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A Handsome, Beautifully Colored Example, Employing A Rarely Seen Grisaille Color Scheme

This sea atlas, produced by Frederick de Wit around 1690 in Amsterdam, is a beautiful example of late 17th-century Dutch cartography, comprising 27 double-page engraved maps with unusual and attractive original hand-color. Featuring a double-hemisphere world map (Nova Totius Terrarum Orbis Tabula, ex officina F. de Wit., Shirley 444) and a large folding map of Europe (Totius Europae Littora Novissme edita...), the atlas provides a detailed representation of the world's seas and continents as understood during a pivotal period of exploration and colonization.

Frederick de Wit is recognized as one of the foremost map publishers of the second half of the 17th century, with his works prized for their clarity, detail, and aesthetic appeal.

This is a rare, separate issue of De Wit's sea atlas, typically encountered as part of his larger atlas compilations.

The atlas includes an allegorical engraved frontispiece from Johannes van Keulen's "Zee-Fakkel" and is complemented by six leaves of text, possibly added at an early date for a private collector.

A Note on the Color

For this example of the atlas, the colorist employed an unusual artistic coloring style called "grisaille." While geographical features of the map are colored in a traditional scheme of the period, the cartouches are done in the grisaille style, employing blue-greys, and gold hues.

Traditionally, the use of grisaille showcased the artists' mastery in tone and texture from the medieval era to the Renaissance.  Among the earliest examples of this technique is the work of Giotto di Bondone, who employed grisaille in the lower registers of his frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, around 1304. This technique marked a departure from the flat styles of medieval art and foreshadowed the Italian Renaissance.

In the 15th century, Early Dutch painters like Robert Campin and Jan van Eyck used grisaille on the exteriors of triptych wings, as seen in the Ghent Altarpiece, as a means of imitating the appearance of sculpture.  Manuscript illuminators such as Jean Pucelle and Matthew Paris also utilized grisaille. Their work in pen and wash manuscripts with limited colors underscored texts and added dramatic depth.

The Renaissance period saw Andrea Mantegna and Polidoro da Caravaggio adopting grisaille to mimic classical sculptures and Roman paintings, aligning with the era's classical revival.  The style was employed in the 16th and 17th Century by Dutch artists such as Martin Heemskerck, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Hendrik Goltzius, Adriaen van de Venne, and the circle of Rembrandt and Jan van Goyen.  Portions of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling frescoes and Antonio Verrio's work on the great staircase at Hampton Court are notable examples of the use of grisaille in the Baroque period.

As a means of highlighting the cartographic features of the map, the overall effect is quite appealing, and a further examination of this rare (if not unique) approach belongs in the annals of Golden Age Dutch map coloring.

This convention is sometimes associated with the finer coloring of Andreas Cellarius's Harmonia Macrocosmica, and a less refined version of it is often seen in the Valk & Schenk edition of the same book.

