The emergence of the cityscape genre, similar to architecture, is connected to the Renaissance art’s developing sense of reality. The schematic city depictions of ancient and medieval times were merely antecedents and symbols, not true cityscapes in the real sense of the word. Geographical discoveries and the related expansion of scientific knowledge, along with the commercial traffic characteristic of capitalism, all contributed to its development. Initially, specific cityscapes or city details appeared as backgrounds in religious paintings, often framing biblical themes in the context of their place of origin.
In the 16th century, the cityscape or veduta, evolving into an independent genre, found excellent application in new graphic reproduction techniques, partly as text illustrations and partly as standalone prints. The reproduction process allowed single drawings or paintings to reach many locations, thus contributing to knowledge dissemination.
Among books containing city engravings, the six-volume masterpiece titled Cities of the World, featuring the Braun-Hogenberg engraving series, stands out. The volumes were published in Cologne between 1572-1617, containing views of 363 cities in total.
The collaboration between Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg and the publication of their book in the 1570s marked a milestone in the history of city depictions. The work strived not only for topographical accuracy but also for artistic execution. Alongside the city views, it contained detailed descriptions covering the city’s history, economic life, and cultural significance. The publications often featured figures in local dress in the foreground, serving not only as decorative elements but also as ethnographic documentation. When depicting cities in Turkish territory, these figures were deliberately omitted to prevent the drawings from providing military information to the Ottoman army.
The series was later published by the Plantin publishing house in Antwerp, and the volumes went through numerous reprints, proving the work’s popularity and significance. Cities of the World is not only a contemporary historical document but also an unparalleled visual source of urban life and architectural development.
The blog aims to present the city engravings found in the Cities of the World books by country and analyzes the buildings, natural background, or historical events depicted in them. The website features all Braun-Hogenberg engravings placed on a map, which is unique.
The image shows one of the Beauty Prize-winning Braun-Hogenberg engravings.
