Six Portolan Charts of Europe and a Map of the World

Six Portolan Charts of Europe and a Map of the World

The prolific Genoese mapmaker Battista Agnese (active ca. 1535–64) was responsible for over sixty surviving sets of charts and atlases, principally showing Europe and the Mediterranean basin and including the far-flung territories then being reached by European navigators. As showpieces intended for display rather than practical use, his maps tend to favor the decorative over strict accuracy. Working in Venice, the center of European cartography, he acted as copyist and synthesizer of charts produced by others, rather than an original creator. Nevertheless, over the course of his career he strove to integrate the most up-to-date geographic information into his world maps, depicting, for example, the circumnavigation of Ferdinand Magellan and the discoveries made of the Pacific Northwest by Francisco de Ulloa in 1539 and 1540.

Author: Battista Agnese

1535–38

Manuscript on parchment, 8 fols.

University of Pennsylvania, Lawrence J. Schoenberg Collection, LJS 28

Venice, Italy