Contents

1. Nova Totius Terrarum Orbis Tabula, ex officina F. de Wit., Shirley 444. Carhart 4.1 1663
2. Totius Europae Littora Novissimè edita. Pascaert vertoonende alle de See-custen van Europa... Carhart C 8.1 1671-76
3. Mare Germanicum ac Tractus Maritimus retro Hiberniam et Scotiam Apud F. de Wit | Pascaert vande Noort-Zee om achter Yrland en Schotland om te Seylen. Carhart C 9.2 ca. 1689-90
4. Daniae, Frisiae, Groningae et Orientalis Frisiae Littora. Apud Fred: de Wit. Carhart C 10.2 ca. 1689-90
5. Mare Balticum. Amstelodami, Apud F. de Wit. | Nieuwe Pascaert van de Oost Zee t Amsterdam Gedruckt by F. de Wit. Carhart C11.2 ca. 1689-90
6. Norvegiae Maritimae ab Elf-burgo ad Dronten | Pascaert van Noorwegen streckende van Elf-burg tot Dronten Gedruckt by F. de Wit. Carhart C12.2 ca. 1689-90
7. Finmarchiae et Laplandiae Maritima | Nieuwe Pascaert vande kusten Finmarcken en Lapland Streckende van Dronten tot Archangel. Carhart C13.2 ca. 1689-90
8. Russiae et Novae Zemlae Maritimae. Apud F. de Wit. Carhart C14.2 ca. 1689-90
9. Pascaert van de Noord Zee van Ameland tot de Hoofden t Amsterdam by F. de Wit. | Mare Germanicum ab Amelandia ad Promontoria Caleti et Doverae. Carhart 15.4 ca. 1689-90
10. Nicolas Visscher. Mancia, Gallis La Manche, et Belgis Het Canaal, Pars Oceani inter Angliam et Galliam, hujus Septentrionalem, & illius Meridionalem Oram rigans, cum adjacentibus, exactissimé in Tabulam redacta et edita per Nicm. Visscher Amst: Bat: Note: Instead of Carhart C16 (Canalis inter Angliae et Galliae Littora...) here we have a map by Nicolas Visscher II, which was probably issued around the same time. The map has clearly been with the book since its inception and has matching original hand-color.
11. Galliae, Biscajae et Gallissiae Sinus. | De Bocht van Vranckryck Biscajen en Galissen Gedruckt bÿ F. de Wit. Carhart C17.2 ca. 1689-90
12. Hispaniae, et Portugaliae Maritimi Tractus, à S. Andero, ad Malagam. | Pascaert van Spangie, en Portugal. Carhart C18.3 ca. 1689-90
13. Occidentalior Tractus Maris Mediterranei Amstelodami Apud F. de Wit. | Wester gedeelte van de Middelandse Zee. t'Amsterdam Gedruckt by F. de Wit Carhart C19.3 ca. 1689-90
14. Orientalior districtus Maris Mediterranei Apud Fred. de Wit. | t'Ooster gedeelte van de Middelandse Zee. Carhart C20.3 ca. 1689-90
15. Barbariae et Guineae Maritimi à Freto Gibraltar ad Fluvium Gambiae cum Insulis Salis Flandricis et Canaricis Apud F. de Wit. Carhart C21.3 ca. 1691-97
16. Tractus Littorales Guineae a Promontorio Verde usque ad Sinum Catenbelae Apud F. de Wit. Carhart C22.3 ca. 1691-97
17. Cimbebas et Caffariae Littora a Catenbela ad Promontorium Bonae Spei. | Pascaerte van Cimbebas en Caffares Streckende van Catembela tot Cabo de Bona Esperanca Gedruckt tot Amsterdam by Frederick de Wit. Carhart C23.2 ca. 1689-90
18. Occidentalior Tractus Indiarum Orientalium à Promontorio Bonae Spei ad C. Comorin. Amstelodami à F. de Wit. Carhart C24.2 ca. 1689-90
19. Orientaliora Indiarum Orientalium cum Insulis Adjacentibus à Promontorio C. Comorin ad Iapan. | Pascaert van t'Ooster gedeelte van Oost Indien van C. Comorin tot Iapan. Carhart C25.3 ca. 1689-90
20. Poli Arctici, et Circumiacentium Terrarum Descriptio Novissima. Per Fredericum de Wit Amstelodami  Carhart P1.7 ca. 1689-90
21. Magnum Mare del Zur cum Insula California. | De Groote Zuyd-Zee en 't Eylandt California. Carhart C26.1 ca. 1671-76
22. Septentrionaliora Americae à Groenlandia, per Freta Davidis et Hudson, ad Terram Novam. | De Noordelyckste Zee kusten van America van Groenland door de Straet Davis ende Straet Hudson tot Terra Neuf. Carhart C27.2 ca. 1689-90
23. Novae Hispaniae, Chili, Peruviae, et Guatimalae Littorae. Apud F. de Wit. Carhart C28.4 ca. 1690-91
24. Indiarum Occidentalium Tractus Littorales cum Insulis Caribicis. | Pascaert van Westindien ende Caribise Eylanden t'Amsterdam Gedruckt by Frederick de Wit inde Kalverstraet inde Witte Pascaert Carhart C29.4 ca. 1690-91
25. Terra Nova, ac Maris Tractus circa Novam Franciam, Angliam, Belgium, Venezuelam Novam Andalusiam, Guianam, et Brasiliam. F. de Witt. | Terra Neuf, en de Custen van Nieu Vranckryck, Nieu Engeland, Nieu Nederland, Nieu Andalusia, Guiana en Venezuela. Carhart C30.4
26. Littora Brasiliae. Apud F. de Wit. | Pascaert van Brasil. Gedruckt by F. de Wit. Carhart C31.3 ca. 1690-91
27. Tractus Australior Americae Meridionalis, a Rio de la Plata per Fretum Magellanicum ad Toraltum. | Nieuwe Perfecte Pascaert van 't Suyderlyckste deel van Suyt America, van Rio de la Plata door de Straet Magellaen tot Toral. Carhart C32.3 ca. 1690-91