius as one of the navigators and officers of the references: National Gallery of Art 1973, porary artists, woodblocks, and engraving plates.
fleet; and especially a delineation of many places 47-59; Shirley 1983, 32, no. 28; Nebenzahl 1990, Rosselli's elegantly simple oval projection is
hitherto unknown. All this we have carefully 56-57 graduated in 360° longitude and 180° latitude.
drawn on the map, to furnish true and precise Arthur Holzheimer Collection Having determined to show the entire globe in

234 CIRCA 1492