Atlas Maritime Title Page, c. 1715 - Romeyn de Hooghe / Mortier

An allegorical title page for Atlas Maritime, engraved on copper after a design by Romeyn de Hooghe. It retains its original hand colouring heightened with gold. An open sea atlas is the focus of the composition. Figures gather around it beneath classical columns, while maritime figures and sea creatures fill the foreground.

The gold catches the eye in smaller passages of the engraving as the larger composition leads from the water up to the open book. It is an elaborate introduction to a sea atlas, giving the act of opening the volume a visual counterpart in the print itself.

The imprint and the open book both sit within the image. That arrangement makes this title page an introduction to the ambition of the atlas as well as its subject. The hand-applied gold is most easily appreciated in the smaller details, where it catches the light against the darker lines of the copper engraving.

The design appears in the 1693 Atlas Maritime. This impression is catalogued circa 1715 and was previously listed under Cornelis Mortier. The imprint on the sheet reads À Amsterdam chez Pierre Mortier. The engraving measures 52 × 36.5 cm on a 61 × 47.7 cm sheet. Good condition, with restored wormholes.